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iPhone Backs into Success Against Kindle

Friday, October 3rd, 2008 at 1:20 PM - by

The iPhone is getting to be a popular book reading platform, perhaps by accident, according to Forbes on Thursday. The popular book reading app, Stanza, already has 395,000 downloads and is gaining at 5,000 per day. That's more than the 380,000 Kindles expected to sell in all of 2008.

The Stanza numbers were reported by the three person startup, Lexcycle, in Portland, Oregon that developed the Stanza app.


The two devices, however, are not quite on equal footing. The Kindle uses E-ink which is easier on the eyes and consumes less battery power. However, it is slow to refresh. On the other hand, some users find the backlit iPhone strains their eyes after a long time.

Another difference sis that Stanza's free book collection is public domain, older books without copyright. The Kindle offers more than 180,000 titles, including new releases, and best sellers are priced at about US$10. Of course, while Stanza started off free, the intention is to strike deals that will also allow them to also sell new releases starting early in 2009. That will equalize things.

"Once we've got that kind of deal done," said Marc Prud'hommeaux, Lexcycle's CEO. "You'll be able to do everything on the iPhone that you can now do on the Kindle: browse, purchase, download and read a book without interacting with your computer in any way."

At one time, Steve Jobs pooh-poohed the Kindle, saying that people don't read anymore. At the time, he may not have had a notion that not only do people actually read a lot, but they would end up preferring the iPhone over the Kindle.

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A guest said: (hide)

Fri Oct 03, 2008 1:41 pm

I don't think it should be a surprise at all. It's all a matter of convenience. The Kindle is a separate device you have to tote around. In that respect its not that much different than a book. The iPhone is already in your pocket. I use eReader instead of Stanza, but it's the same difference. Plenty of circumstances arise during the day for unexpected reading opportunities; bus stop, waiting on the wife while shopping, waiting for a long download, and with the book on your phone, which you have with you anyway, there is no planning ahead.

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A guest said: (hide)

Fri Oct 03, 2008 2:21 pm

Ha! And Mr. Jobs says people don't read. I'm glad he was mistaken.

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A guest said: (hide)

Fri Oct 03, 2008 3:36 pm

By accident? Stanza is a prominent App Store pick on Apple.com

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gslusher said:

member since 13 Nov 2002 with 2088 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Sat Oct 04, 2008 12:25 pm

Guest wrote:
By accident? Stanza is a prominent App Store pick on Apple.com

I expect that the author meant that it was by accident from Apple's point of view. Apple did not design nor market the iPhone or iPod touch as book readers.

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Intruder said:

member since 07 Jul 2004 with 3149 posts, TMO Mac Specialist, send him a message or view his profile

Sat Oct 04, 2008 1:08 pm

IMHO, the screen on the iPhone (or iPod Touch) is too small for comfortable reading for any length of time.

I travel a great deal, and (although I think it is not exactly the best looking device) I have just ordered a Kindle. The convenience of wireless downloading (in the US), the price of the titles (most bestsellers being less than buying hardcopy) and the convenience of only carrying one device instead of several books outweigh the looks. Sure, it would be nice to do this on the phone (although I don't own an iPhone, I do own a Touch), but making the text large enough to read comfortably means you are almost constantly scrolling. Plus it is a drain on the battery having the screen backlight on constantly.

If the Sony reader worked well with a Mac and had the wireless download capability, I might have gone with it instead. Much better looking device that the Kindle.

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gslusher said:

member since 13 Nov 2002 with 2088 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Sat Oct 04, 2008 2:27 pm

Intruder wrote:
IMHO, the screen on the iPhone (or iPod Touch) is too small for comfortable reading for any length of time.

I travel a great deal, and (although I think it is not exactly the best looking device) I have just ordered a Kindle. The convenience of wireless downloading (in the US), the price of the titles (most bestsellers being less than buying hardcopy) and the convenience of only carrying one device instead of several books outweigh the looks. Sure, it would be nice to do this on the phone (although I don't own an iPhone, I do own a Touch), but making the text large enough to read comfortably means you are almost constantly scrolling. Plus it is a drain on the battery having the screen backlight on constantly.

If the Sony reader worked well with a Mac and had the wireless download capability, I might have gone with it instead. Much better looking device that the Kindle.

The Kindle probably makes sense for you--saves a lot of space & weight in packing!

However, the price of the books has to be balanced against two factors:

- The price of the Kindle. How many books will it take to make up the difference?

- The "non-sellability" of the Kindle ebooks, while one can sell hard copy books--albeit not for a lot, but for something.

I have the same issues with Audible audiobooks versus books on tape or CD. For me, the convenience of using my little iPod Nano 2G hooked to the iPod adapter I had installed in my 2004 Prius is worth the loss.

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Intruder said:

member since 07 Jul 2004 with 3149 posts, TMO Mac Specialist, send him a message or view his profile

Sat Oct 04, 2008 3:21 pm

I agree with all your points. In my case, I read probably 30-40 books a year, so the difference in price for the hardcover books (since I have several authors that I read when they release new stuff) will probably cover the cost of the Kindle in about a year. The biggest benefit for me is the space savings in my luggage. Some of my trips are to locations where storage is at a premium, and hauling lots of (or large) pieces of luggage is a no-no. Or it is weight restricted. I'm sure, with your prior history, you know of situations like this.

I will probably sell a stack of my hard copy books to pay for the Kindle.

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