Though I have not received a kindle from a secret santa or generous church member, I have bought a handful of Kindle books to read on my iPhone.  I know that some people really don’t like the idea of reading on a backlit screen, but I find it less of a strain on my eyes than the hour or so I spent focusing on the lower contrast Kindle screen.

I LOVE the idea of the Kindle, but have a hard time justifying spending $259-489 on something that is solely for reading text. On the other hand, the iPhone screen is just small enough to become annoying when you are trying to read for an extended amount of time.

While doing some of my almost weekly ordering on Amazon, I noticed a “Kindle for PC App” link, downloaded the app and was excited, but not for long.  The app is simple, and focuses on one thing: reading a book.  It does well at that though it has a serious lack of polish.  Polish is one thing; functionality is another.

One of the books I have purchased is a textbook for seminary.  You can imagine how excited I was to be able to use my laptop to view it and make notes.  Wrong!  All the app does is view the text, bookmarks and notes you have created elsewhere.  This does not make sense.  If I can make notes on my iPhone, why not my Laptop?  It feels like Amazon is getting to preoccupied with selling the Kindle hardware (which is begging for someone to come along and perfect it) instead of the books.

The download is free and the app is stable, but don’t expect your book reader itch to be scratched by this app.  Also, it’s not currently available for Mac, but you can give them your email address here and have them send you a notice when it is released.

Well 2009 is officially over, and I was thinking about some of the tech that made it’s way into my world during the year. Here’s some of my favorites:

Software:
Mozy – I committed to online backup this year having deciding that my time machine wasn’t enough.  Mostly because if something happened at my house the chances of losing both were pretty high.  I went with Mozy, and after having a harddrive crash while on a trip and I was still able to access my data, I’m sold.  It’s definitely worth the $5 a month it costs.

Dropbox – This has become a tool I use daily.  Great for online storage and sharing.  And it’s FREE!

Teleport – This little bit of software allows you to share one keyboard and mouse between 2 macs without any extra hardware.  It’s really cleaned up my desk and I love the way it works.  Price: FREE

Hardware:
iPhone 3gs – This is so much more than a phone to me. It allows me to be away from the office but still take care of quite a bit of my daily tasks.  I love it.

MacBook Pro Uni-body – My old Macbook Pro was great for almost 3 years, but my recent upgrade to one of the new Uni-body models has been a great one.  The power is awesome.  To compare, my old machine took 90 minutes to export the SYM podcast that I produce each week, and the new laptop does the same video in 35.  I love it.  Although if you are thinking about upgrading, I would wait to see if there are any upgrades early in the year.

Flip MinoHD Camcorder – This is such a great little camera.  So easy to use and a great picture for what it costs.  You aren’t going to produce a major motion picture with this, but to capture camp memory, quick event highlights, and fun family moments, I love it.  Read my full review here: review-flip-minohd.

Kindle 2 -I upgraded my ebook reader to the Kindle this year.  I really enjoy reading on it.  A few things that make it great:

1. Battery life
2. Amazon Store – so many titles, and great prices.
3. Always connected – I can download books where ever I am, and it doesn’t cost any extra

Web:
Gdgt.com: Great new gadget site.  I do a lot of my gadget research here.  I also really enjoy their podcast.

LIVE Curriculum: I think most of you know, I am the web manager for Simply Youth Ministry, and one of the big projects I worked on this year was this online curriculum. I am really proud of what we put together, and when I think of 2009 it was a huge part of it.

Now on to 2010.

Ever have a long document and wish you could simply turn your macbook on its side and use it like a kindle to read the book/document? All you need is to download the Display Rotation Menu from Mage Software.  It adds a menu bar item that allows you to rotate your Mac Laptop and use it as if it were an ebook reader only without the several hundred dollars to Amazon or Sony.  It doesn’t work on all mac laptops because of graphics card limitations, but they have the short list of which somewhat current models are omitted.

Amazon announced today the Kindle DX.  It’s a larger version of their existing ebook reading.  The larger screen is suppose to make reading Newspapers and Magazines easier.  In addition to the larger screen, it has native PDF support and storage for up to 3500 books.  Another cool new feature is it will auto rotate from Portrait to Landscape modes.  Looks interesting, but I think I would still have to go with the original sized Kindle.  Even though native PDF support would be great.

