Amazon Updates Kindle App For The iPhone

When Amazon first released the Kindle App for the iPhone, people wondered whether it was the right decision to make. After all, the Kindle 2 was also released around the same time, and there was speculation that Amazon would be cannibalizing itself with its iPhone App. But after a few months, it seems that the opposite is happening.

Amazon actually gained a large user base when it opened its doors to the iPhone, and business has been great so far. While reading on the iPhone will never be better than reading on the Kindle, users have appreciated the fact that they can take their e-book libraries wherever they wanted to, without having to lug the large Kindle gadgets around.

Just recently, Amazon made certain upgrades on their Kindle book site (and of course the Kindle App itself) to make things a lot friendlier for iPhone users. It's now easier for iPhone users to browse through the book site and make purchases. But the biggest upgrades came with the Kindle App version 1.1.

Users can now read in landscape mode, which can be easier for some. There's also a "lock" button, which locks the view in portrait or landscape to avoid unnecessary rotations and such -- a feature that many other Apps on the App Store could use.

There are now also three color schemes for the text and background -- the standard white, black, and sepia -- that you can choose from depending on the lighting situation. The iPhone is backlit, so reading on it for long periods of time will undoubtedly cause some eyestrain. But switch to the low-contrast "sepia" setting, and reading on the iPhone suddenly feels easier.

Of course, upgrades are always good -- but for me and many other iPhone enthusiasts in other parts of the world, the question remains. When will these Apps, which are obviously the most popular of them all, be available to a worldwide audience?

Amazon pretty much has its hands tied at the moment, since its USA market is already a handful to satisfy. But to have Kindle and its iPhone App versions available to Asia and other parts of the world -- that would spell the final demise for Palm.



Speaking of Palm, I received some news about the Pre's release this June 6. It turns out the much-vilified $100 rebates won't have to be mailed-in, but instead it will be effected at the point of purchase. This will make buying Pre much less of a hassle for buyers, and may actually rope in those who are on the fence about making the Pre their smartphone.


A bit of rare good news from a company struggling to survive.