The Joy of Portable Books... and I Mean *Very* Portable

I've been a Kindle user for several years now. My original Kindle is big and klunky, but it still works well and I'm glad that I jumped on the Kindle bandwagon early (thanks Ben!)

One of the great things about that particular early adopter moment is that it got me on the electronic book train before it ever really left the station. By doing that, I was able to really be part of the swell of e-books before the first wave ever really formed.

For the record, I completely, totally, and madly love reading books electronically. The process is easy to use and easy on the eyes. I don't ever want to go back to paper again.

Now we're seeing what I consider to be the next generation of the ebook which is not to say the newest offerings from Amazon or Barnes & Noble, but instead, the development of apps that will allow for true "cross platform" reading.

What I'm seeing is that many of us who have been ebook readers for some time now no longer need to be convinced of the concept. No, what we need are the ways to grab our books wherever we need them. Example: I'll readily admit I'm hooked on the whole "Kindle Concept" even though I haven't picked up my Kindle in over a month. How can I be a KIndle diehard & not even use it? I'll explain that in a moment. First let me explain the "hooked on the concept" part.

The idea of a small device that holds all my books and goes anywhere with me is a tremendous idea. Amazon was the early winner in the category even though they were not the first to market. Their agreements with publishers gave them a huge library of books that were formatted to their device the day it went on sale. I have bought and read more books in the time that I've had my Kindle than in perhaps the 5 years previous combined.

Here's a prime example: Last year I was at a meeting and I was sitting pool side with one of my really good friends in dentistry, Dr. Bob Lowe. He and I travel quite a bit for our lecturing and as such we end up with time on our hands that can be often made less stressful by reading a good book. Bob mentioned 3 good mysteries he had read recently. I just flipped out my Kindle searched on the books, purchased, and downloaded while we sat by the pool. I had the books in a couple of minutes and I never even had to get out of my chair!

This scenario happens a lot with me where someone will mention a good book and I buy it right then and there. Amazon has sold me a lot of books that I would never have purchased if I had to go to a store or even go to a website and then wait for UPS to bring it. Having books available in almost real time is a huge advantage.

Now we get to the part of why I don't use my Kindle. To put it succinctly... I don't need it anymore. Amazon has done a wonderful job of designing & distributing apps that work on a variety of devices. I have an iPad, a Motorola Xoom Android tablet, and 2 Android phones. All of them have Kindle apps that allow me to do everything that I can do on the Kindle and the keep all of my books synchronized with each other!!! Open a book on my iPad and read a few pages then close it. Open the same book on my Xoom a few minutes later and the app asks me if I want to sync to the last page read on the iPad. Tap "Yes" and it automatically jumpst to that page while keeping all of my bookmarks, highlights, etc synced as well. Now Amazon has also introduced their Cloud Reader that keeps your books in the Cloud as well and allows you to read from any device that has an Internet connection.

While I don't read much on my phone, I can if I want to and it can be quite handy in a pinch.

I don't have much experience with the Nook from B&N but I've got to figure it's a similar experience. All said, I can't imagine going back to paper. The ebook experience is just too good. While I do enjoy the "feel" of a good book in my hands, I can't imagine giving up the convenience and the instant gratification that comes with "go anywhere" reading.k

KIndle Update Brings Personal Document Synchronization to Users

This cloud thing is becoming bigger and bigger by the moment... don'tcha think? And I continue to be impressed with the way Amazon has embraced the concept of cloud computing and the way the company continues to make The Cloud part of its customer experience.

As regular readers know, i've devoted a fair number of electrons lately to blogging about Amazon and The Cloud. Now that's not because I own stock (I don't, but probably s should) or the fact that I"m a raving Amazon fanboy (I like the service but refuse to drink the Koolaide). No, I just think the management at AMazon is doing this the right way.

So, I was once again pleasantly surprised when I stumbled across the following:

In the latest update to the software the runs the Amazon Kindle, there are management systems built-in for your personal documents. One of the lesser known features of the Kindle, which has existed since the early days of the device, is the ability to store your personal documents. That's right, you can either connect your Kindle to your computer via USB and add documents to the device or you can email your documents directly to your Kindle. After doing that, the docs show up in the personal documents area in your Cloud Storage at Amazon. Once the documents are in your Cloud Storage they can be deleted or sent to any device linked to that account. In my case, that means documents can be on my Kindle, iPad, Xoom, iPod, and Samsung Galaxy S. Actually that's a bit of a fib. This only currently works on the Kindle, but the engineers at Amazon are hard at work to create updated Kindle apps that will allow the functions I just described on any device running a Kindle app.

