gadgets: mini-Kindle?

So maybe I don’t need to get a Kindle just yet. It looks like Amazon very quietly pushed out an application to the iTunes store within the last day or so. Free for iPhone/iPod Touch and syncs up with your amazon account. If you already have a Kindle, those purchases are available through the device, and it uses Whispersync to let your iPhone pick up the book where you left off on your Kindle and vice versa.

So far, it reminds me of Stanza without the cover flow options. The app didn’t seem to respond to changing my phone’s orientation at all. But the book was readable, pages turned by swiping a finger across the screen to the right or left. A quick tap on the screen brings up the options for font size, marking your page and accessing the book’s sections.

It doesn’t look like you’ll be able to purchase books from your Phone/Pod yet. I had to go onto Amazon’s site on my Macbook to browse the books and have them “sent” to my iPhone. Apple says you’ll also be able to use Safari on the iPhone to buy books. No word on whether the Amazon.com iPhone application will allow for purchases, though all that lets you do is add items to your wish list for purchase later.

If I had a Kindle that I didn’t want to take everywhere, this application would be great. For now, I’ve found that reading e-books on the iPhone is only fun when seated on the metro. I wouldn’t normally be inclined to sit at home on the couch or in a coffee house reading my iPhone for long stretches of time. This application goes a little ways towards staving off my Kindle-lust, however. It will allow me to get a better idea of the content available and the system of delivery. I’ve been a bit disappointed with some of the prices of items available for Kindle and I’ve noticed that items that were once tagged as free now have prices. Additionally, aside from the one Kindle I saw on metro last year, I haven’t seen them out and about in DC. Does anyone out there know somebody who actually owns one?

It’s a very good application, though. But if I keep using it, I best also keep up with my Vitamins A and B₂. Even at the larger font sizes, this app can’t be good on the eyes! 😯