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Another nail in Kindle's coffin: Android Kindle App

By | May 18, 2010, 12:33pm PDT

Summary: The Android Kindle App is one step closer to making the full-blown Kindle irrelevant. You don’t even need to buy a Kindle to purchase and manage books from Amazon on your Android device.

For quite a while, I’ve been leaving my Kindle behind and taking my iPod Touch when I wanted to read. The Kindle iPod/iPhone App is quite mature, works seamlessly, and the iPod fits in my pocket a lot better than a Kindle. Of course, I’m an Android sort of guy and it offends my sensibilities to carry around my HTC Incredible and an iPod Touch. Guess what? Now I don’t have to. And neither do you.

Amazon announced their Kindle App for Android this morning and, although ZDNet’s Matthew Miller sees it as one more reason to love his Nexus One, I see this as taking us one step closer to converged device Nirvana and the end of the e-book reader as we know it. The iPhone Kindle app was the first nail in Kindle’s coffin. The iPad was the second. An app now for the #2 mobile phone platform in the US? Nail #3.

I don’t know how many nails the average coffin requires, but I do know that I have no desire to carry around an e-book reader that doesn’t do much of anything else well and a phone (that does almost everything well, including, with this announcement, read Kindle e-books), and often a laptop (that I can also use to access my Kindle books if I’d like). I know that not everyone favors reading on an LCD, no matter how brilliant or large, and even I will admit that e-ink is very easy on the eyes. However, given the easy adjustment of font size and the fact that I (like many of my peers and most of the students I support) and basically attached to my phone most of the day anyway, I can live with the compromise. Now I can leave the iPod at home, too.

As Esther Shein reports over at InformationWeek,

The Kindle for Android requires Android OS 1.6 or greater, an SD card. It is also available on several other Android phones including the HTC MyTouch and Motorola CLIQ. Kindle newspapers, magazines and blogs are currently not available on Kindle for Android.

The latter is also true of the iPhone Kindle App and is certainly a compromise I can live with, given that my RSS reader and a couple of great browsers get me the rest of the content I might need on my phone. Better yet, users of the App don’t need to have a Kindle, although the App will sync the last page read on your Kindle if you have one for convenience. Just download the App and start buying books, Kindle or no Kindle.

It’s all about convergence. One device to rule them all. Speaking of which, I wonder how much the Lord of the Rings is on Amazon? Time to go download it and find out…It wouldn’t be summer without a good re-read of the trilogy.

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Android, Coffin, Nail, Christopher Dawson

Chris Dawson is a freelance writer and consultant with years of experience in educational technology and web-based systems. In 2011, he became the Vice President of Marketing for WizIQ, Inc., a virtual classroom and learning network SaaS provider.

