In case you missed it, you can now lend certain Kindle eBook titles (via a Kindle or iPad app or otherwise) to other Kindle users for 14 days. Of course, unless all of your best friends are Kindle users, this feature is essentially useless.
Fortunately, a new website quickly sprang up that facilitates the lending and borrowing of Kindle books amongst strangers. It’s called Kindle Lending Club. It matches Kindle book lenders to borrowers.
All you do is create an account, then lend or borrow books. If you would like to borrow a book, you simply search for the book and if it is loanable via Kindle, you click on the “borrow” button. You’ll either be placed on a waiting list if a loanable copy is not immediately available or advised that the owner of the loanable book will be notified.
Shortly thereafter you’ll receive an email that the owner has approved the lending of the book and will be provided with a link to follow to complete the transaction. The book can then be downloaded to your Kindle or Kindle app and you’ll have 14 days to read it. It will then automatically be removed from your device upon expiration of the 14-day time period.
To lend a copy you simply type in the title of the book. If someone is on a waiting list for the book, you get to choose who to lend it to. You then are given their email address and you head over to the management section of your Kindle account and lend the book to that person using the Kindle interface. (While the book is being loaned, it will appear in the archived section of your Kindle and you won’t be able to access the book.)
If no one is in line, you’re advised that you’ll be notified when someone signs up to borrow it.
It’s that simple. And, it’s a great idea. Give it a try.
I decided to buy my kids a Kindle Touch for the holidays. It arrived in the mail today and I just had a chance to give it a test drive. Needless to say, I’m not impressed and if the Kindle Fire is even remotely like this device in terms of its responsiveness, then it doesn’t hold a candle to the iPad.
The Kindle Touch has a number of problems. First and foremost, it doesn’t respond to touch well. It’s much, much slower to respond than my iPad is. There is an approximately 1 second delay between my initial touch and the device registering that I touched the screen. With my iPad, the response to my touch command is nearly instantaneous.
Secondly, it takes the Kindle nearly 2-3 to perform the desired function after registering my touch command. Again, in the iPad it’s a seamless interaction in most cases and you don’t even notice the delay.
This slow response time is particularly noticeable—and extremely annoying—when turning pages. I would say it takes between 1-2 seconds for the page to actually change whereas with my iPad Kindle app, again—it’s nearly instantaneous.
This device has no page turn buttons. It was designed to be navigated solely by touch. For that reason, it should be highly responsive to touch. Because it is not, in my mind, it is a failure as a device.
Finally, I just don’t like the interface. The screen is gray and dull. It’s depressing. I much prefer the iPad Kindle app’s interface with the choice to have a bright white background screen with crisp black letters. I realize that the Kindle interface is supposed to work better in bright light, but quite frankly, that just doesn’t win me over.
Bottom line: I’m glad this one’s for my kids and not me;)