This also means that, once the apps are done, reading your personal documents will be synced across the cloud just like things you have purchased and downloaded through the Kindle store.

It's just one more way to stay organized in both your reading for pleasure as well as your reading for your job!

Here are the details on the 3.3 update direct from Amazon:

Download Version 3.3 You can download the update below. All Kindle Keyboard users will receive this software update automatically via Wi-Fi. To see if your Kindle Keyboard has already been updated, from the Home screen press the Menu button and use the 5-way controller to select "Settings." If the Settings screen displays "Version: Kindle 3.3" (or later) at the bottom of the screen, your Kindle Keyboard already has the latest software installed. To update your Kindle Keyboard software, turn your wireless on and connect to an available Wi-Fi network. From the Home screen, press Menu and select "Sync and Check for Items." The software update will automatically download in the background and install when your Kindle Keyboard goes into sleep mode. Here's how to download the Kindle Keyboard software update version 3.3 and transfer it to your Kindle Keyboard via USB: Determine your software version: From Home, select Menu, then Settings. On the Settings screen you will see the Kindle version at the bottom of the screen. If you see "Version Kindle 3.1" or earlier (3.1.2, 3.0.3, 3.0.2, 3.0.1, or 3.0), please proceed with the steps below to update your Kindle Keyboard to the latest software. Download your software: Click on the appropriate link below to download the software update file directly to your computer: Kindle Keyboard Wi-Fi:Download 3.3 Your serial number will start with "B008" Kindle Keyboard 3G (Free 3G + Wi-Fi) - U.S. and Canadian Customers*: Download 3.3 Your serial number will start with "B006" Kindle Keyboard 3G (Free 3G + Wi-Fi) - European Customers*:Download 3.3 Your serial number will start with "B00A" Your Kindle Keyboard serial number is visible at the bottom of the Settings Screen. From Home, select Menu, then Settings. *We automatically ship your Kindle Keyboard with the best built-in wireless card based on the shipping country you select during checkout. If your country is not listed above, please check your serial number to determine which download to use. Transfer software to your Kindle Keyboard: Turn your Kindle Keyboard on and connect it to your computer using the USB cable. Drag and drop the new update file from your computer to the root Kindle drive. (The drive contains a number of folders - such as "audible," "documents," and "music" - and is typically displayed as a "device" icon). Monitor file transfer and disconnect: Check your file transfer progress to ensure file transfer to your Kindle Keyboard is complete before disconnecting. After the file has transferred successfully, eject the Kindle to safely disconnect Kindle Keyboard from your computer. Disconnect the USB cable from your Kindle Keyboard and your computer. Start the software update: Go to the Home screen, press the Menu key, and select "Settings." Press the Menu key again, and then select "Update Your Kindle." (This option will be grayed out if the most recent update has already been installed or if the file transfer was not successful.) Select "Ok" when prompted if you want to perform an update. Your Kindle Keyboard will restart twice during the update. After the first restart, you will see "Your Kindle is Updating". Once the update is complete: Your Kindle Keyboard will automatically restart a second time. When you go to the Settings page, you should notice Version: Kindle 3.3 at the bottom of the screen. Once you see this, you know your update is complete. Free Access at AT&T Hotspots Enjoy free Wi-Fi access at AT&T hotspots across the U.S. to shop for and download Kindle content -- no AT&T registration, sign-in, or password required. You will need the Kindle Keyboard software update 3.1 or later to use free Wi-Fi access at AT&T hotspots. Update your Kindle software for free. Troubleshooting Update Issues Symptom Cause Resolution "Update" menu option on the Settings page is grayed out. The update file is in the incorrect directory, or was not transferred successfully. Plug your Kindle Keyboard back into your computer and verify the update file is present in the root directory of your Kindle Keyboard, not in a folder. File download won't complete or doesn't appear to start. Your firewall software may be blocking the download. Verify that your firewall is setup to allow the file transfer. Internet Explorer may prevent downloads. Right-click the download link and select "save as" to save the file to your computer. If this method is unsuccessful, complete the following steps to download as an Administrator: From the Start menu, right-click on the Internet Explorer icon. Select "Run as Administrator." Return to this page and try the download again. Received an error message when selecting "Update Your Kindle." Incomplete download. Redownload the installer from the Download your software section of this page. The software update file was renamed. Delete the update file on your computer and Kindle Keyboard, and repeat the software update process above. Unsupported software modifications are present. Kindle Keyboard doesn't support software modification, and will be unable to update the Kindle software if it has been modified. Contact the original developer of the software modification for instructions on how to remove the modification. Unable to download when selecting "Sync and Check for Items." Not connected to a Wi-Fi network Kindle Keyboard software update 3.3 is only available for download over Wi-Fi or from this page. Connect to a Wi-Fi network and the update will download in the next few days, or download the correct file listed above. If you still cannot successfully update your Kindle Keyboard software using the instructions above or encounter any difficulty with your software update, please contact Kindle Support by clicking the "Contact Us" button in the right hand column of this page. 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Amazon Announces Kindle Fire - Where There Is Smoke...

