Kindle for the PC Announced – and it’s awesome!

[z3r010]

Kindle for the PC Announced – and it’s awesome!

Today, Amazon announced “Kindle for PC” – a free application that let’s readers enjoy reading books purchased from the Kindle Store right on their Windows PC. Today the Kindle Store has over 360,000 books to purchase, download and read. That’s a lot of books. We showed off Kindle for PC today for the first time at our New York City Launch Party for Windows 7.

 



The beta for Kindle for PC will be available as a free download in November. You can sign-up here to receive an email when Kindle for PC Beta is available.

Kindle for PC takes advantage of key Windows 7 features such as Windows Touch for zooming in and out with a pinch of the fingers and turning pages with the swipe of a finger. It also includes integration with the Windows Taskbar through a Jump List. I’ve been playing with it for the last few days on my HP TouchSmart tx2 and it’s wonderful.

 

Kindle for PC will also run on PCs running Windows XP and Windows Vista as well.

The Kindle for PC application also uses Amazon’s Whispersync technology. This allows the application to sync bookmarks and the last read page across PCs (and other devices such as the Kindle and Kindle DX).

Here is a demo of Kindle for PC in action!

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More...

 

[jimbo45]

Hi there

It's good that more and more apps are W7 compatable - but much as I like working with computers I don't think that books will ever be a really good application for running on a computer -- just how would you read them in Bed, on the beach or even sitting on the bog.

I'm also not convinced about the same future for Newspapers. - Ever tried the Paris, NY or London Subway in the rush hour -- and you want to read a book using a computer.

I suspect that unlike mobile phones even the new "e-book" display type of hardware won't really be very successful.

Nice idea but really too impracticable for serious readers.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[swarfega]

Thanks, signed up.

 

[RugbyHoe]

This is now available on Amazon.

Kindle for PC


Very cool, the ability to sync with my hardware Kindle is an awesome addition to an already awesome product...

[edit] - the above link appears to be broken, but if you go to the homepage for the Kindle Store on amazon you should be able to see the download information. [/edit]

 

[fseal]

They used a good example there...

While I don't see "curling up with a good book" on my PC, I CAN see buying technical books on line and being able to use them right on my desktop where I need the information! This is an issue on the job quite often wher eyou need information NOW, not when you can get to the book store or get Amazon to deliver it to you by mail...

[Edit] Of course the ability to share the book with people or take it home won't be as quick and easy...[/edit]

 

[wpurcell]

Well.....Not available in Canada. Typical.

 

[TheSchaft]

Hi there

It's good that more and more apps are W7 compatable - but much as I like working with computers I don't think that books will ever be a really good application for running on a computer -- just how would you read them in Bed, on the beach or even sitting on the bog.

I'm also not convinced about the same future for Newspapers. - Ever tried the Paris, NY or London Subway in the rush hour -- and you want to read a book using a computer.

I suspect that unlike mobile phones even the new "e-book" display type of hardware won't really be very successful.

Nice idea but really too impracticable for serious readers.

Cheers
jimbo

I agree - there's a lot more to reading a book than just the words. It's the feel of the paper, the heft of the book, the smell of the ink... all contribute to the experience.

{soapbox}
One other practical consideration - books on paper last. Books on electronic media have a limited life. Sound odd? Look up what happened when they digitized a book from Norman times in England a decade or two ago. Now there are no computers that can read the copy, but the original, from the 10th century, is still usable.

Still not convinced? How do you read your ZIP and JAZ drive disks? Your 5 1/4 floppies? Your 3.5 floppies? Your 7 or 9 track tapes?

Sometimes you just gotta kill a tree, or scratch a rock.

http://www.longnow.org/about/

{climbs down off soap box, creaking and muttering}

 

[Lucretius]

Hi there

It's good that more and more apps are W7 compatable - but much as I like working with computers I don't think that books will ever be a really good application for running on a computer -- just how would you read them in Bed, on the beach or even sitting on the bog.

I'm also not convinced about the same future for Newspapers. - Ever tried the Paris, NY or London Subway in the rush hour -- and you want to read a book using a computer.

I suspect that unlike mobile phones even the new "e-book" display type of hardware won't really be very successful.

Nice idea but really too impracticable for serious readers.

Cheers
jimbo

I agree. I don't think a laptop/touch PC is the way to go for a reading experience-especially for serious readers.

I think the Kindle should have stopped just there-the Kindle...they invented that device partly because leisure reading on a computer is not fun. :sarc:

Hi there

It's good that more and more apps are W7 compatable - but much as I like working with computers I don't think that books will ever be a really good application for running on a computer -- just how would you read them in Bed, on the beach or even sitting on the bog.

I'm also not convinced about the same future for Newspapers. - Ever tried the Paris, NY or London Subway in the rush hour -- and you want to read a book using a computer.

I suspect that unlike mobile phones even the new "e-book" display type of hardware won't really be very successful.

Nice idea but really too impracticable for serious readers.

Cheers
jimbo

I agree - there's a lot more to reading a book than just the words. It's the feel of the paper, the heft of the book, the smell of the ink... all contribute to the experience.

{soapbox}
One other practical consideration - books on paper last. Books on electronic media have a limited life. Sound odd? Look up what happened when they digitized a book from Norman times in England a decade or two ago. Now there are no computers that can read the copy, but the original, from the 10th century, is still usable.

Still not convinced? How do you read your ZIP and JAZ drive disks? Your 5 1/4 floppies? Your 3.5 floppies? Your 7 or 9 track tapes?

Sometimes you just gotta kill a tree, or scratch a rock.

About - The Long Now

{climbs down off soap box, creaking and muttering}

That's an interesting point but the idea of having a library of books all in one simple device with fantastic portability that makes me want to shell out the 2 Benjamins. Nice link by the way.

