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starman · Mar 4, 2009, 01:23 PM

I realize there's a rabid fanbase of people out there that like the Kindle. I was never a fan of e-reading because it seems silly to spend almost $400 on something when you can buy or borrow a book for a fraction of that price, and books don't need batteries. Some people would even call me INSANE for not liking it (right? You know who you are).

In any case, I've played with a Kindle before. It's ok, but I'm still an analog reader. I like to hold a book, flip the pages, write in the margins, look at the art inside if there is any. It's a tactile thing. When I saw that the Kindle software was released for the iPhone I decided to give it a shot.

The app's on the app store, so that was a simple download. Buying books means using Safari on the iPhone, or your computer, to buy the book. I found a freebie and it synced to my iPhone very fast when I went back to the Kindle app.

Tapping the screen, you get a menu: Back, Bookmark, Go To (Submenu for: Cover, TOC, Beginning, Page #), Font, and Sync to furthest page read. The book I read had a TOC, but didn't have a link to the chapters themselves. Probably what you get from a free book

.

Reading on the iPhone is just OK. It tries to cram a lot onto the screen in the default font. You can't the book in a different orientation by turning the iPhone, you're stuck with the portrait layout. As I've seen many people say, it's tough to read an LCD display for too long. I couldn't even get used to the e-ink on the Kindle, but I suspect I'll use this in a limited capacity for maybe newspapers and magazines. When I buy a book, I always go to Barnes and Noble.

It's definitely a good alternative for the massively overpriced Kindle hardware.

turtle777 · Mar 4, 2009, 02:34 PM

I can see this being useful for reference material, but I'd probably never read a novel on my iPhone.

-t

Big-C · Mar 4, 2009, 02:43 PM

Thanks for posting the review. I was interested to read some impressions of someone who has used one. I've never been interested; never wanted to carry another item, and was really only interested in finding a way to read on my phone. I was especially disappointed to hear you can't read in landscape mode since it allows for a bigger font (vs having to constantly swipe the screen in portrait with large font).

On a side note, my friends house was burglarized over the weekend, and they took everything but his wife's kindle (which she got from work, she didn't pay for it). Made me chuckle. I guess thieves aren't big readers.

Again, thanks.

shifuimam · Mar 4, 2009, 10:41 PM

I just saw the Kindle 2 tonight (my best friend bought one a few weeks ago and brought it over tonight). It's pretty freaking awesome. The e-ink stuff is amazing. You don't feel like you're looking at a screen at all. Browsing is pathetic on it; I'd still use my iPhone for on-the-go Internet access. If I had some cash to burn and read books more frequently, I'd most definitely get one.

I can't, however, imagine trying to read an ebook on the iPhone. LCDs just aren't very conducive to close-range reading for a long period of time. The e-ink display is very, very easy on the eyes (it really does look like printed text), so I can see being able to read it for awhile without my eyes getting tired. I doubt I could do that with a normal backlit LCD.

JKT · Mar 5, 2009, 07:18 AM

I don't know about the Kindle app (UK based so can't get or use it), but I have read a few books using Stanza (free and with the ability to download free out of copyright texts from Gutenberg, amongst much more). Big-C you can alter the size of the font to whatever you want in Stanza, as well as the typeface (from a limited selection). Surprisingly, it isn't as bad to read things on an iPhone as you might expect. For a plane flight or long train journey, it is actually a real plus to be able to do it.

Fwiw, eye-strain is not that big an issue - how long do all of you spend looking at your presumably LCD monitor reading the web? I would hazard that many of you do it for several hours a day!

shifuimam · Mar 5, 2009, 08:36 AM

Originally Posted by JKT

Fwiw, eye-strain is not that big an issue - how long do all of you spend looking at your presumably LCD monitor reading the web? I would hazard that many of you do it for several hours a day!

True, but generally the display isn't as close to your face when you're using a computer. I tend to hold books pretty close up when I'm reading in bed...I think in that kind of situation, the eye strain would get to me.

ctt1wbw · Mar 6, 2009, 07:25 AM

Originally Posted by turtle777

I can see this being useful for reference material, but I'd probably never read a novel on my iPhone.

-t

I was just gonna say... what happened to reading books the old fashioned way? I find it easier than electronically.

JKT · Mar 6, 2009, 08:57 AM

The problem is that you have to have them with you. This isn't always easy (weight and size) or possible. I don't think there is anyone who would dispute that reading a physical book is preferable to an electronic version, but they do have drawbacks of their own...

mdc · Mar 6, 2009, 11:04 AM

I have the original Kindle and love it. I use it all the time and have bought quite a few books from Amazon. I agree with shifuimam in regards to the screen. It really is amazing how nice it is to read on.
I downloaded the app for the iPhone, logged in as my Amazon account, and all of my books were available to download. Very nice.

The app is nice and will be handy if I'm somewhere without my Kindle and feel like reading a bit of a book. I definitely won't replace my Kindle and read everyone on the iPhone, but it's definitely nice to have just in case my Kindle isn't around.

Another thing that the Kindle has going for it is that I get around two weeks on a battery charge. I turn on the wireless once a week so that TIME and The New Yorker can download, then read for the next two weeks on a single charge.

turtle777 · Mar 6, 2009, 01:54 PM

Well, I always try to get books from a public library or my university's library first. Next is ILL (inter library loan), which will get you almost any book.

I cut back on buying books a lot, so in terms of money savings potential, the Kindle wouldn't work for me.

-t

ctt1wbw · Mar 8, 2009, 04:53 AM

Originally Posted by JKT

The problem is that you have to have them with you. This isn't always easy (weight and size) or possible. I don't think there is anyone who would dispute that reading a physical book is preferable to an electronic version, but they do have drawbacks of their own...

How many books do people read at one time that they have to have them with them at all times? I read one at a time.

Railroader · Mar 11, 2009, 07:16 AM

Originally Posted by ctt1wbw

How many books do people read at one time that they have to have them with them at all times? I read one at a time.

I usually have 2 or 3 books going at a time. A couple non-fiction and a fiction book. What I am reading at the moment depends on my mood.