Friday, 8 June 2012

When buying and reading books just works

A quick post about Kindle, Amazon and something just working

Whilst thinking about another blog post I wanted to write I remembered a book I read a long time ago: The Computer Connection by Alfred Bester. I decided I wanted to read it again, hooked up my Kindle to company wireless, went online, purchased from Amazon and a few seconds later the book is ready for me to read on the bus journey home to-night.

Important to me is that:

  • I can choose to read it on my phone, Ipod touch or PC
  • My partner can read the same book on her kindle if she wishes
  • I can keep everything in sync across these devices
  • I can do the things I can do with a real book, but with extras added.
My book is not locked to one device, not keyed to scanning my retinas to ensure only I can ever read it or any other such non-sense. Amazon (and booksellers I presume) can make a profit without putting my reading experience into a straitjacket.