Amazon Releases iPhone Kindle Software 232
palmsolo writes "The Amazon Kindle 2 just started shipping last week, but Amazon surprised everyone late on March 3rd by placing the Amazon Kindle software for the iPhone in the Apple App Store. With the Whispersync technology you can now keep your Kindle and iPhone ebooks in sync and read everywhere you go. Readers on the iPhone also now get access to over 200,000 ebook titles on the Amazon Kindle storefront. Check out the hands-on image gallery and video of the Amazon Kindle software on the iPhone and Kindle 2."
Re:The article doesn't seem to answer a basic ques (Score:5, Informative)
No Kindle is needed. You can buy books using a web browser on your PC and have the books sent wirelessly to your iPhone/iPod touch.
Re:The article doesn't seem to answer a basic ques (Score:2, Informative)
No, you don't. I just downloaded it and tried out a sample chapter. I had previously used eReader from Fictionwise, but they were unable to get "The Amber Spyglass," even though they had the first two books of Pullman's Dark Materials series.
Amazon had the content, so I went and bought Amber Spyglass.
Re:I couldn't possibly read that tiny little type. (Score:5, Informative)
Tried it out (Score:5, Informative)
Surprisingly it is quite readable even on the iPhone's small screen. You just swipe your finger across the screen to flip back/forth through the pages. There is options to change the font size, so really the only complaint you can have is how much/little text fits on the screen before you have to flip a page.
There are some free books on the Kindle Store (mostly classics like Treasure Island and some religious texts like the Bible), so there is no cost to try out the Kindle iPhone app.
Really cool how you buy via your web browser. Next time you open the Kindle app, it just automatically syncs what you have just purchased to the iPhone. Since it is just text, it takes just seconds to sync. Should not be painful to use even in poor signal locations and on EDGE. Plus you can download any purchase you make for free again in the future.
I don't know if if I would buy all of my books this way (I lately have been using the local library), but in a pinch (say on a trip) when I want a book to read and don't want to or can't stop by a bookstore or library, this could work very well.
Re:Just what the world needs... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:I couldn't possibly read that tiny little type. (Score:5, Informative)
But then I'm certain you have never actually tried reading an ebook on an iPhone, just trolling.
Re:Now how about an app for the hx4700? (Score:3, Informative)
Undeniably, there have been phones with superior specs (and rather more open OSes) floating around for years now. In spite of that, no Kindle support.
Re:The article doesn't seem to answer a basic ques (Score:3, Informative)
No, the app works just fine if you don't own a Kindle.
It's all about the book rights (Score:3, Informative)
Most likely because they only have the book rights for all those books in the US. It would have been foolish to have paid extra money for worldwide rights (or even US+UK) when they were going to be testing the Kindle in the US first to see if it would flop or succeed. It may or not also be related to purchasing UK versions of books (because yeah, some books are localized even though it's kind of dumb) and purchasing a different title list based on popularity in the UK.
I would expect once they purchase book rights to your region, they'll turn on the iPhone app even before they get the Kindle out the door. Unless some exec gets nervous that somehow that will make the Kindle less likely to sell.
Re:The article doesn't seem to answer a basic ques (Score:2, Informative)
Last I checked, the iPod Touch was $30 more than the iPhone hardware for an 8GB ($229), and the same price ($299) for the 16GB). (I last checked 1 minute ago.)
Now, if you're talking data plans, sure, the iPhone ends up more expensive after just one month. But the price difference obviously depends on your current phone plan. I had unlimited Internet on my old Blackjack, and getting the iPhone 3G was only $15/month more for me--and I was told I would have to pay $15/month more for any phone I got, as I was on an older, cheaper data plan than they currently offered (woo, prices went up!).
YMMV.
Re:The article doesn't seem to answer a basic ques (Score:5, Informative)
Last I checked you weren't allowed the privilege of purchasing an amazon ebook without having a Kindle registered to your account.
Did you bother to look since this announcement? Web pages do change, or so I've heard.
You need a book light for an ebook reader? Seriously?
You need a book light because it's epaper. Just like regular paper, it doesn't emit any light of its own. The upside with this is that the display only draws power when you turn the page. I think that the convenience of having a device that you can use continuously for days without recharging kind of outweighs the inconvenience of having to provide your own light source.
Re:The article doesn't seem to answer a basic ques (Score:4, Informative)
OK, why is this flamebait? Even by the unofficial definition that a lot of moderators use ("flamebait" == "you're full of it") that seems a stretch.
Re:The article doesn't seem to answer a basic ques (Score:4, Informative)
The app registers your iPhone as a Kindle after you put in your account info. I just bought a couple books off of there and I don't own a Kindle myself.
No Newspapers or Magazines. Only Books (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Now how about an app for the hx4700? (Score:3, Informative)
I wouldn't hold my breath, but I've always liked the eReader (available for both Pocket PCs and iPod/iPhone) and the MobiPocket reader (PocketPC, no iPod/iPhone version). Fictionwise.com and ereader.com are both nice online bookstores that support both of those readers.
Really now, why on earth would Apple want to raise awareness of Pocket PC devices? Microsoft isn't some little backwater company operating at a disadvantage here....the PPC has been around for ages, and they've done a rotten job marketing it. Direct your complaints here to MS and HP, it's their job to hype Pocket PCs, not Apple's.....
Re:The article doesn't seem to answer a basic ques (Score:3, Informative)
You need a book light for an ebook reader? Seriously?
They call it "electronic paper" for a reason - because it looks and works like one. Yes, that means you need an external light source to read in the dark. It also means that your eyes don't strain anywhere near as much as they do when you stare at the backlit LCD (which isn't fundamentally different from staring at a pretty powerful lamp shining right into your face).