Kindle Review – Kindle 2 Review, Books

In the Electronic Book Reader Landscape post we had looked at 30+ eReaders. Perhaps equally vital to the future of books and publishing are multi-purpose devices usable as eBook readers i.e. netbooks, the iPhone, the iPod Touch, tablets and so forth.

This list reviews each non-eReader reading device and its suitability for reading ebooks.

Apple iPhone as eReader

Reading specific iPhone features and facts -

1. There might be as many as 3 million people reading on the iPhone which makes it one of the top two platforms along with eReaders.  
2. Stanza was one of the first few reading apps and set a high bar with (see the demo video) -
   

   Very intuitive usability, page turns and handling.
   Instant ebook downloads via AT&T’s network.
   Lots of options for fonts, colors, ebook organization and more.

3. Amazon’s Kindle for iPhone added the next level by bringing Amazon’s large range of ebook titles to the iPhone and extending utility for kindle owners with WhisperSync. Here’s a video –
4. You can get subsidized iPhones for as low as $99 now and the voice and data plans means you get Internet Access built-in.

The iPhone will play a particularly important role for two reasons -

1. It lets casual readers access a wide range of ebooks. People who might not pony up $200 to $300 for a dedicated ebook reader can still get ebooks.  
2. It provides publishers, developers and authors a channel to sell ebooks and push ereader apps. The 30% cut is very reasonable given that it includes the customer end point and distribution.

Score: 7 out of 10 stars.

Note: Will be buying an iPhone and reviewing the reading experience sometime soon. This is based on information available online.

Apple iPod Touch

The Apple iPod Touch deserves an entry of its own because it’s a multi-purpose device that is basically replacing the iPod and becoming the mp3 player and portable casual gaming device of choice.

Basically, thanks to the App Store access built-in into the iPod Touch, every user buying it for music or casual games also gets the option to get an ereading app or an ebook. So when they want to get their copy of Twilight or The Lost Symbol they can get it instantly via their iPod Touch.

The Zune HD falls into the same category although Microsoft haven’t done much on the App Store front.

Score: 7 out of 10 stars.

Microsoft Courier Tablet 

CrunchGear thinks Apple’s iTablet could get bumped into second place by the Microsoft Courier and after looking at this video it might happen -

There are a lot of things to like -

1. For people who think two page ereaders are cool, there are two pages.  
2. The writing on the screen feature seems to indicate that it’ll double up as a journal.  

Of course, this is just a concept design and reality might not match it.

Tentative Score: 8 to 9 stars out of 10.

Apple iTablet, iReader

Apple’s rumored Tablet could be big for ebooks and reading as the larger screen really helps reading. There are rumored to be two sizes, a 6″ iReader and a 9.7″ iReader, and there are a few benefits -

1. Larger screen means more reading as just discussed above.  
2. It expands the number of users using Apps in the App Store and thus the size of the casual ebook reading audience.  
3. It’s a channel where people are OK paying for ebooks.

Tablets in general are a viable device for reading ebooks. We’ll limit ourselves to discussing the Apple and Microsoft tablets.

Tentative Score: 8 to 9 stars out of 10.

Laptops

Laptops have been around forever and there have been a few factors that have limited people reading ebooks on them -

1. Lack of range of ebooks. 
2. Screen hurting eyes. 
3. Lack of portability.
4. Lack of convenient form factor.

We still have the last 3 problems – However, if Amazon opens up Kindle for PC then we might get a good range of ebooks and perhaps laptops become more important as ereaders.

Score: 3 stars out of 10.

Netbooks

Netbooks address a lot of the issues laptops have when it comes to being good ereaders i.e.

1. The form factor is much more convenient. 
2. Battery life has begun to hit the 8 to 10 hours mark.  
3. They’re light and small enough to fit into a large purse or bag.

Netbooks also address another major issue i.e. price - By being in the $200 to $400 range they make good, cheap multi-purpose devices that can double up as eReaders.