I’m still holding out for the rumored larger iPod / iPhone tablet.  I think that would be the device for me.

I saw this on @Zondervan’s twitter today, and I thought I’d pass it along.  Right now you can get a free copy the TNIV Bible in Ebook format.  It’s available for both the Amazon Kindle and the Sony E-Book Reader.  Even if you are using the Kindle software (link opens iTunes) on your iPhone or iPod Touch you can still take advantage of this.  It’s only for a limited time, so if you’re interested I would head over a snatch them up before it goes away.

Pick the link for the version you would like to get:

• Kindle Version
• Sony Version

I’ve been thinking about getting a Kindle 2 for a while, in fact I was pretty sure I was going to order one this week, but I’m not so sure now.  I was traveling home from NYMC yesterday and was telling my buddy Andy, that this exactly what I wanted, and today Amazon did it.  They released an iPhone / iPod Touch app for that allows you to read any Kindle books right on your device. Some (like Andy) don’t think that the iPhone has the right screen or size for reading, well now we can decide for ourselves.  I’ve tried a number of book readers for the iPhone, but the biggest problem was always buying the content (it was really expensive) or finding a good way to get books I already had on to it.  It looks like this solves both those problems.

Here’s a video about it (it’s a little long, but gives a good overview):

Here’s my quick Pros and Cons to this:

Pro:

• I don’t have to spend $389 to get access to the kindle content, I can buy it right on my phone.
• I don’t have to carry another device, I always have my phone
• If I do get a Kindle all my books that I buy will transfer over to it.
• Access to the great prices on books in the Kindle format
• The app is Free

Con:

• iPhone screen is small, reading experience won’t be as good
• It will probably have an effect on battery life when I’m on the road
• I’ll spend more money at Amazon (I’m sure they don’t see this as a con)
• Purchase process is a little confusing, it would be nice if you could buy it directly from the app instead of through Safari.

If you’d like to read more, here’s a more detailed article: Amazon Kindle App for iPhone

Here’s a link to the App: Kindle for iPhone (opens in iTunes)

What do you think?  Will reading books on your phone be a good experience?

If only it would have been here a week ago.

Amazon announced the revamped Kindle today.  They made a lot of changes to the hardware, and it looks like they are for the better.  It’s super thin and the buttons don’t look like they get in the way like they did on the original.

It doesn’t ship until the end of this month, and I sure wish I was on the list to get one.

There was a rumor that Amazon was going to start selling Kindle books for other mobile devices (like the iphone and ipod touch), but it didn’t come today.  Although it was hinted at, so maybe it will still happen.  I love the idea of reading books on my phone, I used to read books on my old iPaq and it was great.  One of the biggest draws to the Kindle for me is the variety and the pricing of the books.  They have by far the biggest selection and are way cheaper than other ebooks available from other sites.

Anyone else out there think a Kindle is in their future?

I received an amazing gift this week. Someone sent me an Amazon Kindle (click the link to watch a video)! This is one of the coolest and most useful gadgets I have seen in a long time. Chiropractors around the world are hating this because it is causing people put put less books in their backpack saving back stress.

* I can buy books form amazing (so far I have not seen anything over $9.99 that I would want)
* I can highlight a section and add a note to that section or any section and then download what I had highlighted and written…this will be great for leadership training, I can send out some great quotes and not forget where they were (because they are saved and downloadable) and I do not have to spend time typing, I just copy and past!
* I can upload a .txt document and take it on the road with me (maybe illustrations of my sermon notes and practice…I cannot change them but I can add note and highlight areas I need to give attention to) or I can use mobipocket (PC only) that converts a word DOC, PDF, HTML, etc…to a kindle file. I am not sure the difference yet but I will try and see what this software can do. I can also email files to my Kindle with that cost 10 cents…I am not sure why I would do this when I can dump a .txt file on for free…I will probably try it though to see what happens.  If the lighting is right you could even give your messages using this…go paperless!
* There are other cool features like basic web…yes, I can brows the web anywhere for FREE, not great graphics but FREE! I heard it uses the Sprint cell phone feed. I can also use it as an MP3 player, and there is a feature called NOWNOW…you send in a question and they will research it for you. Don’t let one of your students get hold of this or watch out high school term papers.

I am really excited about the future or reading with my Kindle! Thank you who ever sent this to me, it will be used often.

Brandon