[tokerud]

I recently bought the Kindle 2. I already have an iPhone. If only Apple had Amazon's bookselling attributes and made a dedicated reading device with an eye-friendly e-ink. It would kick Kindle's ass. End of story because Amazon is barely learning to walk when it comes to hardware and software design.

But, I'm an Apple-watcher and Apple has too much on their plate to do a dedicated device, with e-ink. Aint happening. They will sooner or later release a general purpose mini-tablet or at least tablet but with this economy those plans may slow to a crawl. I hope Apple does release a mini-tablet soon. If so, eyes-be-damned, I may be replacing my Kindle with an Apple mini-tablet for the color and interactivity.

Meanwhile, Kindle 2 is good enough to handily beat an iPhone for long-form reading ==> books. If you are a fairly avid book reader, you are either buying real books or ebooks. I'm thinking, I'm not rich enough to store a whole lot of real books on my shelves. I would rather have them as ebooks which I know will only rise in marketshare as time passes.

As a Kindle owner, the release of the iPhone Kindle app really feels like a plus because now I know my purchased Amazon ebooks have a backup plan should amazon lose the ebook reader battles as they evolve. And, I get to use my iPhone when I don't have my Kindle or when it is the better choice as in the grocery line or when the lighting isn't good enough for Kindle's e-ink.

I'm excited for the ebook business! Do you really want to buy more paper-based books anymore except when no ebook is available or for special cases where the paper version is far superior?

[jds4300]

Though just your BASIC ebook reading app, Kindle for iPhone wins, HANDS DOWN, for one reason, ACCESS TO AMAZON'S 240K ebook library! I love my eReader for iPhone app, but ereader.com is LOUSY! eReader.com has about 25% the volume of books that Amazon has (240K and counting). Soon, Kindle for iPhone will be as feature rich as the ereader app and that will signal GAME OVER for ereader.com and all other competitors in the iPhone ebook game. As for the Kindle, I love it! However, I WILL NEVER BUY A MONOCHROME EBOOK READER! Hey Jeff Bozo, it's the 21st century, WHERE IS THE COLOR KINDLE WITH THE BACKLIGHT? WAKE UP!

[wmckelvey]

Don't think so. Maybe you should check this out.
http://www.palminfoc...es-fictionwise/

[dbutenhof]

jds4300 said:

Though just your BASIC ebook reading app, Kindle for iPhone wins, HANDS DOWN, for one reason, ACCESS TO AMAZON'S 240K ebook library! I love my eReader for iPhone app, but ereader.com is LOUSY! eReader.com has about 25% the volume of books that Amazon has (240K and counting). Soon, Kindle for iPhone will be as feature rich as the ereader app and that will signal GAME OVER for ereader.com and all other competitors in the iPhone ebook game. As for the Kindle, I love it! However, I WILL NEVER BUY A MONOCHROME EBOOK READER! Hey Jeff Bozo, it's the 21st century, WHERE IS THE COLOR KINDLE WITH THE BACKLIGHT? WAKE UP!

Do you buy monochrome books without backlights? I do. That's most of what I read, if you discount the generally pointless color covers. The Kindle is about as much like a real book as you can get in an electronic device. Granted, the Kindle is a fairly expensive book and any real book approaching that price is probably enormous, bound in hand-engraved leather, and contains large glossy color photos. And of course it'd make sense to be able to capture photo books, or books that really need color diagrams, in electronic form; and e-ink displays are still weak in that area.

The Kindle's strength is in the e-ink screen. Virtually no battery drain in normal use. Obviously you give that up if you add illumination. Still, as "rational" as their design may be in terms of modeling a book; I agree that being able to switch on a builtin light to read in the dark, sacrificing days or even a week of battery life, would give the Kindle an edge over a real book instead of just matching it.

[unityman]

How much space does the average eBook take up on your iPhone? And how can you save an eBook once you've read it? Sync it to your Mac and burn it to a CD? Or is there a more direct route?

[varase]

With hundreds of ebooks from Fictionwise and eReader, eReader is my choice as well.

[linnefaulk]

I have eReader, StanZa & now Kindle for iPhone. I prefer eReader since I know and have used it for years on my Palms. Stanza is OK when I can't use eReader. Kindle for iPhone is so stripped down it's painful to use since its default settings are opposite what I use with the others. Yes, it's nice to read the sample chapter to decide if I want to buy, but unless the improve the app, I won't be buying books this way. I will NOT buy the Kindle. Don't want another device. Don't have the money to spend.

[varase]

I'd say the average book takes up about half a megabyte of storage.

The best backup is on the book store (Fictionwise or eReader), where you can change the unlock credit card number.

