Fri, 09 Jul 2010 Amazon Kindle for iPad review
Book-reading app now works on the iPad and iPhone; but does it work well?
- Manufacturer: Amazon
- Pros: Syncs up with your other Kindle devices; makes the iPad into an excellent ebook reader
- Cons: Can’t buy books inside the app; can’t look up words; some display settings are nonadjustable
- Min specs: COMPATIBILITY;;iPhone (Original);iPod Touch;iPhone 3G;iPhone 3G S;iPad
- Price: Free
- Star rating:
We tried the iPhone version of Amazon’s free app and found the reading experience on its tiny screen just a bit too cramped for our taste. However, the iPad-optimised version makes great use of the larger screen area.
If you have purchased Kindle books in the past, you’ll have access to any of the publications already in your archives. If you need to buy books, Amazon oddly dumps you out of the Kindle app and into Safari, rather than let you buy books from within the app.
Once you’re ready to read, the Kindle app really shines. The main reading view is entirely unadorned; it’s just words. You turn pages with a short swipe, or a tap on the edge of the screen. If you tap elsewhere on the page, other interface options appear. You can add bookmarks, navigate to a specific location or the table of contents, or adjust the display. You can choose from five font sizes and three colour themes. You can also adjust brightness with a slider.
The app doesn’t get everything right on the display front, unfortunately. Unlike iBooks, you can’t control the font itself. Also, the text colour in sepia mode could do with being darker, but it’s similarly nonadjustable.
The iPad app supports what Amazon calls WhisperSync, which means that if you are reading a book on multiple devices (iPhone, iPad, Kindle) it always knows what page you’re on – if you’re online. Other unique features include adding notes and highlights to the text. Disappointingly, while Kindle devices (and iBooks) let you look up words in the dictionary, the app doesn’t.
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User Reviews
Fri, 16 Jul 2010Reviewed by: treadmill
Star Rating: 
Duration of ownership: 2 weeks
Strengths: A much wider catalogue of books for the UK market than iBook. Already purchased four books from Amazon.
Weaknesses: The only weakness is the book cover image and perhas the table of contents layout isn't particularly pretty. But to be honest, I just want to read a book.
Overall Evaluation: Much better than the iBook purely because of the choice of books. I'm using Kindle on my iPhone4 and have ready for hours and was extremely surprised and shocked just how quickly you get use to it, rather then the conventonal paper book. I think due to the retina display, it makes it a pleasure to read, especially at night, as you don't need any night light to read.
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