 

[tallmomof2]

If you read a lot of fiction and have older eyes, a dedicated eInk device beats a mobile or a PDA or a PC. If you're a fan of converged devices it won't.

I've owned all versions of the Kindle and use it constantly to read fiction. Used to read on a Palm but the back-lit LCD quickly fatigued my eyes plus battery life wasn't good for extended reading sessions. Tech manuals are more of a challenge but on a bigger screen not so much if you can bookmark and annotate which is possible on Kindles and other like devices. The battery life is superb and it reads like paper. Being able to carry a library with you is pretty neat, too (except with the Kindle file management is non existent which means you can only arrange your books by author, title, or date added.

Yeah, it would be nice to only have to carry one device but until a smart phone is available with a 6" eInk screen collapsible into a 3" screen I'll be toting my Kindle and my phone with me.

BTW, I read 2000+ pages weekly and having it all on one device, including newspapers, magazines, books, and blogs, is pretty darned handy.

 

[jimbo45]

They used a good example there...

................. This is an issue on the job quite often where you need information NOW .............

[Edit] Of course the ability to share the book with people or take it home won't be as quick and easy...[/edit]

What's wrong with GOOGLE or any of the specialized search databases out there

If I'm on a computer doing something I certainly don't want or need to be fiddling around with another piece of kit. Downloading the application in Real Time on a second / 3rd monitor IMO is far more useful than sqarking at an "electronic book" and then trying to find the relevant pages.

Also if you've ever done complex engineering or maths it's often useful to be able to PRINT a page or two with the diagrams on them to make pencilled in notes. (You can also "Upscale" the page if its a complicated diagram so you can concentrate just on the piece you want - and you can print it out almost in Cinema poster size if you've got a big enough printer).

I still think Kindle is a piece of kit looking for an application -- a slightly larger I-phone probably would have the capability for people who want this type of app and be far more flexible in any case.

(Also what happens if the device gets lost or stolen -- It's always the same problem with these digital devices -- so riddled with DRM that it makes saving / transfering content to another device almost impossible).

It's taken YEARS before the music industry is just realizing that DRM actually ENCOURAGES Piracy.

I'm possibly in the minority here but on this device I'm a total sceptic and a basic "unbeliever".

Cheers
jimbo.

 

[fseal]

What's wrong with GOOGLE or any of the specialized search databases out there

Heh obviously google is the first resource, I do it every day. However there is a LOT of information not freely available on the net or available at all in any form other than "dead tree". In fact I find the lack of real information on the net to be rather shocking.

For example, any information on the MPEG 4 specification.

You can buy the documents on line from the ISO which is nice but finding a good discussion that digests the pertenent parts is non exitatant (and if you have ever read anyof the ISO specs, they are quite obtuse at times) because such discussion is not allowed reprint any of the spec data :/ However there are several text books out there that do.

Pretty much any real engineering or scientific text is rarely available on line and must be purchased in book or paper form still. Hopefully more and more will be available on line in the future, and probably /will be/ with the "assurance" of non copyability afforded by devices like the kindle.

(I am not discussing (C) merits or information "ownership", merely the recognition of the reality of the current situation WRT technical information text availability on the net)

 

[Mivo]

Does "information you need right now on a job" usually fall in the "not freely available" category of texts and materials, though? When I need to look up something quicly, it's often just the answer to a specific question, not a complex article or document, and a search engine almost does the trick. Certainly depends on the field, though.

As for e-books in general, well, I have collected books for twenty-five years or so, so I have quite a few of them. Too many probably. Okay, too many for sure I'm really torn on the subject of electronic books, though. There are plenty of advantages to them, especially in regard to storing them, and full-text search ability. Preservation, too.

On the flipside, they are void of any character or atmosphere. There is no charme to them. Like a plastic bag compared to a nicely woven basket. Plus portability. Even netbooks are not as potable as a book (most books), let alone as sturdy, and they are dependent on electricity.

 

[tallmomof2]

It's still hard to curl up with a desktop or even a laptop for a good read.

 

[DaddyRabbit]

But a tablet or netbook might work OK. I still like the idea of E-Ink displays for long reading sessions. I downloaded the app but, like others, don't want to be tied to my PC for reading. I am currently torn between the Kindle2, the Kindle DX, or the Nook. I like the better format compatibility, expandable memory, and user replaceable battery on the Nook. Xmas is coming

EDIT - While I agree that nothing matches the reading experience of a book, as I get older adjustable font sizes are appealing

 

[blue sabre]

Hi there

It's good that more and more apps are W7 compatable - but much as I like working with computers I don't think that books will ever be a really good application for running on a computer -- just how would you read them in Bed, on the beach or even sitting on the bog.

I'm also not convinced about the same future for Newspapers. - Ever tried the Paris, NY or London Subway in the rush hour -- and you want to read a book using a computer.

I suspect that unlike mobile phones even the new "e-book" display type of hardware won't really be very successful.

Nice idea but really too impracticable for serious readers.

Cheers
jimbo

I agree - there's a lot more to reading a book than just the words. It's the feel of the paper, the heft of the book, the smell of the ink... all contribute to the experience.

{soapbox}
One other practical consideration - books on paper last. Books on electronic media have a limited life. Sound odd? Look up what happened when they digitized a book from Norman times in England a decade or two ago. Now there are no computers that can read the copy, but the original, from the 10th century, is still usable.

Still not convinced? How do you read your ZIP and JAZ drive disks? Your 5 1/4 floppies? Your 3.5 floppies? Your 7 or 9 track tapes?

Sometimes you just gotta kill a tree, or scratch a rock.

About - The Long Now

{climbs down off soap box, creaking and muttering}

So what about mp3's? They've been around for a lot more than ten years but are still able to be read.