On iPhone/iPod Touch, there are alternatives to the Kindle Reader such as Iceberg. A key difference is that while you buy Kindle books through Amazon.com, specific Iceberg titles are sold in iTunes App Store. That makes it hard to browse the selection as you wade through page after page without honed sorting. Sigh.
I like that the Iceberg Reader doesn't impose justified formatting unlike Kindle, but while it touts maintaining pagination as a feature, this works against the compact format: as shown in the below video, I found myself accidentally turning pages when I intended to scroll down. Having these two gestures for every "page", especially when if you're a fellow brisk reader with focus, is frustrating. After finishing Neil Gaiman's Coraline (which I pronounce in at least two different ways) and Stephen King's N., I found myself unwilling to continue. A smoother approach would be to have endless vertical scrolling with page boundaries indicated.
There are other hitches in the Iceberg Reader's usability. For example, the page turn animation is cute but unresponsive compared to Kindle's rapid loading (once pages are cached). Iceberg's annotation abilities seem more advanced, but I don't have use for those features — an occasional bookmark of the page (which is as easy in Kindle as tapping the upper-right corner), sure. So while Iceberg is more rooted in tradition, it also doesn't use the iPhone format as well as it could, or should.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I use an actual Kindle device (*love* *it* !!!) – and I also publish for the Kindle.
As for "forced" justification,, that's actually the "default" setting when publish for the Kindle (AZW format – basically a DRM'd version of ePub format (at least I thinks that's the one – it's one of those open formats anyway)). Anyway – just wanted to say that justification (as well as font choice and size, etc.) are actually handled in the publishing phase and can all be changed. But most publishers are still learning – so they go with defaults.
Anyway, it's the way the book is published, not the reader itself (hardware or software version) that determines those things. HAH! I'll send you a Kindle version of my SL book… I'm curious to know how it reads on an iTouch – since it was formatted for the Kindle 2 screen.
I wear glasses when I read and find the new kindle is a MAJOR improvement. I've heard the same thing with several glasses and bifocals wearers.
@Ari Didn't know about the "are actually handled in the publishing phase"! And thanks in advance, I'm on Amazon under torley at gmail dot com =)
@Brian I haven't seen a Kindle in-person yet but I'm curious.
Update with the Kindle:
All Kindle 2 are now "International" versions and the price has apparently dropped (again). But also, there is Kindle reader software for iPhone/iPod Touch and coming soon to Blackberry, Windows (7, Vista, XP) and also for Macintosh.
Though I've followed this news (individually as it came-out) – I also follow a Kindel blog, where this post summarizes nicely:
http://kindleworld.blogspot.com/2009/10/summary-of-new-kindle-capabilities.html
/me grins.