6 ms·

Amazon's Kindle for iPhone hits the App Store

71 points by tortilla 18y ago

bcx 18y ago
Wow, this is a really slick move. Who else is competing with Amazon in ebooks and paid online content delivery to mobile devices?
- ivey 18y ago
  Stanza and eReader apps (iPhone) can do over the air purchases from http://www.ereader.com/ http://www.ereader.com/ and http://www.fictionwise.com http://www.fictionwise.com (they're basically the same site now)
- jupiter 18y ago
  I guess it's not so much about competing with other ebook readers but to attract iPhone users to buy a Kindle.
  - rdrimmie 18y ago
    It definitely won't hurt to encourage people to buy more hardware, but the hardware doesn't matter nearly as much as the content. Kindle being a universal eBook manager type software brand is far more valuable to Amazon than keeping the books exclusive to the hardware.
- allertonm 18y ago
  Shortcovers (http://www.shortcovers.com/ http://www.shortcovers.com/) is an interesting new entry in this space from huge Canadian bookseller Indigo - they released a week ago. Their software has its failings as an e-Reader but they have a lot of free content and the structure of the service nicely matches the kind of usage that seems likely on a device like the iPhone.
charlesju 18y ago
The most interesting part is that it keeps your reading position from your Kindle.
TweedHeads 18y ago
The kindle is not selling and has no future. This is a great move for Amazon, leave the hardware (low profit, high maintenance) and focus on eBooks (high profit, low maintenance) Sound strategy in the long run.
- adamhowell 18y ago
  > The kindle is not selling and has no future. Numbers? That's a big statement that -- unless you're on Amazon's board, I guess -- you don't really have any idea is accurate.
- ajju 18y ago
  You're wrong. For titles available on the Kindle, more than 10% of sales are now via the Kindle [1] That's significant and about to increase now that content can be accessed on an iPhone. [1] blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/brierdudley/2009/02/09/amazons_jeff_bezos_explains_th.html
  - staunch 18y ago
    Be wary of Bezos' need to distort stats to serve the portion of his ego tied up in the Kindle.
    - ajju 18y ago
      My own experience with the Kindle (I bought 20 books on it last year) and circumstantial evidence (Kindles being sold out half the time, other people who have actually used a Kindle loving it - although not all of it etc.) gives me reason to believe him. Once you plunk down the $350, the itch to buy a $8 - $10 book that you just heard plugged by a friend you respect is simply too hard to resist. I have little doubt that Kindle owners are buying books more frequently and in large numbers. I think you still need a Kindle device for this iPhone app to work (not sure). Considering the fact that all the book lovers I know who hate the Kindle, love reading on their iPhones, if / when Amazon disconnects the two, this will accelerate.
      - 18y ago
fortes 18y ago
I just downloaded it and took it for a test drive with my existing Kindle books. It's great, really. The UI is distraction free (just a page of text). Page advances are done with the standard flick, and are actually faster than a kindle due to the e ink. Text looks good and sharp, and the syncing is great. I'm accessing the same content I was reading this morning and I'm on the same page. Really well done. Obviously, there are many scenarios where the kindle is far better (any kind of longer reading) -- but I now have something I can pick up and read intermittently when I don't have my Kindle. Sweet. Now, I really wish I could email articles / snippets. This applies to the Kindle as well. There are tons of articles in the New Yorker I'd love to forward.
- ajju 18y ago
  I wish it had auto-scroll like some of the other reading apps on the iPhone which scroll faster when you tilt more and slower when you tilt back.
  - fortes 18y ago
    But the application doesn't scroll, it pages. That would only make sense if you're trying to flip through pages quickly (which is quite rare)
    - ajju 18y ago
      Yes, and I would like to have the option of auto-scrolling. Paging, regardless of how well it's designed still requires some interaction. Autoscrolling flows along at a speed you set without you having to interact with the device every few seconds. I realize that this is a personal preference but it would be nice to have an option.
ajju 18y ago
Kudos to Amazon for not letting Kindle's success delude them about their real business (selling books) or from doing right by customers yet again.
jeremymims 18y ago
I suspect that it's more important in the long run for Amazon to create the de facto DRMed ebook format than to sell the Kindle hardware. With this move, they've probably just checkmated every other competing ebook format and guaranteed that they will remain the first place people go to buy books for a long time.
- jamesbritt 18y ago
  "I suspect that it's more important in the long run for Amazon to create the de facto DRMed ebook format ..." Which is why I don't understand the enthusiasm for this. Getting more people locked into any digital restriction management scheme is a step backwards. When I can get current digital books that use a non-proprietary format and can be read on my choice of hardware, then I'll be excited.
  - there 18y ago
    apple "locked" everyone into its drm for itunes songs and ended up removing it. perhaps amazon is trying to do the same thing. promote the drm to get the publishers on-board, then once they have the market (though i think they do already), use their weight to convince publishers to ditch the drm.
    - jamesbritt 18y ago
      Maybe. But iTunes, and sellers crippled digital music in general, was competing against free and unrestricted. I am skeptical that Amazon or Apple will remove the encumbrances if there is no market pressure from having the same content available in an open format.
anuraggoel 18y ago
This is great for people who buy Kindle books from Amazon. But Amazon does not let you sync all the content on your Kindle - it leaves out, for instance, the free/public domain stuff that you didn't buy from Amazon. Non-Amazon content is a large part of my Kindle library - partial sync makes this app useless for me, unfortunately. Stanza/eReader are much more useful from that perspective.
CoryOndrejka 18y ago
This is excellent for purchased books. Downside is that is does not appear to allow you to read converted PDFs, DRM-free mobipocket books, or other content you have transferred to Kindle, which is a bummer. Very nice iPhone reading experience, clean UI, easy to setup, and fast downloads (even on 1G iPhone).
dkokelley 18y ago
It looks like there's no way to purchase a book from within the app. Having to use my computer to go to Amazon to buy a book so that it will sync with my iPhone reminds me of when I had my old Handspring PDA. This is a little disappointing from the company that brought us 1 click ordering.
palehose 18y ago
It would be nice if Amazon released a version of the Kindle software to be used on an actual computer. Is there some sort of hidden assumption that people will never read an entire book on their computer, only on a portable device? Maybe I am just biased against the idea that no one reads a book on their computer since I do it all the time with technical books that can be purchased in pdf format. A Kindle software app would open up (as in make available, not DRM free) a lot of books from publishers that do not have any sort of digital download of their books.
johnrob 18y ago
Just downloaded Founders at Work - Excellent!

