By Reason of Insanity
by Randy Singer
11 days in the top 100
(31)
What’s the difference? Kindle, Kindle for PC, and Kindle for iPhone
Here’s a great overview of the differences between Kindle, Kindle for PC, and Kindle for iPhone Where does the Kindle shine? The Kindle does great at reading – exactly what you’d expect in an eReader. It also has a lot of benefits that the PC and iPhone offerings don’t i.e. Read To Me, Free Internet Access, etc. Kindle [...]
Continue reading...30. October 2009
Get ALL Amazon’s ebooks for the International Kindle!
Per Kristian Bjørkeng over at Aftenposten in Norway has figured out a way for Europeans to get all of the ebooks Amazon has to offer, not just the titles approved for the International Kindle. Here’s the overview in English, but you can read the full review in Norsk here. Method 1: First attempt, without a US [...]
Continue reading...
(4)
11 days in the top 100
(19)
5 days in the top 100
What’s the difference? Kindle, Kindle for PC, and Kindle for iPhone
Thu, Nov 12, 2009
Here’s a great overview of the differences between Kindle, Kindle for PC, and Kindle for iPhone
Where does the Kindle shine?
The Kindle does great at reading – exactly what you’d expect in an eReader. It also has a lot of benefits that the PC and iPhone offerings don’t i.e. Read To Me, Free Internet Access, etc.
Kindle – Pros
- The Screen is great for reading and works in all lighting conditions.
- The Screen does not hurt your eyes.
- There are zero distractions.
- In-built dictionary and Search.
- Free Wikipedia access and Free Internet access for reference.
- Good sized screen i.e. 6″.
Kindle – Cons
- You have to buy a Kindle.
- No Color.
- No Touch.
- Not as compact as an iPhone.
- Screen isn’t as big as a laptop or PC.
Where does Kindle for PC shine?
Kindle for PC lets you read all your Kindle Books (or any book in the Kindle Store) on any PC, anywhere in the world.
Kindle for PC – Pros
- Very, very simple and easy to use.
- It’s free.
- Color (and on Windows 7 multi-touch).
- Lots of font sizes and lots of options for number of words per line.
- Works on almost every netbook and PC (Kindle for Mac is slated for release in a few months).
- Works on Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7.
- Windows 7 optimized i.e. multi-touch etc.
- Screen is as big as your monitor.
- Lets you shop the Kindle Store and buy books. Though the ‘Shop in Kindle Store’ button doesn’t seem to be working for me.
Kindle for PC – Cons
- Portability is limited to portability of your PC (none) or Laptop (good) or Netbook (much better than a PC).
- The Screen hurts your eyes – although if you disagree feel free to leave a comment.
- For the moment you can’t add notes and highlights.
- No Text To Speech.
- It’s more of an add-on than an independent offering.
Kindle for iPhone
Kindle for iPhone recently added support for notes and highlights and made it a better product.
Kindle for iPhone – Pros
- You have your phone with you nearly all the time.
- Fits in your pocket.
- Free.
- Color and Multi-touch.
- Bright LCD screen for reading without light at night.
- Sepia theme/color setting is great.
- 5 Font Sizes and 3 text color settings.
Kindle for iPhone – Cons
- Doesn’t work well in bright light (sunshine).
- Screen is too small.
- Screen hurts your eyes – again, leave your comments if you feel compelled to disagree.
- Lots of distractions.
- Battery life doesn’t compare with the Kindle.
How do Kindle for PC and Kindle for iPhone rate as independent products?
By themselves, both Kindle for PC and Kindle for iPhone are starting points – they are good enough for reading. As you begin to read more you’ll probably want a Kindle.
There are going to be people who curse me for writing that a PC or an iPhone can not be as good for reading as a Kindle.
However, ‘good enough’ is not the same as ‘great’.
- Reading on the Kindle is 8.5 stars (8.75 stars if you’re generous).
- Reading using Kindle for iPhone is 7 stars – Amazon intentionally leave a few features out to not make it too good. There are other apps that hit 7.5 despite the eye-strain and small screen size.
Reading using Kindle for PC is perhaps 7 to 7.5 – haven’t done enough of it to say for sure. Again, you get the feeling Amazon left out some features to ensure it’s a stepping stone to the Kindle and not a substitute.
Kindle owners react to e-Ink Screen
Fri, Nov 6, 2009
Amazon is eager to highlight the differences between reading on a typical LCD screen and the Kindle 2’s e-ink screen. Here are some of the best reader comments:
“My first impression of Kindle’s screen was: ‘That’s a screen?! It doesn’t look like a screen.’ When I got my own, I had the same impression again. It looks like a book page, only perfect. No grain or pulp.” —Jeremy
“I love how the screen really looks like a page, because I do work at a computer all day, and the last thing I want to look at is another screen.”
—Amy P.“I found the contrast to be soothing and I was able to read in direct sunlight with no glare.” —M. H.
“I use my Kindle for reading in bed and sitting at my desk. I also did a test read while sitting in full sun and the screen is even more readable.”
—Dallas M.“Everyone who has seen my Kindle is amazed at the clarity of the screen, ease of use, and plethora of features.“—R.L.S.
