kindle

Amazon has just released a version 1.1 update to its free Kindle app for the iPhone and iPod Touch, and it sees a number of improvements over the 1.0 release.

This update follows another smaller update a few weeks ago that added an iPhone-optimized Kindle store (which you still have to access via Safari, but at least the interface is now more mobile-friendly).

Two and a half months ago, Amazon released its free Kindle application for the iPhone and iPod Touch that lets you read Kindle books on the devices without having to purchase the expensive e-book from Amazon. If you were an existing Kindle owner, you could also take advantage of the Kindle application thanks to Amazon's Whispersync, which would sync both libraries, and you could pick up reading where you left off.

The reading experience is not as pleasant as on the dedicated e-book reader due to the smaller and backlit screen, but at least it's an option for those who didn't want the Kindle hardware.

With the version 1.1 update however, the reading experience on the Kindle is ever so slightly improved. For one thing, you can now switch the view from portrait to landscape mode if you prefer to read that way. You also have the option to "lock" the phone in either portrait or landscape mode thanks to a padlock icon to the lower right. We actually wished more iPhone apps had this feature since sometimes we wished things didn't rotate when we didn't want them to.… Read more

I have a couple of friends who absolutely adore their Kindles. And while they admit that a year ago they could not conceive of owning one, now that they do, they can't imagine going back "to your primitive 'books' as you call them" said one of my friends. I'm pretty sure he was joking.

Anyway, the following Kindle parody kinda sums up my personal feeling about the Kindle DX. In the video, Amazon introduces the "Kindle 9XXXD" and hilarity ensues. 'Cause it's big ladies and gentlemen...Anyway, I thought it was funny.

Kindle 9XXXD… Read more

Well, actually, people are made of black holes. But I couldn't do a Soylent Green reference if I wrote that. We also talk about Natali's Lady Things and the fact that we all wear makeup. Oh, and Sony is broke. And Jammie Thomas is going back to court. So it's not all good news.

Sony Records First Full-Year Loss In 14 Years http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-earnings-sony-records-first-full-year-loss-in-14-years/

eBay wins L’Oreal suit http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ebay-wins-french-court-ruling-in-loreal-case

Not-so-shocking: Jammie Thomas, RIAA unable to settle http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/05/not-so-shocking-jammie-thomas-riaa-unable-to-settle.ars… Read more

When I talked to Interead's CEO and founder Neil Jones a few months ago, he told me his upstart U.K. company was getting ready to launch a new lightweight e-book reader that he was hoping would get some attention in the marketplace for sharply undercutting the price of the Kindle 2. He was going to call the thing the Cool-er, and it would cost $250 and tie into Interead's fledgling e-book store.

Jones was planning a very controlled launch for the product, with a target date set for just before Memorial Day here in the the U.… Read more

One of the questions related to client computing that I've been exploring of late is whether we're likely to see a mainstream mobile device or devices emerge between a smartphone and an ultra-portable notebook.

My Illuminata colleague Jonathan Eunice and I debated this subject on a video recently--mostly in the context of long battery life, instant on/off mini-notebooks of various sorts. The HP Jornada 820 of the late 1990s is one possible prototype for such a device, suitably updated for a wirelessly connected world. The stillborn Palm Foleo is another take.

I'm perhaps more skeptical than … Read more

Tom talks about the Kindle, Internet, and Web sites while traveling. Rafe rants about WHS, talks nice about Apple, and is moderately pleased with Pogoplug.

AT&T unveils its new prepaid plan, which we think only Jason Bourne could love. Also, analysts say Android is poised for 900 percent growth, the University of Missouri gets in bed with the iPhone and iPod Touch, and we give cute nicknames to some of our fave technologies.

Google Android will grow 900 percent in 2009, analysts say http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/Google-Android-Will-Grow-900-Percent-in-2009-Analysts-Say-557897/

University of Missouri requires students buy iPhone or iPod http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Midmarket/University-of-Missouri-Requires-Students-Buy-iPhones-540478/ … Read more

On Monday, Amazon.com put out a small tweak to its Kindle application for Apple's iPhone (iTunes link) that takes users to an iPhone-optimized store when they click on the "get books" button.

There's now a page that lets users search either by title, author, keyword, or category. It also lists some of the New York Times best sellers, and items that have been recommended based on past purchases and browsing habits. Previously it would simply offer up a link to the desktop version of Amazon's Kindle Web store, which required a whole lot of … Read more

Episode 31 of the Digital City, where we discuss the Virgin Megastore liquidation sale (or lack thereof), Amazon's new big-screen Kindle, and how the video game DLC trend is jumping to handhelds. Later, NBA vet Kevin Willis drops by to talk about his love affair with the iPhone.

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