71 points by tortilla 18y ago

bcx 18y ago

Wow, this is a really slick move. Who else is competing with Amazon in ebooks and paid online content delivery to mobile devices?

ivey 18y ago
Stanza and eReader apps (iPhone) can do over the air purchases from http://www.ereader.com/ http://www.ereader.com/ and http://www.fictionwise.com http://www.fictionwise.com (they're basically the same site now)
jupiter 18y ago
I guess it's not so much about competing with other ebook readers but to attract iPhone users to buy a Kindle.
- rdrimmie 18y ago
  It definitely won't hurt to encourage people to buy more hardware, but the hardware doesn't matter nearly as much as the content. Kindle being a universal eBook manager type software brand is far more valuable to Amazon than keeping the books exclusive to the hardware.
allertonm 18y ago
Shortcovers (http://www.shortcovers.com/ http://www.shortcovers.com/) is an interesting new entry in this space from huge Canadian bookseller Indigo - they released a week ago. Their software has its failings as an e-Reader but they have a lot of free content and the structure of the service nicely matches the kind of usage that seems likely on a device like the iPhone.

charlesju 18y ago

The most interesting part is that it keeps your reading position from your Kindle.

TweedHeads 18y ago

The kindle is not selling and has no future. This is a great move for Amazon, leave the hardware (low profit, high maintenance) and focus on eBooks (high profit, low maintenance) Sound strategy in the long run.

adamhowell 18y ago
> The kindle is not selling and has no future. Numbers? That's a big statement that -- unless you're on Amazon's board, I guess -- you don't really have any idea is accurate.
ajju 18y ago
You're wrong. For titles available on the Kindle, more than 10% of sales are now via the Kindle [1] That's significant and about to increase now that content can be accessed on an iPhone. [1] blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/brierdudley/2009/02/09/amazons_jeff_bezos_explains_th.html
- staunch 18y ago
  Be wary of Bezos' need to distort stats to serve the portion of his ego tied up in the Kindle.
  - ajju 18y ago
    My own experience with the Kindle (I bought 20 books on it last year) and circumstantial evidence (Kindles being sold out half the time, other people who have actually used a Kindle loving it - although not all of it etc.) gives me reason to believe him. Once you plunk down the $350, the itch to buy a $8 - $10 book that you just heard plugged by a friend you respect is simply too hard to resist. I have little doubt that Kindle owners are buying books more frequently and in large numbers. I think you still need a Kindle device for this iPhone app to work (not sure). Considering the fact that all the book lovers I know who hate the Kindle, love reading on their iPhones, if / when Amazon disconnects the two, this will accelerate.
    - 18y ago

