Kindle Review – Kindle Fire Review, Kindle 4 Review

Here are some ideas it’d be nice to see eReader companies try out -

1. eReader App Stores - Yes, Amazon is releasing a Kindle App Store. However, there are still a lot of other eReaders that won’t have this. Perhaps they could band together. At the minimum the Android based eReaders could create and share an Android eReader App Store. 
2. Content Subscriptions for Books – Any 2 books a month for $15 a month. Any 3 books a month for $20 a month. Perhaps an all you can read subscription model for $25 a month.
3. Privacy Settings and Parent Settings – Be able to select certain books to not show up in the books list (perhaps have them all on a ‘secret’ list). Password protection for the eReader and for individual books. Disable purchases and send eReader into Kid Mode.
4. Teach Reading and Teach Improved Reading - Apps or a feature that can teach kids how to read and adults how to read better and faster.
5. Personal Dictionaries – Keep a list of all words checked in the in-built dictionary. Have it available for the user. Combine it with vocabulary building apps and games. Keep a history of vocabulary growth.
6. Folders – It’s a minor miracle (of the wrong kind) that both Kindle and Nook are still missing this.
7. GPS and Navigation Services - Use the cell tower location and triangulation to offer GPS services, map services, and perhaps even navigation. Another killer feature would be parked car locator (and in case you were wondering – yes there is an app for that).
8. Remote disable and Remote locate – Again use the cell tower location etc. to figure out where a lost/stolen eReader is. Have a remote kill switch that disables the eReader and/or flashes a message with reward and contact information.
9. Print from eReader – The option to connect eReader to a computer and then print out a few pages (something reasonable for commercial books, unrestricted for personal documents) to any attached printer. The option to print out multiple ‘printer ready files’ and then batch print them. 
10. Author subscriptions - For a price like $10 or $20 a year get all novels published by your favorite author.

eReaders and eBooks offer so many possibilities and yet we are still stuck in the old publishing mindset.

More Ideas for eReader Companies

Since ideas are a dime a dozen here are some more -

1. Reader to Reader communication – Let eReader owners talk to each other and recommend books to each other directly. Samsung E6 will have a feature called EmoLink that might be exactly this.  
2. Anti-Recommendation Engine – One that warns users when they are about to buy the type of book that they buy and never read.
3. Formatting Tools and Feedback - Option to correct/edit book (local copy only), option to send corrections to Publisher, option to give feedback, and a rating on Amazon.com for ebook quality in addition to the normal book review/rating. 
4. Bidding Tool – Let a user bid for a book and author/publisher can have pre-set options on what prices are accepted.
5. Author Ranker and Book Ranker - Let readers rank the books they’ve read and upload it to the server to create a centralized list of top rated authors and books.
6. Bundles and Deals – There are an extremely low number of ebook deals and bundles at the moment.  
7. Email Services - Use the Internet connection to offer email. It might end up being a huge distraction. 
8. Subscriptions for free books – This might sound strange but we are talking about more than just public domain books. A service that tailors itself to the user’s tastes and sends the user 5 free books every month – perhaps two new authors, two public domain, and 1 indie author.  
9. Starter Packs – Around 20 established authors who are willing to hand out the first book in a series free. Around 200 of the best classics. Around 20 indie authors with a lot of promise. All with the eReader – eReader companies could even charge authors to include them.
10. Location based Book Event Reminders – Connect eReader owners with everything that is happening around them such as book signings and book fairs.
11. Twitter + Facebook Reading History – Let users update their streams and perhaps even their profiles with books read and their book reviews.
12. Reading Speed Check, Reading Patterns – Let users know what speed they read at and what their speeds are on different devices. Let them know how their reading goes - what days and times they tend to read and so forth.
13. Language Tutors and Flash Cards – An in-built app that helps users learn a language and includes flash cards, a phrase book, audio instruction, english to foreign language translation dictionary (and vica versa), books at graded reading levels, and more.

That’s 23 ideas in all. Even these are mostly within the narrow confines of what can be done with physical books.

At some point we’ll have people actually re-think what we can do – What eReaders allow us to do. What eBooks allow us to do. It might be in the Kindle App Store. It might be a start-up with a new product. Whenever that happens we’ll suddenly have broken out of the box and all sorts of crazy and good ideas will start being implemented.

Filed under: evolution Tagged: | ereader features, ideal ereader