[Sigil]

I own Stanza, Classics and eReader. I understand the comparison to Stanza, especially, for non-Kindle owners. However, this app is a compulsory for all Kindle owners. I think Amazon has them in mind first and foremost. For me, the Kindle is a superior to the iPhone, when it comes to reading. However, it should, because that Kindle is a dedicated reading device. The iPhone is a worthy substitute for those days you are in a waiting room or standing in line or someone is borrowing your Kindle. The iPhone is trying to do a lot, so far, with great success. However, I hope it doesn't forget it's a phone. If it does, I predict trouble ahead.

[Link33]

For those of you here sounding off about eReader, I whole heartedly agree with you. I have always been a fan of ebooks and when the first apps started coming out for iPhone I made the mistake of buying some of the classics for $0.99 (Moby Dick etc.) before I saw Stanza and eReader. I tried Stanza at first and it just was too complicated to get my own library of books into it. eReader was by far easier to use and as soon as they added the bring your own books I was hooked. At the time their solution was way better than Stanza.

On the state of ebooks in general and eReader in particular, I love love love love that I can read the same book on my Mac and on my iPod Touch. Amazon should allow the same with their Kindle format. In general eReader is much more accessible to what I have and where I am because of that multiple platform support.
I realize that this kills incentive to purchase the Kindle hardware but for me the price tag already did that. Make the device cheaper ($99 would be my "mow the neighbors lawn to get extra cash" point for me.) I would much rather have cheaper over more functions (music/video/texting/games etc.) I already have all that with my Mac or my iPod Touch.


Cheers!
Link33

[amacd]

A point missed is that the story you are reading at home on your Kindle, when brought up on your iPhone/Touch will be synced to where you left off in the other one. I find this amazing as do several other commenters elsewhere. I went ahead and paid $400 for my first Kindle 15 months ago and now $360 + $30 for a cover for the new Kindle2. I have not regretted the purchase and I am not in a high income bracket. I have the Kindle because of the changeable font size, the ability to read outdoors in bright light, the easy portability ( I use a bum bag, I don't have shirt pockets) and the ability to search the book, which always frustrates me in a paper book when I cannot find the passage I know I read and want to read again. I don't care if anyone else does not want a Kindle because you can't use it as a flying carpet, because I have mine and have passed the 200 book mark reading on it. Those people who make negative comments like "limited to the Amazon store" should do your homework before spouting off, I have over 10,000 books that I can read on my Kindle that were not purchased from Amazon. I don't have an iPhone because I don't want to pay $1800 for two year's use of the device, $1200 is bad enough for the two cell phones we have but at least I am not stuck with a contract. Different strokes for different folks. Like the man said, "I don't know why we have to have all these different religions, why can't we just have one and all be Baptists!"

[UU_evangelist]

I have both eReader and Stanza and find that locating a book on either of them is very clunky. Also, if you want a recent book they're only available for full list price. So, I was thrilled when the Kindle app appeared. I downloaded it, found the first book I wanted for $7.26, and am reading it. I find it easy to read and I didn't have to generate a new account with yet another vendor, just use my Amazon account. I'm sure there are other things it could do, but if just reading a book without carrying one is what one wants to do, this is wonderful.

[vorp]

I own a Kindle (first generation) but no iPhone. I don't know if the iPhone will support these formats but the Kindle does and shame on you for not checking before posting.
"Content Formats Supported: Kindle (AZW), TXT, Audible (formats 4, Audible Enhanced (AAX)), MP3, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively; PDF, HTML, DOC, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP through conversion."


All books purchased, even if you delete them off the Kindle, are stored at Amazon and can be re-downloaded without having to purchase them again.

[dennishenley]

Hurley42 said:

Seriously, for "just" 359, I want more than a black and white screen that locks me into ebooks from one vendor - not to mention PDF support. I want it to sing and dance as well, than I might also say "just 359."

I've been using a Kindle 2 for a few weeks now and it's wonderful. Right now I'm reading Drood which is a massive bulky book that weighs a ton and would be a pain to take on my daily commute. It weighs nothing on the Kindle, I read it on the bumpiest bus ride in Chicagoland, and can increase the font size if I'm so inclined. Plus, if I encounter a word that I don't understand I can display the dictionary definition since the dictionary is built in. And battery life is phenomenal.

I've also used Stanza on my iPod Touch and, frankly, after a quarter of an hour, it's a real pain to read and I start up a crossword puzzle app or the like.

The Kindle does one thing and it does it better than other devices. I don't miss not having a phone or a word process or the like.

And as far as PDF support, the whole point of the Kindle is to have flexible text. PDFs are inflexible.