First the bad news: In multiple ways, Amazon’s new Kindle reader for the iPhone falls short of being the ultimate iPhone e-book application. It fails to replicate all the major features of a 9 Kindle device. But despite that, it’s a delight to have Kindle on the iPhone. What makes Kindle Kindle isn’t software but content –244,000 books’ worth.
These are the applications that offer clues as to how mobile users are likely to use their smartphones — whether it’s an iPhone or one of the iPhone’s rivals — in the months and years to come.
Mullah Abdul Salaam Zaeef is a former Taliban ambassador to Pakistan. He spent almost four years in Guantanamo. He wears a black turban, has a thick beard, and is never without his Apple iPhone… said he has always been interested in technology despite his militant links. He used a laptop and satellite phone to access the Internet
palmsolo writes “The Amazon Kindle 2 just started shipping last week, but Amazon surprised everyone late on March 3rd by placing the Amazon Kindle software for the iPhone in the Apple App Store. With the Whispersync technology you can now keep your Kindle and iPhone ebooks in sync and read everywhere you go. Readers on the iPhone also now get access to over 200,000 ebook titles on the Amazon Kindle storefront. Check out the hands-on image gallery and video of the Amazon Kindle software on the iPhone and Kindle 2.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
I don’t know how you feel, but I think the world is ready for a new and improved iPhone. Yes, it was the best phone that 2008 brought out but with the likes of the Palm Pre, HTC Touch Diamond2 and HTC Magic about to hit town, the title for Best Phone of 2009 may just go elsewhere.
In its first detailed look at web market share for cellphones, a research firm has found that Apple’s iPhone represents a staggering 66.61 percent of mobile traffic while its competitors have only just gained a foothold.
The RNSK “Bang! Bang!” iPhone app recreates the sound of several firearms using authentic Hollywood special effects, and will probably get you shot up for real. You even hold it like a real gun.
reifman links to his thorough and thoughtful review of the experience of reading a newspaper on the Kindle 2. “I’ve been eager to try The New York Times on the Kindle 2; here’s my review with a basic video walk-through and screenshots. I give the Kindle 2 version of The Times a B. Software updates could bring it up to an A-. Kindle designers should have learned more from the iPhone 3G. Unfortunately, my Kindle display scratched less than 24 hours after it arrived. As I detail in the review, Amazon customer service was not very accommodating. Is it my fault — or will Kindle 2 evolve into an Apple 1G Nano-like .5M settlement? You can read about Hearst’s e-reader for newspapers from earlier today on Slashdot.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Among the crowded field of cloud sharing and file synchronization services, there are plenty of interesting options (we’ve been partial to Dropbox around here, but check around for more), but when you add ‘must work well with iPhone’ to the requirements list, the choices narrow a bit.
MBCook writes “AppleInsider has posted a great article explaining that Wired’s story about Japanese iPhone hate was completely false and has been edited at least twice. The comments in the article were recycled and taken out of context, with those interviewed blogging about the mistakes. The piece then goes on to analyze the iPhone’s standing in Japan, as well as some of the major factors working for and against it. At last it points out that the Wall Street Journal tried the same myth of failure just after the phone’s launch in Japan, recycled from a myth the year before, pushed by a research company with a possible anti-Apple agenda.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