Disclosure

Christopher Dawson

Christopher Dawson is the Vice President of Marketing for WizIQ, Inc., by day and a freelance writer and educational technology consultant by night. Well, most of his colleagues at WizIQ are based in India, so really he's working with them whenever he can stay awake. He has worked for his local school district as a teacher and technology director, for the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, and for Biogen, Inc. (now Biogen-IDEC, Inc.). He has also consulted with STATNet and Cytyc Corporation and retains close ties with X2 Development Corporation (now owned by Follett Software, the supplier of the student information system he administered for several years). Follett is paying him a monthly honorarium to act as a presenter for their "SIS Voices for Student Achievement" community (he produces occasional blog posts and hosts a monthly webinar on the use of student information systems to inform data-driven instruction and school-wide change. He regularly purchases and/or recommends Dell hardware. This is because Dell makes good hardware and has truly committed itself to education in innovative ways, particularly with their "Connected Classroom" initiative. It isn't because he has dealings with the company through his role at WizIQ (which he does) or because they have provided him with long-term loans of a variety of equipment for in-depth testing (which they have). Intel (reference designer for the Classmate PCs he has implemented in his local schools) has provided him with long-term loans of Classmate PCs for testing, as have Dell and Lenovo with their educational offerings. He may report on any of these companies as his experiences with them have direct bearing on educational technology; positive reports are not necessarily an endorsement and he receives no direct financial compensation from these companies or any others. Intel paid all expenses for his attendance at the 2009 Intel Classmate PC Ecosystem Summit which he attended as the sole representative of the technology press. He was invited to attend in 2010 but his wife would have killed him if he spent 3 days in Vegas geeking out and left her home alone with a new baby. Acer provided him with a 50% discount on an Aspire One netbook in early 2009 after he tested it for 30 days through their educational seed program. He liked the netbook at the time but it has since broken and sits unused in his office. Canonical sent him Ubuntu lanyards, t-shirts, and mousepads for his kids. He stole one of the lanyards and proudly hangs his keys from it and occasionally features his 8-year old wearing an oversized Ubuntu t-shirt on his Facebook profile. Gunnar Optiks sent him a pair of computer glasses to evaluate for a holiday gift guide. He is wearing them now as he types this because they never asked for them back and they rock out loud. Seriously - they work brilliantly and make it much easier to spend 20 hours a day staring at an LCD. If they ever asked for them back, he would fork over the $99 and buy a pair. Microsoft gave him 2 free copies of Office 2010 professional, a desktop clock, and a useless book on Office 2010 when he attended the launch of Office/Sharepoint 2010. He occasionally uses the SharePoint lanyard they gave him instead of the Ubuntu lanyard for his keys, but feels dirty afterwards. Adobe provided him with a pre-release version of the CS5 Master Collection for evaluation and ultimately provided a full, licensed copy for ongoing testing of educational applications of this admittedly expensive software. Like the Gunnars, if the license expires or they come out with CS6, he'd actually go out and buy it himself. Which is saying something, because he's actually pretty cheap. Any other companies wishing to send him cool things to evaluate, wear, or otherwise adorn his kids are more than welcome to; he promises to disclose it here if he keeps any of the stuff. Finally, because WizIQ is a virtual classroom and learning network provider, Chris, as VP of Marketing, frequently interacts with, seeks out deals with, and directly or indirectly competes with a whole lot of LMS, SIS, and other Education 2.0 companies. In general, he'll limit his reporting about these companies to news that does not impact his relationship with them or with WizIQ. If he reports on them, it's because what they are doing is newsworthy or worth the attention of his readers and not because he's trying to broker some deal, damage competition, or otherwise advance his position in his day job. LMS and SIS companies, along with other online learning communities, are a pretty important part of Ed Tech. If he stops reporting on them completely, there won't be a whole lot left. He'll be sure to call out any overt conflicts of interest if they are unavoidable. Finally, Follett Software Company pays him a little tiny honorarium every month to present on their SIS Voices webinars and to write the occasional blog or discussion thread for them. Since Follett recently bought X2 (maker of an awesome web-based SIS that Chris just happened to have used, served in advisory groups for, and frequently reported on), this is probably also worth disclosing.

Biography

Christopher Dawson

Christopher Dawson grew up in Seattle, back in the days of pre-antitrust Microsoft, coffeeshops owned by something other than Starbucks, and really loud, inarticulate music. He escaped to the right coast in the early 90's and received a degree in Information Systems from Johns Hopkins University. While there, he began a career in health and educational information systems, with a focus on clinical trials and related statistical programming and database modeling. This focus led him to several positions at Johns Hopkins, a couple-year stint in private industry, teaching high school math and technology, and 2 years as the technology director for his local school district. Most recently, he started his own consulting business and is now the Vice President of Marketing for WizIQ, Inc., a virtual classroom and learning network provider. He lives with his wife, five kids (yes, 5), 2 dogs, and a hateful cat in a small town in north-central Massachusetts. Although he is no longer teaching, his roles with WizIQ and ZDNet allow him to continue helping students and teachers add value to education with technology rather than merely adding to the bottom line.
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RE: Another nail in Kindle's coffin: Android Kindle App
3shao 20th Sep
@i2fun@... KAKKOII Ne~~ Yamacchan with the dog how cute ~~~ UGG boots bailey button triplet UGG boots classic cardy UGG boots classic mini
View in thread
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Kindle
rybarker 18th May 2010
Count me as one who can't stand reading books or long articles on a LCD screens. The Kindle screen is so easy on the eyes. Until the iPad can turn off the LCD screen and turn on eInk, the Kindle will never die.
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You're right!
i2fun@... 19th May 2010
@rybarker Reading for long periods on an LCD screen is just not what the eyes were meant to do. Plus the fact that Chris misses the the whole point of Amazon selling the Kindle in the first place.

