Amazon Kindle: The next step in the e-book evolution.

 

Let me first apologize. TapCritic usually limits our iPhone application reviews to talking specifically about the functionality and overall fun-ness of the apps. With something like this, though, there is so much more to say.

With Kindle for the iPhone, though, there is a lot more that has to be said, and even though this is an older app, I thought I'd take a look.   Instead of giving you a typical "love it" or "hate it" assessment, I thought we'd aim for a more in-depth analysis of the "e-book revolution" that seems to have never quite happened.

You remember a few years ago when the Kindle was to make the traditional paper book obsolete? But then we found out how much these e-book readers cost, and the whole promise went out the window. In addition to the high cost, a few other factors kept the masses from embracing e-books. One was the idea that you could never really download a digital copy of the book to put on other devices or read on a computer--e-books were tied to your device and streamed on-demand whenever you needed them.

So, in theory, if you got a new device or decided to change your preferred method of delivery (or Amazon went out of business), you were out all the cash from those books you had already purchased. In effect, you were marrying yourself to Amazon and your Kindle for life.

Second, e-books weren't significantly cheaper (in general) than their hard-copy cousins. They sold for $9.99 in many cases, sometimes costing more than the paperback of the same novel. Sure, there were come cheap or free classics, but if you wanted a bestseller, you were going to pay full price--even though the cost of delivering an e-book is significantly less than that of delivering a "real" book (what with shelf space, shipping, paper and printing costs etc.) For many, including me, this just didn't make sense.

Finally, many people didn't buy e-books because they simply enjoy collecting books. They like to see them on the shelves and be able to dog-ear pages and highlight passages. There is something comforting in that old-fashioned page turn.

But now Kindle is on the iPhone, and Amazon has taken a big step toward making e-books a real option for readers. First off, Amazon is offering it for free--much cheaper than its $299 counterpart. You can buy books from the site, and they immediately show up on your book list. No more waiting for a book to ship or making that annoying drive down to Barnes & Noble.

The app is actually a great way to read books. You can lock into portrait or landscape mode in order to read in bed, and you can change the size of the font. Page turns are accomplished by simple swipes, and there is a convenient "back" button that takes you to previous sections of the book so you can scan different parts without losing your place.

In addition, you can choose the coloring of the text and background (the choices are black on white, white on black, or black on sepia--my personal favorite) which makes sure that readability is not an issue.

The app is a bit lacking in some areas. Why not let me make notes in the "margin" or highlight my favorite passages? Why not let me bookmark or dog-ear different parts, at least?

Also, when you go to buy a book it takes you to Amazon's mobile site via safari. It's a nice site, but why not do in-app purchasing like the iTunes store on iPhone does? You could customize your interface and make book-buying a lot easier for us iPhone fanatics. That leads to making more money.

See how this works, Amazon?

One of the selling points of the Kindle has always been its non-backlit display. Eyestrain was to be a thing of the past with the kindle's read-it-like-a-real-book "cutting-edge" technology. On the iPhone, of course, the pages are backlit. I just turn my brightness down and the problem is solved. No eye strain for me. And I just saved $300.

Perhaps the greatest element of this new kindle is the fact that every single book you buy is at your fingertips all the time, in your pocket. If you get in the mood for a good Lovecraft story, it's there. Want to read a classic? No need to run home before heading to the coffee shop. It's really very cool.

But these books don't really reside on the phone. Just like with the original kindle, they are streamed to your device as you need them, and that lack of true ownership still makes me nervous. Especially since I don't have a hard copy of the book.

Which brings me to my argument. Amazon has dropped the ball a little bit. I must assume that the cost of delivering a book via Kindle is negligible when compared to the cost of delivering a "real" book. So why not set up a system where whenever I buy a hard copy of a book, I get a free Kindle version, too? It would ensure that I choose Amazon over other book sellers, it would give me my coveted hard copy of the book, and it would let me have all my books collected on my phone. The lack of "true" ownership of the digital copy would not bug me, either, as I would have a backup.

By making Kindle books available on the phone, Amazon has opened themselves up to a huge audience. Still, I don't see people ditching their paper books--not until Amazon gets serious about the "e-book revolution" and gives consumers what they're clamoring for.

You get Kindle HERE.  It's free!