As Phonedog reported last week, shortly after the launch of the Kindle II, Amazon also debuted the seemingly genius Kindle for iPhone app. Allowing iPhone users the convenience of Kindle's easy to download books for $9.99 to get the app and gain access to the store. Without the hardware investment (that runs almost $400 when its all said and done) for a Kindle II, that's a pretty good deal. I got to check them both out and compare the ease-of-use.
I don't even own an iPhone (although I do steal my fiance's often to play Scrabble and Monkey Ball), but when I see a screen like the Kindle, I still instinctively touch the screen to get started...the buttons on the Kindle II feel very old school for a second generation device. I am excited for the additional battery life (which is still a problem for the iPhone when you are connected and running apps) and other updates made by Amazon. The Kindle II was easy to set up and able to download quicker than the iPhone loads, but getting to the place where I wanted to was painful - tabbing over page by page or location by location is much easier on the iPhone.
The other drawback to the iPhone, of course, is it's size - for a book like Pillars of the Earth - it's a long one, meaning a LONG time to be reading such small print. And, yes - you do have the ability to enlarge the screen, but it's never going to be as big or comfortable as the Kindle II.
Regardless, whether you decide to splurge for the Kindle II or are content to read on your iPhone, it's a huge luxury to not have to lug around Pillars of the Earth in your bag. Your shoulder will thank you for reading the more portable package either way. One of the nice features is that when you register Kindle for iPhone, you have immediate access to your book list on your Kindle. So, if you want the best of both worlds, you can bookworm where ever you want and bookmark your spot to pick up where you left off no matter which device you have handy.
iPhone Kindle App Pros
iPhone Kindle App Cons
