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. Â 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. Â The app is simple, and focuses on one thing: reading a book. Â It does well at that though it has a serious lack of polish. Â Polish is one thing; functionality is another.
One of the books I have purchased is a textbook for seminary. Â You can imagine how excited I was to be able to use my laptop to view it and make notes. Â Wrong! Â All the app does is view the text, bookmarks and notes you have created elsewhere. Â This does not make sense. Â If I can make notes on my iPhone, why not my Laptop? Â 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. Â 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.
Sounds like you need an iPad!
There’s a great article on Lifehacker about using your netbook as an e-reader. It’s worth the read: http://lifehacker.com/5468581/turn-your-netbook-into-a-feature+rich-e+book-reader
FYI its going to have those functions. Amazon says it coming but it hasn’t come yet.
So, what is your recommendation? I am a youth pastor and love the idea of reading in some format that doesn’t require me to type my notes into my computer after I mark up a paper book (plus my six year old thinks I am not green enough with all the paper I have in books). However, I hear that Kindle doesn’t even have a great format for highlighting, making notes and transferring them to your computer. I have a mac, so the reading to computer from amazon won’t be of help now.
Would formulatepro from one of your previous posts allow you to take notes in the kindle for computer?
I have the same struggle as you paying the large amount of money for a book reader, but I am tired of buying shelves and carrying seven back packs to do research on the weekend. Not sure if there is a more effective way, but I am going to leave my e-mail here and if you have time I would love to get your input on this. Thanks… robertkell@northstarpc.org