They still have the screen problem and they are not at the ideal size. There are however dedicated ereading applications such as FBReader that can be used to use netbooks as eReaders.

Score: 6 stars out of 10.

SmartPhones as eReaders

Windows Mobile devices and Nokia’s Symbian OS devices

Here’s a video –

The Mobipocket eBook Reader and eReader run on a huge variety of Windows Mobile smartphones and Symbian based Phones -

1. Older models all the way to newer models like Samsung Omnia and most Nokia phones.  
2. It allows for annotations, highlights, search and other features.  
3. You can change margins, line spacing, orientation, fonts and colors.

Score: 6.5 out of 10 stars.

Blackberry

Shortcovers lets you read books on your Blackberry and its a surprisingly well rounded solution -

1. It works for Storm, Bold Curve and the 8000 series. A separate app works for the Palm Pre.
2. You can find books to read with the Read Related feature and buy them via Blackberry. 
3. Also includes magazines, newspapers and blogs.
4. You can set up a reading list. 
5. Sample chapters, bookmarks, share recommendations via emails. 
6. Instant downloads. 

It definitely opens up ebooks to a huge segment of business users and is a remarkable product.

Score: 6.5 stars out of 10.

Android Phones

Shortcovers have their app available for Android. The features are not as extensive as in the Shortcovers Blackberry app and include -

1. Buy ebooks right on the phone.
2. Adjust font size and style. 
3. Free samples.
4. Tens of thousands of books, magazines, newspapers.

Score: 6.5 stars out of 7. 

Non-smartphones as eReaders

This is big in Japan – really big. We are talking about a lot of interesting aspects -

1. A lot of authors write the novels on their cellphones too.
2. Tiny screens.  
3. Was caused in part by Docomo and other providers’ packages including unlimited texts.  

However, non-smartphones have tiny screens, lack features and are just too unsuitable as eReaders.

Score: 3 stars.

Mobile Internet Devices and UMPCs like the OQO

MIDs fill the gap between smartphones and netbooks. These provide a very similar screen size to eReaders, often have Windows or Linux, and are a reasonable reading choice -

1. Take a look at eReader PRO for Windows for OQO. Its a good ereader.
2. Includes book organization. 
3. Ability to add notes easily.
4. Change line spacing, justification, margins, colors and themes.
5. Auto Scroll.
6. Lots of interesting features like Rapid Serial Visual Presentation for speed reading. 

In many ways MIDs are very similar to netbooks while having a better form factor. 

Score: 7 out of 10 stars.

Nintendo DS and Sony PSP

Teleread just covered the addition of ePub support to a Nintendo DS ebook reader dslibris. This is the latest in a series of developments -

1. Sony has talked about adding PSP support to its eBook Store. 
2. Sony released a comics offering for the PSP.
3. Bookr is a book reader for the PSP – .
4. Nintendo has added a classics reading app for the DS.

What makes the DS and PSP really, really interesting is - 

1. The absolutely huge number of these portable gaming systems in circulation – tens of millions for PSP and hundred million plus for DS.  
2. The fact that ebooks on these devices would reach young children and help create a culture of reading.

Score: 6.5 stars out of 10.

PDAs – Palm, Dell, etc. as eReaders

PDAs have been used for upwards of 10 years as ebook readers -

1. Palm, HP, Dell, Handspring have all had PDAs with various eReader software available.  
2. The form factor, while not ideal, was better than laptops.  

PDAs are the original multi-purpose devices usable for reading ebooks.

Score: 7 out of 10 stars.

Closing Thoughts

The advent of mobile multi-purpose devices is a really good trend for books and reading as it increases the amount of reading, provides more channels and allows casual readers to read more.

We no longer have 15th century technology (paper books) competing against 21st century technology (iPhones, netbooks). In fact, by adding eReader apps we use the very technology that is threatening reading to increase and encourage reading.

Multi-purpose ebook readers are combining with dedicated eReaders to bring books into the 21st century.