Like Sony & Microsoft selling the PS3 & Xbox 360, they don't make much money on selling the device. They make their money on eBooks. With Amazon's eBook license, you own the book. If you want to resell your books you can. Give them as unencumbered gifts... you can! ....if you somehow lose the ebook or your Kindle or PC breaks, you still have it in your Amazon Library for instant re-download always. Until or if you sell it of course, in Amazon's Marketplace..... only if you want. Amazon's happy, because they make the re-sales fees!

Apple? forget about it. That's how they negotiated cheaper licenses with publishers. YOU don't own anything.... YOU ARE RENTING, while Apple is laughing all the way to the bank at another HOODWINKED SUCKER!

On Apple you are renting the book. It's just a license to use it only. Like still many iTunes songs, movies, etc. Apple is only selling a limited use rental on iTunes. If you want to sell your iBook or movie, or even transfer it onto your PC or competing ebook reader, you can't w/o LIMITS!

Kindle makes a book readable anywhere with eInk screen! ..... even your closet or bright sun. PDF? haha.... READING isn't the best think to be doing on a PC or Mac's LCD Screen anyway..... let alone a little one. On eInk...... it's like reading on paper and imagine the smell of the trees you are saving. If that's what you're missing go outside and read your Kindle eBook under a tree that's still alive! grin
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Get a clue...
ubiquitous one 19th May 2010
@i2fun@... on an iPad, you're only "renting" the app, not the eBook. Get it?

The app is only an access point to get at your amazon.com eBook. Should you lose your app or iPad or Apple whatever, you still own the eBook that you bought from Amazon.

Wow, the disingenuous information here, reeks...
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RE: Another nail in Kindle's coffin: Android Kindle App
3shao 20th Sep
@i2fun@... KAKKOII Ne~~ Yamacchan with the dog how cute ~~~ UGG boots bailey button triplet UGG boots classic cardy UGG boots classic mini
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RE: Another nail in Kindle's coffin: Android Kindle App
shadfurman 19th May 2010
@rybarker agreed! These apocalyptic stories for the Kindle are really starting to piss me off. LCD screens have been around for decades, suddenly the Kindle comes out, sells pretty darn well for a one trick pony, and everyone starts seeing 'kindle killer' in every new device. More over, this has to do with eInk in general. How stupid can people be to think that eInk is a stagnant technology, and the current Kindle is the last revision. It may be... there are plenty of alternatives. But no, it will take another eInk device to kill the Kindle.

Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid comparisons. Nobody said the Kindle was for YOU. eInk eReaders are selling fantastically. You would impress me much more if you gave strong arguments for your projections.
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RE: Another nail in Kindle's coffin: Android Kindle App
ubiquitous one Updated - 19th May 2010
I happen to think more choice is better.

For those who want to stick with the Kindle, then by all means, stick with it. For those who want to read eBooks on their iPad, then that too is another choice.

