If you are looking for an inexpensive form of entertainment this holiday season, the check out the Kindle Reader app for the PC, which was recently released on Amazon.com. The Kindle Reader for the PC enables PC users to read Kindle books on their PC and sync them with their Amazon Kindle, or iPhone/iPod Touch if they have one. The best part is that you don’t need a Kindle Reader or an iPhone/iPod Touch to use the app – anyone can download the app free from Amazon and read books straight from their PC. The Kindle Reader will be available on the Mac in the near future; you can register for an e-mail alert and Amazon will shoot you an e-mail when the Mac Reader is available.
About the Kindle Reader for the PC
Read Kindle Books on Your Computer:
- Get the best reading experience available on your PC. No Kindle required.
- Access your Kindle books even if you don’t have your Kindle with you.
- Automatically synchronizes your last page read and annotations between devices with Whispersync.
- Create bookmarks and view the annotations you created on your Kindle.
The Kindle Reader for PC has a few functions that are not available on the Kindle Reader app for the iPhone/iPod Touch, such as the percentage complete function to see how much of the book you have read. On the flip side, it is also lacking a few features that Amazon will release updates for later.
I love the Kindle Reader App
I haven’t yet purchased an Amazon Kindle, partly because it is an expensive item (currently $259), and partly because I don’t want to be locked into buying books at $10-$20 each. I currently borrow most books from the library or I buy them at used book stores.
Free Kindle Books. The good news is that you can download a wide range of Free Amazon Kindle Books at Amazon, but the titles are mostly limited to books that are out of copyright. I downloaded quite a few classics, which I enjoy reading.
I want a Kindle, but I can wait.
I read more now than I did before I had the iPod Touch. Having multiple books in a more portable medium makes it easy to take books on the road and read whenever/wherever I am. I know I would enjoy the Amazon Kindle more than reading on the iPod Touch because the screen size is larger and the Kindle is more comfortable to hold for reading. But I have a feeling the Amazon Kindle will go through some improvements in the near future and will have more functions and cost less than it currently does, so I can wait. I have a lot of patience and have no problem letting other people pay the early adopters tax.
So for the time being I plan on using the Kindle App on my iPod Touch to read the books I downloaded for free and I will borrow or buy newer books so I have a wider range of reading material.
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{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
I live across the border and the Kindle is fairly expensive here. I have still not justified the purchase to myself but have definitely considered it. I think the main factor stopping me is that during the school year I don’t have as much time for leisure reading. Anyway, thanks for the mention!
I actually read more now than before – primarily because the Kindle Reader on the iPod Touch makes books more portable, and I can open a book for a few minutes anytime I have a little bit of free time – waiting in line, or for an appointment for example. Commuting would also work if you take a bus or train. I thoroughly enjoy it. I should also mention that if I had a daily commute via public transportation or if I frequently flew on airplanes then I would buy a Kindle because it would probably be a better reading experience than the iPod Touch. As-is I only read a few minutes at a time, so the small screen doesn’t bother me.
Look into the Reader from Sony instead of the Amazon Kindle. The Pocket Edition is only $199 (two other models are available at a higher price) and it supports EPub, an open format for ebooks – you’re not locked into buying books from only one vendor. You can download and read free ebooks, or buy from several competing vendors, like shortcovers.com. Sony’s Reader’s are also consistently given higher ratings in reviews and user tests (Wall Street Journal and New York Times most recently) than the Kindle or other electronic book readers on the market.
Natalie, I’ve read some reviews and the competitors are bringing out some great quality readers. I read reviews of all of them last night on CNET, which compares them all against each other, then lists the pros and cons of each model. The benefit of the Amazon Kindle is the ability to download books from Amazon instantly and anywhere there is wi-fi, and the ability synchronize it with my iPod Touch and PC, so I can read the books from any device depending on where I am (although I would expect the other readers to feature synchronization in the future). Not reading the ePub book format is one of the downsides of the Kindle, but there are some free software applications that will convert ePub books into a format compatible with the Kindle (either Kindle’s proprietary AZW format, .mobi format, or txt).
I think the eReader niche is still in its early days and there is a lot of room for improvement. Which is one reason I am standing on the sidelines for now. I think we will see better quality readers at a lower price point in the near future. So I will wait it out and get one later.
Just realized I forgot to mention one other budget-minded feature of the Reader – you can use it to electronically borrow ebooks free from many local libraries.
Not sure if they can be converted or not… if so then it wouldn’t matter too much. If not, then it may make sense to go with another reader… unless The Kindle becomes compatible with the ePub format in the future…
I certainly am reading a lot more now with the Kindle app on iPhone than I was before.
In fact, I will get the Kindle very soon, so you can thank me for paying a bit of that early adopters tax
Let me know how you like it. I’ve heard good reviews, and I liked it when I saw it. But my guess is that Amazon will continue to make improvements to remain competitive (the competition is bringing out some great eReader options). My guess is the price point will drop to $200 within the year, and there will be more features than we are currently seeing now, possibly including enhanced wi-fi capability and full featured web browsing. Pure speculation on my part, but worth waiting for in my opinion.
“I want [X] but I can wait” is the mark of a smart man. Thanks for the link!
Hi
The rate of change in the world of downlaodable digital inofrmation and mobile ebook readers is a veritable smorgasboard for the consumer. In considering to buy or not to buy, my choice is to buy. For people who are on the move and want mobility the e book reader is a great device. Being able to carry your library with you, keep all of your childrens books in “good” condition or even purchase a great gift for another avid reader, I cannot think of a better choice. The hardest choice is which one to buy, and this really comes back to personal choice and reasons for purchasing. One size does not fit all.