Amazon brings eBooks to the iPhone, but don't toss your Kindle yet

Jordan Golson — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 18:15:42 -0400

The iPhone has been viewed as something of a portable electronic kitchen sink by fans. It's a gaming device! It's an email client! You can browse the Web with it! It's a GPS nav unit! Oh yeah, it's a phone too! A healthy number of users have also decided the iPhone was an eBook reader, with a number of applications designed around that objective.

To be perfectly honest, I never bought into the eBook phenomenon. I was a purist for years. I told anyone who would listen that electronic books were foolish and would never replace good old paper.

Until I actually tried a Kindle.

My love affair with bookcases filled with hardcovers and paperbacks remains, but for everyday practicality, I adore my (first-gen) Kindle. I can try books before I buy, look up words I don't know using the built-in dictionary, and buy books instantly right from the device, without waiting for the UPS truck or making a run to the mall. Sure, it costs $359, but for a gadget-head like myself (my $499 first-gen iPhone sits in a drawer next to a bunch of other neglected devices), it seems like a worthwhile price to pay.

This brings us to the iPhone. Of course, I now have the 3G edition, and use it constantly for checking email, gaming, Web browsing and even the occasional phone call. What I didn't use it for, however, was reading very long articles, unless I was waiting for the subway or my girlfriend to get out of the salon or whatever.

The Kindle for iPhone application, released last week, is a nice companion to a real Kindle -- but doesn't come close to replacing the actual device, or making the iPhone a real player in the eBook realm.

First, the pros. The iPhone syncs over Amazon's Whispersync service with your Kindle, allowing you access to all the books you've purchased and even remembering what page you were on between devices. Users can purchase books (albeit a little bit clumsily) through the Safari browser on the phone. Reading is a bit of a strain on the eyes, mostly because of the small, bright screen. Text was sharp, but spending a long time reading on the iPhone just isn't something it was built for.

There are some features missing from the iPhone version of the Kindle. You can't look up words in the dictionary or read subscription newspapers or magazines that you've purchased. Really though, I just don't see many users picking up their iPhone in place of a real book or a Kindle. It's just not the right device for the job.

The Kindle for iPhone application is a nice companion to the Kindle device, letting you buy books once and read them on both devices for no additional cost. I'll bet that the ownership of the two devices overlaps quite a bit as well, adding significant utility to existing Kindle owners who might be a bit miffed at buying books that previously could only be read on the Kindle.

The Kindle App can be downloaded from the iTunes Store on the phone or through iTunes for free, though the books, of course, cost money.