Kindle 2 review from a Kindle 1 owner
Mon, Nov 2, 2009
Here’s an overview of how an original Kindle 1 owner feels about the Kindle 2:
5 big things I immediately noticed as different:
First, when taking the K2 out of the box I immediately noted that the back cover is not easily removable (if at all) and won’t slip off in my hands – as was frequent with the K1. The keyboard is also much much smaller and less obtrusive.
The second thing I noticed is power management. No longer do I have to press and hold two buttons to put the device to sleep. The switches for On/Off and Wireless On/Off are gone. There’s a single small switch at the top of the K2 that handles Sleep.
The third thing I noticed – where’s the silver strip? In fact, the entire navigation structure has been completely revised – I’m still getting used to it but it’s a huge step forward. The silver strip has been replaced by a 4-way rocker that can also be pressed for “OK” commands, creating bookmarks, and doing highlighting.
The fourth thing I noticed – while page changing doesn’t seem to me to be particularly faster – almost every other interaction on the screen is vastly accelerated… scrolling the cursor, looking up words, highlighting text, and typing text.
The fifth thing I noticed – a new power cable. This unit uses USB cables that are not compatible with K1. It’s a bit of a bummer since I was hoping my wife and I could share power cables (she’s taking over my K1).
What’s better:
Navigation is a huge improvement. Moving the cursor to a word and having the definition of the word immediately pop up on the bottom of the screen is terrific. Using the rocker to move between articles in a newspaper makes scanning the paper much faster and enjoyable. Calling up the Menu strip is much faster and interactive. Clearly, Amazon was hard at work to make navigation quicker and easier. The hard work is apparent.
Buttons: The K1 was a constant struggle with inadvertent page changes. The design was flawed from the beginning. The single best improvement in the K2 took a few minutes of concentrated reading to realize… the button hinges are on the outside – at the edge – of the K2. You need to press on the interior of the button to get it to click. This change alone has saved me from several inadvertent page changes. Combine that with the smaller button sizes and one major source of frustration has been instantly eliminated!
Size: The K2 is thinner than the iPhone. It feels denser and maybe a tad heavier – although I did buy the premium cover which snaps into the K2 and adds to the weight (btw, I love the premium cover and think it’s worth the investment).
Network Speed: The K2 can use G3 cellphone connections and when it’s activated it makes a considerable difference in interactivity to the Kindle Store and when downloading Archived content.
Power Management: The little power button at the top of the Kindle is really a power slide. That is, slide it to toggle Sleep mode on and off. Slide and hold to do a full power down. And the K1’s wireless on-off switch has been replaced by a menu choice in software. Works for me. Also, compared to the K1 waking from sleep is super-fast.
What’s worse…
There isn’t much I liked better in the K1 than the K2. One thing: calling up clippings and notes. In the K2 these items only list the first sentence or two of my highlights. In the K1 it displays the entire highlight – which makes reading through them much easier and more like reading Cliff Notes. The new interface in K2 is annoying and makes the feature much less useful. I’ll be writing to Amazon to see if we can get that changed.
7 fun and useful hidden commands in the International Kindle 2
Fri, Oct 30, 2009
There’s always a certain subset of people who just want to dig into their gadgets more than the User Interface allows. Here is a round-up of 7 of the coolest ways to get at hidden capabilities for your Europe Kindle.
- Refresh your Kindle’s display when things get weird: Hold down the ALT key then press “G”.
- Want the Kindle to speak to you? Press and hold down ALT then press SYM to turn the Spoken Word feature on and off. To pause or resume Spoken Word, press ALT and the space bar.
- Gotta have a new book ASAP? Press the ALT key and the HOME button to go immediately to the Kindle store.
- Screen capture isn’t just for your PC. Want to remember your notes on a page? Press and hold the ALT and SHIFT (up arrow) keys and then the “G” key. The screen will flash when the screen capture is complete. To access your Kindle screenshots, attach your Kindle 2 to your computer using the USB cable. The screenshots will be in .gif files.
- The best easter egg in the Kindle 2 is Minesweeper! Press and hold down the ALT key and the SHIFT (up arrow) keys and then press the “M” key. Next thing you know, you’re off sweeping mines.
- Scan text files you’ve uploaded to the kindle so they show up in the home screen. Hold-down ALT and then press “Z”.
- Ever wonder the technical details of your Kindle 2? From the Home Page go to Menu > Settings and then enter “411″.
Don’t have a Kindle in Europe yet? Before you can try these tricks, you better start here.
Times Online reviews Kindle 2 in UK
Fri, Oct 30, 2009
Daniel Finkelstein of London’s the Times Online gives a very short and sweet review of the new ebook reader that wirelessly downloads e-books in the UK.
Here are the highlights:
It really works. Books arrive, complete and within moments of purchase — magnificent.
Don’t buy it as a gadget. It’s a book designed to read, not a toy to be played with.
I love the Kindle. It is not for everyone, but I wouldn’t be parted from mine.
What do you think, UK readers? Let us know your experience with the Amazon Kindle in the comments below. And if you don’t have a Kindle yet, better go get one.
12. November 2009
0 Comments