Want to turn your iPhone or iPod Touch into an e-reader—free? It’s not hard to do with the Amazon Kindle free app.
In yesterday’s post, I pointed out some of the shortcomings (and there are many) of the new Apple iPad tablet computer and opined that it might find a place as an e-reader with extras. But if you’re not ready for a dedicated e-reader, and not in the mood to spend $499 or more for the iPad, check out the Kindle app.
It runs on the iPhone or iPod Touch—no Kindle required. And while the screen is much smaller than the iPad, the Kindle app is surprisingly easy to read and use. Text sizes are easily adjusted, bookmarks can be added and changing pages is as simple as a finger swipe, or by tapping on either side of the screen. The text is easy to read with a smooth white background.
The Kindle mobile app can connect to Amazon’s Kindle store and download books wirelessly. And any books purchased can be synced with a full-sized Kindle.
Amazon currently offers more than 450,000 books, including most of the New York Times’ best-seller list starting at $9.99. But magazines, newspapers and blogs are not currently available on the iPhone/iPod version.
The best part is—if you’re already carrying an iPhone or iPod when traveling, like I carry my iPod Touch—the Kindle app adds no weight to the suitcase.
This won’t be the solution for everyone and some will prefer a larger screen for book reading—or the more ink-like look of the Kindle reader. But the Kindle app for the iPhone and iPod works better than I would have expected. And since it’s free, there’s absolutely no risk in trying it out.
#1 by Ellsass - April 6th, 2010 at 06:28
There’s also a wonderful app called Stanza. It won’t display your Kindle-bought books, but it can handle anything else you throw at it (ePub, PDF, Word, txt, etc). It has a few more features, like brightness control and text search, and it’s also free. Between Stanza and the Kindle you can have your whole digital library on your iPhone.
#2 by Luke - April 6th, 2010 at 09:57
Stanza is great, I use to read all of my non-Kindle e-books (which is most of them. If you download the Kindle app for your PC, then you can use it to determine which books are active, and it will synch the Kindle app between the two devices.
#3 by Johnny Anderson - April 22nd, 2010 at 18:23
Another cheer for Stanza! I’ve read almost all of Mark Twains travel fiction using Stanza (or a similar product on my Palmone Treo) and therefore have no attraction to a Kindle. In the words of Alton Brown, “I hate monotaskers!”
#4 by Kim Silvestri - February 16th, 2011 at 15:34
Thanks for the information this will really help in my College Course. -Kim