I don't think that there's an either/or when it comes to this issue. You're whining about nothing.
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See, I can't stand the licensing issues with ebooks and the like
KBot 18th May 2010
I love digital media, I'm a tree hugger, you see. My issue is the licensing. I don't use ebooks, so I don't know if it works the same, but I put a lot of media in pdf form, and getting magazines in licensed pdf form is horrible. They only work in one place! I suppose that all of your info is on amazon's servers, so you can re-download the ebook however you like, but there is nothing like that new book smell happy
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RE: Another nail in Kindle's coffin: Android Kindle App
mwagner@... 19th May 2010
@KyleDDM ...

You don't sound like much of a tree-hugger to me. But, if you had a Kindle you could put all of the material you want in DRM-free PDF files and access them most anywhere.

New books may smell nice but not as nice as that OLD tree!
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RE: Another nail in Kindle's coffin: Android Kindle App
overnout 19th May 2010
@mwagner@... the point wasn't really the smell of the trees or books but the stench of DRM. Nearly all the legally sold books available from the Amazon store and elsewhere are restricted by DRM. You never really own the books you buy, as some hapless souls discovered last summer (google for amazon recall 1984). I have a huge library of old-style books and am looking forward to building a digital library - but that won't happen until publishers smarten up!
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RE: Another nail in Kindle's coffin: Android Kindle App
i2fun@... 19th May 2010
@KyleDDM Reading for long periods on an LCD screen is just not what the eyes were meant to do. Plus the fact that Chris misses the the whole point of Amazon selling the Kindle in the first place.

Like Sony & Microsoft selling the PS3 & Xbox 360, they don't make much money on selling the device. They make their money on eBooks. With Amazon's eBook license, you own the book. If you want to resell your books you can. Give them as unencumbered gifts... you can! ....if you somehow lose the ebook or your Kindle or PC breaks, you still have it in your Amazon Library for instant re-download always. Until or if you sell it of course, in Amazon's Marketplace..... only if you want. Amazon's happy, because they make the re-sales fees!

Apple? forget about it. That's how they negotiated cheaper licenses with publishers. YOU don't own anything.... YOU ARE RENTING, while Apple is laughing all the way to the bank at another HOODWINKED SUCKER!

On Apple you are renting the book. It's just a license to use it only. Like still many iTunes songs, movies, etc. Apple is only selling a limited use rental on iTunes. If you want to sell your iBook or movie, or even transfer it onto your PC or competing ebook reader, you can't w/o LIMITS!

Kindle makes a book readable anywhere with eInk screen! ..... even your closet or bright sun. PDF? haha.... READING isn't the best think to be doing on a PC or Mac's LCD Screen anyway..... let alone a little one. On eInk...... it's like reading on paper and imagine the smell of the trees you are saving. If that's what you're missing go outside and read your Kindle eBook under a tree that's still alive!
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RE: Another nail in Kindle's coffin: Android Kindle App
Pete "athynz" Athens 19th May 2010
@i2fun@... Reposting this does not make it any more true ya know... And BTW as Windoze_washer pointed out in your last copy of this same exact post with the iPod/ iPhone/ iPad Amazon app you really do own the book. Chill with the FUD.
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@athynz Blame ZDNet's Latest Greatest NEW Unimproved Page Layout!
i2fun@... 20th May 2010
@athynz@... First off, the reason it got reposted was in an attempt to edit the first post that was refused. Normally I can also then delete everything in a repost and just leave NT in content. But..., it refused that as well!

Next..... are you telling us that you think you own a movie you buy on iTunes? Like in you can re-sell it like I do my DVD movies? Are you telling me that every single iTunes download is now DRM free? That would be a flat out lie. You still can only play some music and all video on a limited number of devices and you can't back up Digital Content, like you can a DVD or CD in an unlimited way.

It works the same way with buying games on Sony's PS3 or MS's Xbox360. You have limited times the file can be downloaded and you can't back them up at all!

Amazon sells you a book, and because it's in your account, you can resale it in Amazon Marketplace (so why buy books from iBookstore). But those are the only eBooks you can resell there. Apple has no way of re-selling it's own iBooks, that you supposedly purchase (own) and can only share under limited conditions using iTunes only! ....like I said, most files you don't own.