In the little over 18 months since its first announcement, the iPad has reigned supreme in the portable computing market. Oh sure, there have been competitors, but most haven't been able to go but a few rounds with the heavy weight champion iPad. HP fell away, Motorola released the Xoom and had lackluster sales, and Samsung has struggled as well.

The reason for these struggles? In my opinion it is because these other devices have been "me too" kinds of products. They are tablets trying to "be" the iPad and so try and do all the things that the iPad does. Because of this and their very similar price points, I think many consumers have said, "If it does the same stuff as the iPad and costs the same as the iPad, why not just by an iPad?" That's logic I can't argue with.

However, today Amazon entered the tablet market with the Kindle Fire. A competitor to the iPad with an interesting slant. The Kindle Fire is sort of iPad lite. And by that, I don't mean to speak badly about it. No, instead I think this may just be a piece of genius. Rather than compete directly with the iPad, the Kindle Fire is a scaled back tablet that will do the things that a lot of non-power users need.

The Fire has a touch screen that is 7 inches compared to the 9.7 inch iPad. A small screen means the device is smaller... but it also keeps the costs down. For some people the smaller, easier to carry footprint will be welcome. For others it will be a deal breaker.

There is no camera in the Fire, but for most folks who have taken a photo with a tablet they will tell you it's cumbersome and easier to take pictures with a small digital camera.

The Fire is WiFi only which may be a big deal for some folks, but I own a portable WiFi hotspot and have never owned a device with its own connection. I don't think it's that big of a deal with WiFi readily available almost everywhere.

The number one thing the Fire has going for it? Price! At $199 the device is much less than even the low end iPads. Add to that the fact that the device has only 8GB of storage but also has access to the unlimited storage of Amazon Cloud and you have a device that may have found a nice niche market and give the iPad a run for its money.

Amazon Introduces Cloud Reader

I've got to hand it to Amazon. They just keep pushing the limits.

They first shook things up with their Cloud Player, beating Apple & Google to the punch with online storage of your music collection. Because of that, a larger & larger portion of my music now sits on Amazon's servers.

Now they have done the same with their KIndle Store & eReader. The Amazon Cloud Reader stores your ebooks, allows you to read them, & remembers where you left off with them.

Why is this a big deal? It circumvents the Apple App stranglehold. Previously you needed an App to read & buy for your KIndle account if you had an iPod. That meant that any purchases had to go through Apple which resulted in a 30% charge that went straight to the iPad maker.

By making the Cloud Reader available through the browser, it makes the store & storage universally available through any browser whether the browser is on your iPad or your computer.

So Amazon has taught something to the brains at Cupertino. That deserves at least this blog post!

iPad now Challenging Amazon Kindle

Here's a bit of interesting news. A recent poll I read says that for those surveyed who were asked if they were planning on buying an ebook reader in the next 30 days, 42 percent said they were leaning toward an iPad while 33 percent said they would buy a Kindle.

Obviously, that's not good news for the Kindle hardware, but don't forget that Amazon was very quick to roll out a Kindle app for the iPad. I still buy most of my books from the Amazon Kindle store but end up reading them on the iPad. That's not to say I don't still use my Kindle, I do, especially on trips where I am lugging my MacBook Pro along & I'm trying to decrease the weight of the gadgets.

However, unlike lots of users, I'm still using the Kindle store for the majority of my purchases. I have made some purchases from the iBook store, but I prefer using Amazon at this point.