Kindle Review – Kindle 2 Review, Books

Thought it would make sense to add kindle newspaper reviews i.e. for every newspaper, review what it looks like on the Kindle, what users are saying, and just an overall assessment.

The New York Times – Kindle Edition Newspaper Review

The NY Times is the #1 best-selling Kindle newspaper. In the latter part of 2008 an internal NY Times document got leaked and revealed that the NY Times had 10,000 kindle subscribers.

How does the NY Times fare on the Kindle?

1. 3 out of 5 stars rating based on 150 customer reviews.  
2. $13.99 monthly subscription.
3. 150 customer reviews hints at somewhere in the vicinity of 25,000 to 30,000 subscribers. 
4. Thanks to some changes Amazon recently made in how newspapers are ranked, the NY Times is now #10 on the Bestsellers List in the Kindle Store.

Reviews at Amazon say -

Price point should be $9.95.

The Kindle edition does NOT include all newspaper articles.

 The 3 main cons seem to be -

1. The Price. 
2. Not including all newspaper articles. 
3. Unreliable delivery i.e. newspaper doesn’t always deliver really early in the morning as promised.

My Thoughts (based on a review of the Sept 5th edition of NY Times’ Kindle Edition) -

Good amount of articles (114 articles). Decent amount of pictures (30% or so of articles are accompanied by pictures).

Reading is quite good, and the amount of reading offered is impressive.

Its a solid 4 stars in my opinion.  

The Wall Street Journal Newspaper Review

WSJ is #2 on the kindle bestsellers list for newspapers. The key details -

1. 2 out of 5 stars rating based on 183 customer reviews. 
2. $14.99 monthly subscription. 
3. Also benefitting from recent ranking algorithm changes and now #13 on the Kindle Store Bestsellers list. 
4. 183 customer reviews hints at around 27,450 subscribers.

Customer Reviews of the WSJ Kindle Edition list these Cons -

1. The price hike (from $10 to $14.99) has alienated a lot of subscribers. It’s the number one reason for negative reviews. 
2. There are 92 1 star reviews and most are focused on the high price.
3. You don’t get online access, although articles from the online version are included. 
4. Very few photos and graphs are included.

It’s worth noting that the price of the online version (cheaper than Kindle Edition) only adds to people’s negative perception of the price.  

Pros listed in customer reviews include -

1. Lots of good comments on the convenience of wireless delivery.
2. Search is great. 
3. Helps the environment.
4. You end up reading more of the paper (as you can take it everywhere and the kindle is optimized for reading).  

One review points out the advantages of kindle newspapers in general i.e. ready every morning, easier to read and hold, hands stay clean, searchable, no ads.

My Thoughts (based on Mar 10th, 2009 edition – can’t get newer purchase to download) -

Good number of Articles (131 articles and 28 market updates, personal journals). Hardly any pictures.

Once again the amount of reading offered is impressive.  It doesn’t seem as well done as NY Times.

An overall 7 stars out of 10 in my opinion.

USA Today Newspaper Review

USA Today is a late entrant that has skyrocketed to the #3 spot in the Kindle Store. The key details -

1. 3 out of 5 stars based on 50 customer reviews. 
2. 50 reviews would indicate approximately 7,500 to 10,000 subscribers. 
3. #30 in the Kindle Store Bestsellers list.

The pros based on customer reviews -

1. National Sports coverage.
2. Word length indicated at the start of articles. 
3. People, surprisingly, prefer reading on the Kindle 2 over online (despite it being free online).  
4. Love not having to go to a newsstand or waiting for delivery. 

It’s a huge insight to see that the convenience of reading on the kindle makes a lot of people feel the price is worthwhile.

The cons, again based on customer reviews -

1. Very few pictures and no graphics.
2. Lack of color becomes an issue here.
3. Some of the stories are on the short side and there isn’t much opinion. 
4. People don’t like the $11.99 price.  

My Thoughts – To Be Added as having problems with downloads. Keeps asking me to log-in.

Washington Post Kindle Edition Review

The Washington Post is one of only 2 top 5 newspapers to get rated 4 stars -

1. 4 out of 5 stars based on 40 customer reviews.
2. 40 customer reviews would indicate 6,000 to 9,000 subscribers. 
3. #69 sales rank in the Kindle Store.
4. $9.99 monthly subscription.

The cons according to washington post subscriber reviews -

1. No or few pictures.
2. Missing sections i.e. letters to the editor, editorial cartoons, comics, crosswords, and more. 
3. People think even $9.99 is a bit high for a subscription price. 
4. No weather.

The pros -

1. Easy to read. People say they end up reading more on the kindle than they did in print.
2. Saves Paper, Ink, carbon dioxide emissions.
3. No ads.
4. Being able to get your paper no matter where in the country (or out of it) you are.

My Thoughts – To be Added soon.

Financial Times Kindle Newspaper Review

The Financial Times rounds out the top 5 newspapers in the Kindle Store -

1. It reviews very well with 4 out of 5 stars.
2. 17 out of the 26 reviews are 5 star reviews.
3. It’s priced at $9.99. 
4. 26 reviews hints at around 5,000 subscribers. 
5. Its #103 in the Kindle Store.

The FT reviews from kindle subscribers list these pros -

1. In general, the newspaper is considered exceptional – people love the International coverage, the non U.S. perspective and the level of journalism.
2. Content and format lends itself better to Kindle than other newspapers. 

The reviews talk a lot about the FT itself and not so much about the FT on the kindle.

And these cons -

1. The cost is more than the physical paper costs. 
2. No graphs and no/few photos.

There are very few negative reviews so perhaps we need more people to add their thoughts.

Will add on my review of the FT soon.

Closing Thoughts

Will add in additional newspapers once my kindle downloads start working again. Perhaps another 5 or 10.

In general, its interesting to see the general pluses that are common across all newspapers -

1. Reading on the Kindle is easier and more convenient.  
2. People are reading more on the Kindle (than they would in print or online). 
3. Environmental benefits.  
4. Getting it delivered wirelessly early in the morning (although sometimes there are delivery problems).
5. People getting used to, and liking, the layout.
6. You can get your newspapers anywhere in the US (or world).

The cons have a lot to do with price and perception of the value of news and the fact that a lot of content is free online.

The major cons semm to be -

1. Price.
2. Photos are still missing.
3. Some Sections and articles are missing. 
4. Price for some papers is genuinely too high.
5. Newspapers haven’t done much to improve the Kindle version.
6. Genuine delivery problems which spoil the ‘get your paper first thing in the morning’ effect.

The really, really encouraging signs are –  

1. People feeling that the Kindle Edition is worth around $9.99 a month.
2. People reading more on the Kindle than they would in print.
3. The creation of a channel where newspapers can make money for content.

Kindle Newspapers review well despite a lot of growing pains and struggles with the new medium. Overall, they’ve shown that it’s possible to sell content, even when it’s free online, which is a minor miracle.