Because you are forced to obtain them only using iTunes (ibooks with adobe epub DRM & only on iPad) and FairPlay through iTunes. It will not let you share libraries or individual files accept to approved devices a limited number of times. You can rip CD's, but not plain DVD's in iTunes. So even movies you actually own on DVD can't be shared, backed up or copied in any way. Except with 3rd party software that can remove iTunes DRM or never put it in the conversion from analog to digital in the first place!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITunes

What? iBookstore is only available to iPad owners! How stupid is that? ....it's a limited market only available to iPads. While I can buy books from any store in the World for every other reader. With that..... who in the hell needs iBookstore anyway. Apple is the King of lame moves this year by limiting their own sales of books to one device. Why in the World if would I buy an iBook via iTunes on iPad, if I can buy a book on Amazon and read it anywhere on any device and then sell if I want? When my iBook is locked to an iPad!

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ibooks/id364709193?mt=8

Oh..... that's right, Apple product users do tend to be on the stupid side of the controlled and manipulated intelligence quotient with iLameBrains!
  • Flagged
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My Kindle DX and my HTC Incredible are my 2 favorite devices
fritzson 18th May 2010
but the Incredible is never going to replace my Kindle.

I don't surf the web on my Kindle and I don't want to read books on the Incredible. The Kindle has a large screen, eInk, a 10 day battery and eInk.

I need to save the battery on my phone for phone calls and web surfing. (Did I mention eInk? Try reading a book on the Incredible while outdoors.)
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Kindle will make more money as a software app
gjafg 18th May 2010
Amazon never really stood a chance designing its own hardware. It will do much better distributing the Kindle app to other platforms, and raking in the license fees.
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Amazon caters to a different (non-GEEK) audience ...
mwagner@... 19th May 2010
@Market Analyst ... with the Kindle than it does the free Kindle software. When the Kindle came out, I finally had an reason to get rid of my Palm. I put the Kindle software on my BlackBerry and on my Laptop but I actually READ in my Kindle.
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Hardware solution is still the best
rdupuy11 Updated - 19th May 2010
The Kindle is light enough to replace a book or magazine, while retaining the screen real estate to make that realistic.

So far the tablets are heavy - and the phones, with small screens.

Of those who buy 1 book or more per week, and usually that means they are the type to read for 2 hours or more at a time...their opinions tend to vary from the casual readera.k.a. non-book buyers. br>
The Kindle always targetted book buyers, and that is important, non-book buyers don't really count. Sorry but you don't, not in the marketplace for books, anyway.
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Only Solution for growing market segment
nottheusual1 19th May 2010
Like dear Mom's reading group of about 20 oldsters - voracious readers.

A market that gets overlooked, yet is starting to make markets move. And they've got the numbers and the $$$ to make their voices heard. Yeah - they've all got phones, but that's their single purpose.

Maybe the V5.0 of something like the iPad will change that dynamic, but nothing seems a real evident leader yet.
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RE: Another nail in Kindle's coffin: Android Kindle App
prof.ebral 19th May 2010
I read the title, then the first few lines and realized the title is misleading. If kindle is expanding by selling apps, then it is expanding, not dying.
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RE: Another nail in Kindle's coffin: Android Kindle App
bdineen 19th May 2010
No matter what happens to the Kindle the big picture is that this is good for Amazon. More Kindle Store Accounts on any device = more Amazon accounts and thus more Amazon shoppers in general.
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Read books on your phone?
cwallen19803@... 19th May 2010
good for you
not for me
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RE: Another nail in Kindle's coffin: Android Kindle App
crogs 19th May 2010
convergence isn't always a good think. For quick reading while waiting for something, yeah, reading on a phone is a good idea. For real reading, chapters at a time, the last thing I would want to do is do it on a small lcd screen. Eye strain, more scrolling. Tough to read intently for a period of time on a small backlit screen. It's annoying and true ereaders will not die until pads are as light and thin as ereaders and have dual eink/lcd(amoled) screens.
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visibility is a big issue
pikeman666 19th May 2010
I've already ruined my near-field vision and am not going to push the eyestrain boundaty even further. The Kindle obviously addresses this issue. On the phone it's just another "me too".
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Kindle was never intended to be a multi-purpose device.
mwagner@... Updated - 19th May 2010
Chris, eReaders have been around since the mid 1990's but the Kindle brought one thing to the table that made eReaders suddenly popular. They are accessible to the non-GEEK.

