Kindle eBook Application for iPhone and iPod Touch
March 17, 2009
I think I just downloaded one of the coolest applications for the iPhone or iPod Touch. Amazon has released the program so that you can read eBooks like Nine Lords of the Night on your iPhone or iPod Touch devices. Of course, the first thing I thought of, was the impossibility of reading Eric’s book on such a small screen. I had tried one other reading application on there, and had not been impressed. So, since the application is a free download via iTunes, I decided to give it a shot.
If you look at the reviews in iTunes, the application has received about 3 1/2 stars out of five. I read a lot of the reviews before I downloaded it, and was thinking that there would be all kinds of things I would not like, and that there would be problems with setting it up.
Well, the experience was painless, and reading on the iPod Touch (I don’t have the iPhone) has been fantastic! The setup took me about two minutes, and then another 10 because my credit card had expired that was linked to my one-click account. I got all that set up correctly, but failed to notice that there is a SPECIAL setup area for one-click purchases for the Kindle, so had to go back in and put that information there as well. That seemed like a waste of time, since my regular purchases were already set up correctly, but oh well.
Once it was set up correctly via my Amazon.com account, and then on my Touch device, I decided to try one of the ‘free’ book samples that were listed. Now, if you are on the iPod Touch device, you have to have a wireless connection set up for all this to happen. With the iPhone, not so. The download was painless and quick, and I was ready to read (sorry Eric – I didn’t buy a copy of the eBook, but I have so many of the hardcover’s around me!).
I will have to admit, the reading experience on the iPod Touch was fantastic! The text was clear, it was easy to start and stop, easy to ‘flick’ one page at a time, etc. I loved it! After a long period of time, your hand gets kind of tired, so you switch the device over to the other hand. I have glasses (progressives) and never had a problem with the angle, neck pain, or anything that normally happens when reading off small text. I really got into the book and was very saddened when the end of the sample came up. However, not to fear! The rest of it was free, and they had very conveniently put a ‘buy the book’ link right at the end of the sample. Of course, at that point, I was hooked and ready to spend the $9.99 to get the rest of it!
The most fantastic part of the application, is that it syncs perfectly with your Kindle (if you have one). Another words – start reading on the Kindle, get 110 pages into, and then pick up reading exactly where you left off on your iPod Touch or iPhone when you get a break at work. Then, when you get home, pick up the Kindle again and it knows what you had read while you were at work! Fantastic! Another great thing, is that you do NOT have to own a Kindle (at $359 each) if you don’t want to.
Another great aspect? When you log into Amazon.com, and go to any of the eBooks, you can sample or download it to your iPod Touch or iPhone via an easy one-click purchase that shows up on the right side of your screen. You can also get a sample, or the entire book!
Let’s face it, Bezos is on a quest to get as many books out there as possible, and this is one heck of a way to make it easy! And, if you want to read more, author Stephen Windwalker has created a $.99 eBook to tell you all about it.
The downside? Well, there were several compliants listed in the customer comments. A lot of the problems I saw, sounded like ‘user error’. Others, were for features that I thought weren’t necessary – text search? We’ve never had it on regular books, so why do we need it? I can see for technical journals, etc., but then, they can buy a Kindle for that!
The greatest weakness I saw, was the inability to get your periodicals on the iPhone or iPod Touch device. They don’t (with the current version) allow you to get your newspaper, etc., which you may have already subscribed to on the Kindle, on the iPod Touch or iPhone. Seems like a real limitation to me, but it may be a licensing issue they have with their clients.
All-in-all, get this application for your device, and then download and read Nine Lords of the Night! At this point, there is no excuse not to…
What is Web 2.0?
November 29, 2007
Web 2.0 at its most basic is using services on the Web. Some examples: Gmail for email, Flickr for photo-management, RSS for news delivery, eBay for shopping, Amazon for buying books. That’s why the Web is being called a platform – because all of these services are being built and used on the Web. Why Web 2.0 only now though – hasn’t Amazon been around since 1995? Yes, but it’s taken until 2005 for broadband and web technology to catch up and reach a ‘tipping point’ – the Web is fast becoming the platform of choice for developers, business, media, public services, and so on.
So what do I get out of this “Web 2.0″, you ask? The advantages of using the Web as a platform is that the services become more social and collaborative – and geographic boundaries are blown away. A lot of the content is actually created by users. For example all of the reviews and ratings entered into Netflix by its users help make it easier to find and filter the thousands of DVDs that are available on its website. Another advantage of using the Web as a platform is that services can be built using data and code from other services – for example Housing Maps is a “mash-up” of Google Maps and real estate listings from craigslist. So Web 2.0 provides services that people can contribute to as well as mix and match.
Bottom line is content – Web 2.0 allows you to give a much richer and wider content experience to those who are interested in who you are and what you do.
