Discussion: Amazon has released it's Kindle App for the iPhone and iPod Touch, and in one app, they've already made the full app books that are already out there obsolete. Mike S also thinks that it may have affected Stanza in the future as well.
Listener Review: Jordan from Baltimore reviews Neptune Crossing by Jeffrey A. Carver, which is now available for free download from starrigger.net, the author's website and the Baen's Webscription.net.
Interview: Mike and Mike chat with Brian D'Amato about his new book, In The Courts of the Sun. This is the first of the Sacrifice Game series, the story follows Jed DeLanda, a Mayan math prodigy in 2012, who agrees to help his mentor decipher a newly discovered Mayan Codex -- by sending his mind back in time to learn more about the "sacrifice game" in the hopes of saving the world.
Brian talks about the extensive research into Mesoamerica and the Mayan language, the theories and prophecies surrounding Dec 21, 2012 and the end of current cycle of the Mayan Calendar, and more!
Submitting Listener comments: If you have any suggestions or comments, please let us know!
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Link: Brian D'Amato
FIVE GALLEY GIVEAWAY -- IN THE COURTS OF THE SUN
Hi all from a longtime lurker and first-time poster.
The Michaels interviewed me a few days ago regarding my upcoming book "In the Courts of the Sun." I enjoyed the interview.
It turns out that I have a few pre-publication bound galleys of this book left from the stack that my publicist sent out to magazines and so on. I thought that it might be nice to give away five of these (signed and inscribed, of course) to the FIRST FIVE people who listen to the interview, read this post, go to my website, and contact me. Please mention "Cover to Cover."
Of course, one hopes that these will be collectors' items in the years to come...
Thanks,
Brian D'Amato
Great interview with Brian - really interesting how a book in one genre can ostensibly be shuffled into another (cf. Michael Crighton, etc). And anyone who can quote Lovecraft by heart instantly goes on my reading list!
Also great discussion about the Kindle, the iPhone Kindle app, etc, between Mike and Mike. Although Mike S. suggests that the Kindle app on the iPhone means the Kindle 2 is dead in the water, I wonder whether Amazon actually intended this? Would they possibly pull the app from the iTunes app store? Then again, as discussed, they're in the business of selling the content, not the electronic device to read it on. I can't help but think that the Amazon Kindle development team would be miffed... I think we'll hear more discussion on what the Kindle app will do to the Kindle in the coming months. Of course the Kindle has the advantage of e-ink...
For those not in the US, the Kindle app can be downloaded from the US app store, and you can get samples from Amazon.com without a hitch. Must check it out. Like Mike, I went with Legends for my steampunk eBook, The Devil in Chains (*ding!*), so I must see what the Kindle app looks like in comparison.
I doubt the Kindle is dead.
I can read for the Kindle for two weeks on a single charge. The Iphone app just sucks my battery dry.. I got maybe two hours worth of reading done on it. Plus, the LCD screen is just killing my eyes.
I suspect what will happen is that people will use both the Kindle and the Iphone together, depending where they are. With WhisperSync syncing both devices to the last page, it just complements each other well. If you have someone willing to pay $200 or so for an Iphone, plus the data plan.. they're going to be willing to pay $360 or so for a reader. High techies are the same people who pay a $700 premium to move from 720p to 1080p.
But in the end, for me, and for others.. and for reading.. E-ink is just a superior technology.
I could see the Kindle as a great alternative to packing 3-4 books for a trip. If you're like me, you worry a bit about taking a favorite book along, on the chance that it might get badly damaged in the luggage or something.
The longer battery life would be the upside for me... knowing that I wouldn't have to recharge it on a cross-country flight is a bonus. My iPod Touch is great, but if I get on a roll playing Bejeweled 2, that battery life goes right out the window... I might get an hour and a half, compared with 6+ hours when just listening to music.
I downloaded the Kindle app, but I haven't grabbed anything to read with it yet. I'm not personally sold on the smaller size for reading yet... but it did turn me into a new fan of audio books!
I haven't gotten an e-book reader yet, and probably won't for some time (I've spent $100s on the books in my "To Read" pile that I haven';t gotten to yet, and the last thing I ned is another distraction), but if I were I'd have to go with the Kindle, because I cannot read LCD screens for too long. It hurts my eyes.
And all of a sudden, I have a dumb question.
If I bought a Kindle book and downloaded it to my iPod Touch, would I later be able to download that same book to my real Kindle, should I ever manage to obtain one?
I am asking that myself Summer, seeing my early b day gift was kindle.
Tim
With a Kindle eBook, do you have the file sitting on your computer to transfer to your Kindle or iPhone, or does the eBook have to be downloaded directly on to the device? Try it out, I'd be interested to see the results!
I actually agree on the e-ink thing, which brings up another problem. It's all very well to suggest that eventually everyone's devices are going to converge into a single unit for convenience - phone, PDA, netbook, eBook reader, all morphing into a single thing - but it's always going to be with a full-colour LCD screen. Which means the market will still exist for e-ink... unless someone develops a device that somehow has both screens, or can switch displays? Hmm, something iPhone-sized, LCD touch screen on the front, e-ink screen on the reverse?
Hey, that's my idea. No stealing 😛
I swear I am not working for amazon.. but I can answer the questions:
Summer. Yes, you can download the books to your Kindle. Not only that, but WhisperSync was built for this, you'll be able to move back and forth, with the last page read being synchronized between the two. It's pretty cool to be able to read during lunch, then step into a store in a long line (or at the bank), whip out the Ipod touch.. and continue reading. Then, at home, before bed, flip on the Kindle, and just continue from where I was. It's trippy.
Adam: You can do it either way. When you buy it online, it'll automatically send to your Kindle. However, you can also force it to go to your computer if you so choose. Then you can transfer it via the USB cable. It doesn't use any proprietary transfer software to get from computer to Kindle.
Interestingly, the iPhone 3.0 firmware announced yesterday allows for in-app purchasing of additional stuff, which is big news for eBook readers of course. The Kindle app could get even better, allowing browsing and downloading of Kindle content from right within the app itself.