Kindle for the iPad

[iDan]

Less then two weeks to launch date and Amazon has released the first glimpse of the new Kindle App for the iPad. According to Engaget:

The Kindle app has been completely redesigned by a team of 14 developers working since January to redefine the core screen and reading experience to allow for custom fonts in multiple colors, slow page turns, and new ways to view your eBook library. One view, pictured above, presents your books as large icons against a silhouetted figure under a tree -- the sun changes position in accordance to the time of day. Of course, the app also gives you access to the Kindle bookstore (assuming Apple approves) and saves your reading position so that you can pick up any Kindle app (or device) and continue reading right where you left off.

{Source: Engadget}

 

[iDan]

Here are a few more pics:

 

[GarynDallass]

I got the Kindle for my Imac over the weekend. On my Imac, I didn't like it because it won't do both pages on the same page. I do hope it is like the pic above when I get my IPad. I downloaded the ereader for Barnes and Nobles. Already read one book and started the second one. I really want to use my Ipad to read books.

 

[Gremlin]

Smart move by Amazon. The Kindle looked like an old Soviet Vacuum Cleaner compared to the iPad, but their book App looks slick. Competition is good for the consumer. With Amazon, Barnse & Noble and Apple having competing books stores, we are going to be the winner.

 

[Sonny Burnett]

Does this mean that Amazon is throwing in the towel on their hardware?

 

[gentlefury]

Does this mean that Amazon is throwing in the towel on their hardware?

That would be the most profitable decision for them...all profit no overhead. Remember Amazon is a retailer, not a gadget company. They were about to start handing out kindles for free to prime members. Makes more sense to make an app.

 

[Finnedog]

You would think that Amazon would move quickly to get more Kindles out there, some of these people just want to read books and the Kindle may be the best thing for them and that would lock them into Amazon.

 

[gentlefury]

also based on those pictures there I would say it looks like you can go to kindle or B&N bookstore to buy your books but it looks like you will have a common bookshelf to read them, since the reader app looks identical to the iBook reader app. If this is the case that would be great! If you can't find it in one store go to the next and so on, you can comparison shop, but the end result will be identical. That way they can all come up with ways to entice customers like video and motion graphics in book.

 

[DavidNM]

This is good news - I bought a Kindle over Christmas and it's been very useful - but this new interface looks sweet!

I didn't see any mention in the article as to how the connection would work - especially with the 3G models since the wireless on the Kindle is free - but uses Sprint.

 

[rob the elder]

LOL

I have been living with my Kindle2 for months and love it. The portability and similarity to a printed page are big plusses for me.

Try laying in bed and holding an IPAD in one hand while reading at night. I dont think it will work for a lot of us.

The IPAD has a lot going for it but being the perfect book reader for all occasions is not one for me. I will use both but for different purposes.

I can already access my library on my IPHONE for when I am waiting to see the doctor or what ever.

I just dont see the IPAD being a truely portable device. Hell I already had to replace the screen on my IPHONE once and it fits in my pocket.

 

[Finnedog]

I guess it depends on what you call portable.

If you want it to be portable like a cell phone then no.

If you want to go out in the back yard and surf and read, or read on the train, the plane or car then it is portable. If you carry a purse, briefcase or backpack it is portable.

Everyone seems to get caught up in what it isn't. It is not a 27" iMac or a business laptop, it is not a cell phone. It is an iPad; which may be the next Xerox, Fed Ex or Zip Lock.

 

[brobar]

Exactly. The iPad is not a... because there has never been an iPad yet. It isn't a desktop or laptop replacement. It is a phone replacement. It isn't a TV replacment or a MP3 player replacement. It isn't a book replacement or a magazine/newspaper replacement. It is a combination of all those things but not really 100% encompassing of any of those things.

I find the iPad about as portable as any old magazine outside of the fact that you can't roll it up but how many people roll up and walk around with magazines on a day-to-day basis anyways? If I'm carrying a magazine with me I have it in a portfolio or a camera/laptop bag much like I will with the iPad.

 

[gentlefury]

LOL

I have been living with my Kindle2 for months and love it. The portability and similarity to a printed page are big plusses for me.

Try laying in bed and holding an IPAD in one hand while reading at night. I dont think it will work for a lot of us.

The IPAD has a lot going for it but being the perfect book reader for all occasions is not one for me. I will use both but for different purposes.

I can already access my library on my IPHONE for when I am waiting to see the doctor or what ever.

I just dont see the IPAD being a truely portable device. Hell I already had to replace the screen on my IPHONE once and it fits in my pocket.

Turn it sideways and it is about the same size as reading a paperback book. What's the problem?

 

[kvmkvm]

Content is King

I look forward to access from every source; this will serve all along the retail path and be good for all.

 

[DavidNM]

I guess it depends on what you call portable.

If you want it to be portable like a cell phone then no.

If you want to go out in the back yard and surf and read, or read on the train, the plane or car then it is portable. If you carry a purse, briefcase or backpack it is portable.

Everyone seems to get caught up in what it isn't. It is not a 27" iMac or a business laptop, it is not a cell phone. It is an iPad; which may be the next Xerox, Fed Ex or Zip Lock.

Precisely Finnedog! We won't know the boundaries of the ipad until we learn from each other on this and other forums. I also think that, with other new types of devices / technologies - one of the main problems has historically been a lack of newly developed software that fits the platform. I think we'll probably be operating in a reverse situation with the iPad.