Kindle for iPhone App To Make Kindle Extinct?!



With the oncoming approach of Apple’s newest technological juggernaut, the iPad, Amazon quickly released the “Kindle for iPhone” App about a year ago. Why?

Well, despite the successes of the digital book reader, the Amazon Kindle, Amazon appears ready to concede the war for the ultimate portable digital reading media device to Apple in the hopes that customers will continue to buy digital books and newspapers through Amazon.com.

The “Kindle for iPhone” application is free in the App Store, and provides exactly what it says: the Kindle’s high quality, high resolution reading abilities, using the iPhone as the tool and means to view the media. The App is very intuitive, and imports much of the functions that iPhone users are used to, like pinching to zoom, tapping to highlight words, tapping on the side or flicking to turn pages.

For Kindle owners that own iPhones as well, the App uses a syncing mechanism to seamlessly switch back and forth between the two devices so that a reader does not lose a page or bookmark when switching between the two devices. The “Kindle for iPhone” immediately locks the user in to their Amazon.com account and the web site’s vast store of digital media are available for previewing or purchasing.

Clearly Apps like the “Classics” application, which Apple allegedly based its new reader for the iPad off of, provide welcome sights for book readers who prefer paper, but will use digital devices in a pinch. The iPad, with the already successful iPhone, looks to force Apple into the head of the digital reading field, and so the expensive and underwhelming Kindle might be going the way of the dinosaur.

With the “Kindle for iPhone” App, Amazon has wisely yielded up its digital device in favor of battling over downloads on Apple products; Amazon has chosen to fight with Apple and the iBookstore for the craze of consumers that might start downloading digital books, like iPhone customers download applications.

IMPULSIVE Review Grade: B+


RJ Huneke

10 Comments

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  1. Sorry, I worded that wrong. I was referring to the rumor of the iTab spawning this about a year ago. I have corrected this.

    RJH

  2. Yes, and now that the iPad is on the way, and Amazon has the Kindle on Apple products, it is very possible that the primary reading device (for the Kindle owner or the reader without a Kindle) will become the all encompassing iPad. Personally, my primary reading device is a book, and the only time I would ever need to read digital media is on the rare occasion that I do not have a book on me (and that is when the iPhone comes in handy), but that is just me and there are many people who love digital reading.

  3. What are you talking about?
    Kindle for iPhone has been out for months and months.
    I think you’re confusing it with Kindle for OS X.

  4. The Amazon Kindle for iPhone has not just been “quickly released.” I’ve had it on my iphone for nearly a year now. I think I read they just released a Kindle App for Mac OS–for Mac computers, that is–so perhaps therein lies your error.

    However, Stanza–which Amazon just bought–is my preferred e-reader for the iPhone, as it offers greater functionality and is not locked in to Amazon.com for its fund of ebooks…one may acquire books from a variety of sources.

  5. “With the oncoming approach of Apple’s newest technological juggernaut, the iPad, Amazon has quickly released the Kindle for iPhone App.”

    ??

    Actually, the Kindle for iPhone app was released a year ago.

  6. The graphic also doesn’t appear to be a picture of kindle for iPhone, but appears to be some bizarre mock up (scroll bars on iphone?).

  7. Looks like they fixed the graphic as well, though no one seems to want to step up and say they did.

    Hmmm…

  8. Sorry, I have a Kindle, a Mac with Kindle, and the iPhone Kindle app. The Kindle is the primary reading device. The Mac is for reading at work. The iPhone for reading at the dentist or other place inconvenient to juggle a Kindle. I would never ever read a book byte to byte on anything other than the Kindle because of display and power consumption.

  9. The iPad will undoubtedly be sold to consumers that don’t have Kindles and that’s a really large group. Whether those buyers will mainly use the iPad for reading eBooks will have to be determined. Even if those consumers don’t bother to read long novels, they can still read newspapers and magazines which will be rather appealing in color. I don’t think the Kindle will stop being bought, and it will probably make Amazon step up their game with a color Kindle. That way Amazon can at least get the purist readers to buy the Kindle.