Comments on: My Dreams Just Came True – Amazon Kindle App for iPhone

By: Ana Amour

Ana Amour — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 18:45:21 +0000

I tried to read a book from my iPhone but I had to quit this wild dream. The screen is too small (figure that!) and my eyes get tired very fast. Plus I had to scroll very often and it is a bit annoying. I heard about the Kindle, but I don’t think I’ll get one soon. I am also considering the option of writing to Santa about it…

By: iPhone Kindle : Mormon Metaphysics

iPhone Kindle : Mormon Metaphysics — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 18:46:48 +0000

[...] An iPhone version of the Kindle software. (iTunes link) Sadly no landscape mode yet which makes it of limited use. I’ll wait for the [...]

By: Audrey

Audrey — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 18:20:36 +0000

I think you win the fastest write-up reward. I tried the app out, but I think I’ll be sticking with Stanza for now. Having to swipe to turn pages makes my hand hurt quickly, and not being able to invert the screen (white text on black) is a deal killer.

It’s too bad we’re still struggling with locked-down digital formats for books. I shouldn’t have to know whether the book I buy is compatible with my favorite reader.

By: Brian

Brian — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 15:44:29 +0000

Oh, for any who are curious – tapping the screen gets rid of the top and bottom borders seen in screenshot 5. You can indeed have nothing but the book text on screen.

By: Brian

Brian — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 15:42:35 +0000

Ah, boo! Indeed, you don’t get an email address for sending docs the way you do with a Kindle.

If I had one wish for this app, I’d love to be able to read in landscape mode. The iPhone is more comfortable to hold in this orientation, and I suspect there would be a lot less gratuitous whitespace on the screen.

By: scott

scott — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 06:41:29 +0000

I think two things will make this THE indispensable e-book reader on the iphone/ipod:

1. Book price. $9.99 maximum on most. ereader.com can’t say that as many of the books I’ve purchased there cost me more than that.

2. Book library amazon has. The kindle library continues to grow and I’ve no doubt in time it will be monstrous.

I think it’s pretty much good news for everyone. I don’t see any real downside here.

By: Jona Titus

Jona Titus — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 06:25:47 +0000

Josh,
I am SO glad you found this. I’ve been thinking that something like this needed to come out and now it’s here. I have to say after reading your post I went and downloaded the app and have been playing with it tonight. Such a super cool app. Thanks for sharing this info.

By: Cameron

Cameron — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 05:54:28 +0000

Giving it a try now.

Quick Thoughts

1. Having access to my kindle books is pretty awesome

2. Looks like you are only able to dog ear pages. Not seeing any way to highlight or add notes

3. Was able to get a sample of a book i was interested in very quickly. This might be the area where this app shines the most

4. Does not appear to allow you to change font color, back ground color, ect. This is a serious issues as the black on white is pretty harsh on the eyes. Stanza and others allow you to change this and it makes the reading experience much nicer.

5. You use a swiping motion to change pages. Fun, but the tap motion i use in Stanza i like better.

6. Looks like everything has to come from the Amazon store. I do not see any way to load other documents on the device.

My quick review is that this is nice, but honestly Amazon should have done much better. Stanza and eReader Pro give you a lot more options and honestly just have a better reading experience. I spent an hour on the MAX the other day reading from Stanza and found it to be almost as good as the Kindle (I do have young eyes so that might help out a lot).

I just hope Amazon puts some time into this and makes it into a ebook reader that is as good as the competition on the iphone already. At this time it almost looks like something to help convince you to buy a Kindle.

By: Omar

Omar — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 05:42:17 +0000

I wish I could buy books from the app…other than that it’s a pretty cool app. I think it’s moving to the first page of the home screen on my iPhone .

By: AdamD

AdamD — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 05:40:59 +0000

Great overview of the app, Josh. Boy, can you hear iPhone ebook reader developers crying?

Free is a great price from Amazon, proving they really just want to get more Kindle books out there. And once people give it a shot and realize the iPhone isn’t as good to read on as the Kindle, Amazon might also sell more units. Win-win, where Amazon wins twice.