fortes 18y ago

I just downloaded it and took it for a test drive with my existing Kindle books. It's great, really. The UI is distraction free (just a page of text). Page advances are done with the standard flick, and are actually faster than a kindle due to the e ink. Text looks good and sharp, and the syncing is great. I'm accessing the same content I was reading this morning and I'm on the same page. Really well done. Obviously, there are many scenarios where the kindle is far better (any kind of longer reading) -- but I now have something I can pick up and read intermittently when I don't have my Kindle. Sweet. Now, I really wish I could email articles / snippets. This applies to the Kindle as well. There are tons of articles in the New Yorker I'd love to forward.

ajju 18y ago
I wish it had auto-scroll like some of the other reading apps on the iPhone which scroll faster when you tilt more and slower when you tilt back.
- fortes 18y ago
  But the application doesn't scroll, it pages. That would only make sense if you're trying to flip through pages quickly (which is quite rare)
  - ajju 18y ago
    Yes, and I would like to have the option of auto-scrolling. Paging, regardless of how well it's designed still requires some interaction. Autoscrolling flows along at a speed you set without you having to interact with the device every few seconds. I realize that this is a personal preference but it would be nice to have an option.

ajju 18y ago

Kudos to Amazon for not letting Kindle's success delude them about their real business (selling books) or from doing right by customers yet again.

jeremymims 18y ago

I suspect that it's more important in the long run for Amazon to create the de facto DRMed ebook format than to sell the Kindle hardware. With this move, they've probably just checkmated every other competing ebook format and guaranteed that they will remain the first place people go to buy books for a long time.

jamesbritt 18y ago
"I suspect that it's more important in the long run for Amazon to create the de facto DRMed ebook format ..." Which is why I don't understand the enthusiasm for this. Getting more people locked into any digital restriction management scheme is a step backwards. When I can get current digital books that use a non-proprietary format and can be read on my choice of hardware, then I'll be excited.
- there 18y ago
  apple "locked" everyone into its drm for itunes songs and ended up removing it. perhaps amazon is trying to do the same thing. promote the drm to get the publishers on-board, then once they have the market (though i think they do already), use their weight to convince publishers to ditch the drm.
  - jamesbritt 18y ago
    Maybe. But iTunes, and sellers crippled digital music in general, was competing against free and unrestricted. I am skeptical that Amazon or Apple will remove the encumbrances if there is no market pressure from having the same content available in an open format.

anuraggoel 18y ago

This is great for people who buy Kindle books from Amazon. But Amazon does not let you sync all the content on your Kindle - it leaves out, for instance, the free/public domain stuff that you didn't buy from Amazon. Non-Amazon content is a large part of my Kindle library - partial sync makes this app useless for me, unfortunately. Stanza/eReader are much more useful from that perspective.

CoryOndrejka 18y ago

This is excellent for purchased books. Downside is that is does not appear to allow you to read converted PDFs, DRM-free mobipocket books, or other content you have transferred to Kindle, which is a bummer. Very nice iPhone reading experience, clean UI, easy to setup, and fast downloads (even on 1G iPhone).

dkokelley 18y ago

It looks like there's no way to purchase a book from within the app. Having to use my computer to go to Amazon to buy a book so that it will sync with my iPhone reminds me of when I had my old Handspring PDA. This is a little disappointing from the company that brought us 1 click ordering.

palehose 18y ago

It would be nice if Amazon released a version of the Kindle software to be used on an actual computer. Is there some sort of hidden assumption that people will never read an entire book on their computer, only on a portable device? Maybe I am just biased against the idea that no one reads a book on their computer since I do it all the time with technical books that can be purchased in pdf format. A Kindle software app would open up (as in make available, not DRM free) a lot of books from publishers that do not have any sort of digital download of their books.

johnrob 18y ago

Just downloaded Founders at Work - Excellent!