The iPhone Kindle App
I want a Kindle – that sleek, lightweight, electronic reading device – but frankly, I can’t justify buying one just yet. So I’ve done the next best thing and downloaded the Kindle app onto my iPhone.
Aliza Sherman
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The iPhone Kindle App
Hi there, The Digital Marketer here, ready to help you put the power of the Internet and technology to work for your business.
I want a Kindle – that sleek, lightweight, electronic reading device – but frankly, I can’t justify buying one just yet. So I’ve done the next best thing and downloaded the Kindle app onto my iPhone.
Why Use the Kindle?
Why Use the Kindle?What attracts me to the Kindle? Namely:
- The ability to download hundreds of books, magazines, and other text onto a compact device.
- The light weight and portability of it.
- The lower price of books in their electronic form–usually $9.99 US even for new and popular titles.
But how does the Kindle iPhone app stack up?
What are the Pros of the Kindle iPhone App
Well personally, I love my iPhone and although the screen is relatively small for some applications, for others, it is just the right size. What really surprised me was how readable the font size of book text was on my iPhone. I’ve quickly gotten used to the small portions of text on each screen. In fact, I find it much easier to read a few paragraphs at a time these days rather than entire pages of text at once.
When I shut down the Kindle app and then relaunch the app at another time, it brings me back to exactly where I left off on my reading–It’s better than a bookmark. To turn pages, I just tap on either side of the screen or I flick my iPhone. To zoom in on images in books, I just do the iPhone pinch thing. Well, you iPhone users know what I mean!
Here’s a quick and dirty tip: If you’re like me and read in bed, even on the iPhone, you’ll want to lock the pages on either portrait or landscape view while you’re reading so the app doesn’t toggle back and forth between the two views.
And another tip: You can tap and hold on a word to create a note or highlight.
And if you are lucky enough to also have a Kindle or two of them, you can use Whispersync to back up and synchronize your annotations with all your Kindle devices.
What are the Cons of the Kindle iPhone App?
What I don’t love about the Kindle iPhone app is that it doesn’t have the text to voice feature. I’d love to have the books I’ve purchased read to me without having to also purchase the audio version. If I were to buy just the audio version, then I’d miss having the text. Also, Kindle newspapers, magazines, and blogs are not currently available on the iPhone or iPod Touch. And Kindle for iPhone is currently available to U.S. customers only.
Other than that, I’m pretty pleased with the fact that I have a bit of the Kindle functionality at a mere fraction of the cost. Oh yeah, the app is free in the Apple App Store.
What’s On My Kindle App?
I have been spending money, however, purchasing all of the books I’ve been wanting to read but haven’t gotten around to buying in paper form.
Here’s what’s on my iPhone in my Kindle app:
Crush It by Gary Vaynerchuk aka Gary Vee – about cashing in on your passion.
The Think Big Manifesto by Michael Port – about how you can have a big impact on the world. I actually heard about this book during a keynote speech by Laura Fitton at Blogworld Expo and immediately went onto Amazon.com via my iPhone to purchase the book. The Kindle version quickly loaded to my Kindle app while Laura was still speaking.
The Whuffie Factor by Tara Hunt – about how to build and leverage your social capital
What Would Google Do? by Jeff Jarvis – looking at what all businesses can learn from Google.
Trust Agents by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith – about earning trust on the Web
Socialnomics by Erik Qualman – that explores the impact of social media on our lives and business
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell – about why some people succeed and others don’t
I also have The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown and Lies My Mother Never Told Me by Kaylie Jones to satisfy my love of good fiction and great memoirs.
Bottom Line: The Kindle is certainly something for your Christmas list if you’re an avid reader, but until you see it under that Christmas tree, you really can’t go wrong with the Kindle iPhone app–if you have an iPhone, that is!
Contact Me
That’s all we have time for today. Visit the show’s website at digitalmarketer.quickanddirtytips.com for links to all of the sites mentioned in the show. If you’d like to ask a question or request a topic for The Digital Marketer, e-mail me at digitalmarketer@quickanddirtytips.comcreate new email or leave a message by calling 206-339-6279. You can also find me at Facebook.com/thedigitalmarketer and Twitter alizasherman.
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