With the Kindle, no computer is necessary. Any non-GEEK can use their Kinde to buy books and read them wherever they want.

Frankly, I have been an eReader geek since the the late 90's so I know exactly where you are coming from. I put the Kindle eReader on my BlackBerry (and on my laptop) but I never use it. I use my Kindle DX instead. The larger format gives me access to a broader range of material and, quite frankly, it is not all that hard to run down the battery on your cell phone if you are reading on it throughout the day.

I consider being accessible via cell, and having access to my contacts and calendar, as well as the web, to be a more critical need than having access to an eReader or music player. Therefore, I would rather not run down my cell battery reading and listening to music.

While the Kindle reader software will meet the needs of many people, like yourself, there are still plenty of non-GEEKS and people like myself, who will choose a Kindle or other dedicated eReader-like device instead of an all-purpose solution.
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RE: Another nail in Kindle's coffin: Android Kindle App
Al Plastow 19th May 2010
I am an avid reader for business as well as pleasure - frequently consuming a few books along with a couple dozen detailed PDF and/or research documents per week. I find that my Kindle DX is one of the most intelligent IT purchases I've made in over a decade (Yes, I am a first adopter of business tech). Somehow the entire tech communications industry has gotten the idea that we ALL want to squint our way to blindness on tiny shiny cell device screens.

It might be fine to play hunt and strain while we're young, but as the user population shifts away from gen x,y,z, (and the other alphabet groups), we're all going to get old and need larger, more visible screens. Many of us just want to be able to read and reference the printed word - not play games, watch movies, launch pre-emptive strikes, chat with the world about what we just ate, or participate in much of that other truly critical dross flowing over the Internet. The Kindle-style readers just make more sense.
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RE: Another nail in Kindle's coffin: Android Kindle App
schaffnit 20th May 2010
I can see using your Android Kindle app for quick reading of newspaper or magazine articles during the day, but your battery life will be a problem if you want to read a book while using other functions.
The Kindle just won't be needed for daily travel reading, but will still live for use at home and on vacations.
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Nevermind...
SFGAirborne Updated - 19th Dec 2010
Edit: double-tap
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Frackin' DRM!
SFGAirborne 17th Dec 2010
Only real problem I have with Kindle/Kindle Android is DRM. No, I'm not an ebook pirate. I do, however, work in a small room, in a small building, with no windows, and no personal electronics allowed. It would be great if I could export my ebooks, and email them to myself at work...to read on the computer there, (nobody has admin rights to install Kindle for PC) but alas, that would be unacceptable. I don't own an actual Kindle, so the established processes for stripping DRM from the ebooks won't work for me (no serial number in Kindle for Android, or at least, none that I can find...)
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RE: Another nail in Kindle's coffin: Android Kindle App
oakeley 31st Dec 2010
The thing that annoys me about Kindle is that if you are British (with a UK bank account) but happen to live elsewhere in Europe you cannot buy e-books in Sterling from amazon.co.uk but only in Dollars from amazon.com (adds about ?2 per transaction in fees). All e-books are much more expensive on Amazon.com (typically $12 compared to ?4). The paper copies are the same price or a bit cheaper than the Kindle versions and can be bought from co.uk (meaning ?4 for paper vs $12 + ?2 credit card fee for Kindle). Until Amazon offer Kindle books at a price that is close to their paper equivalents I will sadly stick to paper.

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