And the Kindle Plus is...
 

(Unfortunately), the iPod and its bretheren.

Not exactly the Kindle Plus (a name I made up recently: it doesn't exist.) But its seeds may be here, from the NY Times today:

"Starting Wednesday, owners of these Apple devices can download a free application, Kindle for iPhone and iPod Touch, from Apple’s App Store. The software will give them full access to the 240,000 e-books for sale on Amazon.com, which include a majority of best sellers."

Assuming that these books are made available at Kindle prices (does anyone know for sure?), this could mean the eventual death of the Kindle.

And look at this:

"Amazon also said its recently unveiled Whispersync function would work for people who own a Kindle and one of the Apple devices." (I guess that means you download with the Kindle and transfer to the iPod)

Also involving Amazon, I see that I can buy movies from Amazon on my Roku Netflix device now.

So the world is changing fast.

Re: And the Kindle Plus is...
 

I would imagine that Amazon helped Apple develop the app that accesses the e-books. Although I can see that this would sell more e-books, I agree it would sell no Kindles.

When you buy a movie to your Roku device, can you save it somewhere?

Re: And the Kindle Plus is...
 

The good thing about the kindle is that the screen is e-paper and it's also reasonably large. I really can't see myself reading books on a titchy iPod with a back-lit screen (or indeed the N8x0 for that matter).

Re: And the Kindle Plus is...
 

Maybe Amazon believes that there will be only partial cannibalization of Kindle sales from iPhone users, and the greater sales of e-books will offset.

I don't always read e-books on my N800, but it is nice as a backup device when I don't have a book handy.

Re: And the Kindle Plus is...
 

Someone asked if you could play the Roku movies more than once, or something like that:

"Videos play back instantly on your TV. No waiting for a download. Purchases and rentals are added to Your Video Library and stored online by Amazon.com so you can conveniently watch them on your Roku player."

I guess that means they are permanently available, but stored on the net, so you can't share them with your friends unless they come over for a beer or you bring your Roku to their house.

Re: And the Kindle Plus is...
 

"I don't always read e-books on my N800, but it is nice as a backup device when I don't have a book handy."

I read books on my N800 and N810 constantly, and I have recently discovered a
revolutionary development unknown to the Kindle -- it's called COLOR.

FBreader allows you to change the background/typeface colors, and shades of blue are more restful than stark black and white, it seems to me.

I guess you can do that on an iTouch, I suppose, maybe.

But I confess I have been doing more reading on my eee 1000h lately.

Re: And the Kindle Plus is...
 

The kindle could probably be sold as a loss-leader, in the same way as games consoles are, with the vast majority of the profit coming from the book sales. Therefore there's no problem, afaict, with this client for the iPod.

Re: And the Kindle Plus is...
 

Actually what it means is, the books you read on your iPhone and your Kindle are always in sync, meaning if you read up to page 123 on your Kindle, then open the book on your iPhone, it opens to page 123... and vice versa. Really quite smart, if you think about it... and if you own both devices, which seems a bit weird, but I'm sure there are people who have both.

You can download books to either the iPhone or the Kindle from amazon's website. You don't transfer books to the iPhone from the Kindle in fact you need not even own a Kindle.

Re: And the Kindle Plus is...
 

I don't know what "titchy" means, but actually, the books in the iPhone's Kindle reader are surprisingly easy to read, even in sunlight, and the form factor of the iPhone is better for reading when in a checkout line, on a bus, whatever than the Kindle. It's very simple to open the book and start reading with one hand, which the Kindle requires just a bit more work. Plus it fits in a pocket vs Kindle doesn't, and did anyone mention it takes phone calls as well? I wouldn't suggest hours and hours of uninterrupted reading on the thing, but for sneaking in a chapter or two - think department store shopping with the wife - it's really not too bad.

I previously owned a Kindle, now own an iPhone and for my purposes, when it comes to reading electronic books, the iPhone wins by a neck. Oh and the books I purchased for my Kindle were waiting for me when I registered my iPhone.

Re: And the Kindle Plus is...
 

I was surprised that I really like reading on my N800. Then I tried doing it on an iPod Touch, but my eyes fatigued from the lack of pixel density. Last week I briefly tried a Kindle 2, and I was surprised to find its contrast too low for my satisfaction. Maybe contrast is adjustable, but my cousin -- its owner -- didn't think so.

March 30 Edit: While I don't like reading on the Touch with black-on-white, I used a friend's eBook Reader on her iPhone (so same should apply to a Touch) and found that white-on-black and some other color combinations made reading just fine.