Kindle Reader for BlackBerry released in beta on February 18, 2010
Kindle for BlackBerry Highlights:
- simple and fast e-book purchases directly from your BlackBerry
- Whispersync technology for syncing across all your devices
- intuitive, easy to use interface
- adustable text size for multiple screen formats
- great reading on the BlackBerry Storm
- no support for notes/highlights, line-by-line scrolling, or search within book
Amazon recently released the
Kindle reader for BlackBerry after much anticipation from the BlackBerry community. My early experiences with the Kindle app, which I tested on my BlackBerry Storm 2, were positive. The
app is currently available to U.S. customers only and features Whispersync technology for syncing your e-book info across multiple devices.
The interface is very simple and intuitive with basic menu options available via the BlackBerry menu key. Options from the Kindle app's home screen include the ability to remove items, sync your e-book bookmarks across your devices via Whispersync, sort functions, archived items, and a link to the Kindle Store. There is also an "info" key that offers help and support options and a handy keyboard shortcuts tab for users who have a physical keyboard.
When you have a book open for reading, the options from the BlackBerry menu key include text size adjustments, fullscreen mode on/off, add a bookmark, a "go to" function, and a "sync to furthest location" function. Text size is the most notable of these functions and allows six different sizes, allowing adjustments for different screen formats. The "go to" function allows you to skip to the book cover, the beginning of your
e-book, the table of contents, or a previously bookmarked location. The "sync to furthest location" function simply updates your devices to your most recent page read using Amazon's Whispersync technology. Full screen mode - ON removes the book title and location information from the screen adding a little more space for text to cut back on page turns.
Reading on my Storm 2 was surprisingly comfortable and the text display is quite easy to follow. I click on the right or left sides of my screen to turn pages forward or backward but users with a physical keyboard can use the space bar to page forward and "P" to go to the previous page. The Kindle reader for BlackBerry does not currently support a notes/highlights function, line-by-line scrolling, or search within a book. Amazon promises that these features will be added in the near future.
Your Kindle titles can be managed via your Amazon account in the "Manage your Kindle" section. Here you will see your e-book orders and can register new devices. Purchased titles can be delivered to your other registered devices, e.g., PC, Kindle, Kindle DX, or iPhone.
The Kindle for BlackBerry currently supports the Bold 9000/9700, Curve 8520/ 8900, Storm 9530/9550, and the Tour 9630. The Kindle store boasts more than 400,000 e-books with over 100 New York Times Best Sellers. Most books are priced at $9.99 or less yet select titles can be up to $15. Books can be purchased via your BlackBerry device with the "buy with one click" option and books are downloaded directly to your Kindle for BlackBerry home screen. One-click buying uses your Amazon account information, including your default payment method, to make e-book purchases quick and simple. You can literally have your e-book available for reading is just a few minutes.
The
Kindle app for BlackBerry is available at the
Amazon Kindle for BlackBerry page. This page will give you the option to send an email to your BlackBerry device with a link for the download. You can also type "amazon.com/kindlebb" into your BlackBerry browser address bar to download the app directly to your device. When you download and install the app, your BlackBerry device is automatically registered within your Amazon account in the "Manage your Kindle" section.
The Kindle for BlackBerry app is easy to use, quick and convenient, and quite addictive. Storm users, due to the larger screen size, will benefit the most from this app, but other BlackBerry users with smaller screens will benefit as well with the ease of use and extreme convenience of having your favorite reading material readily available anywhere to carry your device.
Wes