Something wonderful has happened to the ereader world.. Amazon has opened up their platform to Blackberries!
This newly released application allows you to search real time, and download at will through your data plan, any Amazon Kindle book. I have experimented with this application over the last week since the application has been released. I am 75% through one of their free books called “Daring Chloe”. While the book itself is juvenile and nothing left to the imagination, the ease of reading on the Blackberry is nicer than I would have imagined. I have since found myself reading via bberry while at home drinking coffee, and in the mall while waiting on my husband when he had to return an item in a store. The blackberry is no kindle of course. The tiny screen can only show a maximum of 16 lines when the text is shrunk at its smallest font. The screen is backlit. This makes for easier reading in the dark, on the plane and for weaker eyes. The backlit screen also means that your eyes will tire more quickly than if you were using an ereader with e-ink technology. There is a refresh rate with a blackberry. This means that the screen is constantly flashing at a rate that your eyes cannot detect, but your brain definitely has to process in order for you to read a screen. On ereaders, this technology works like a newspaper with real ink on paper feel. There is no refresh rate, so you can read for the same amount of eye strain as it takes to read a normal piece of paper.
There is a bookmarking feature that lets you save a page where you want to come back to. And you can store a bookshelf with the multiple books that you have purchased.
I like that I have this option to read a book at will, whenever I want to, without having to carry around a second device. Don’t get me wrong, I have been wanting an e-reader for quite some time now, but for easy, light traveling I cannot justify the cost (easily 300+ dollars!) of one of these gadgets just yet.
Some cons of the system: Images do not display well, so things like embedded images in books, or downloadable comic books will never display right on the blackberry. The zoom on the amazon reader isn’t exactly user friendly enough, but this may change as they upgrade over time.
That being said, I really do like this blackberry ereader. I tried it out, and I think I’m ready to purchase a real book that has more substance!!
Download The Amazon Kindle application for your blackberry here.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
How does the Kindle reader on Blackberry do the image zoom? I”m not sure it even has the function.
It does not do zoom very well at all. I have tried to read a comic book on it and it is near impossible!