March 06, 2009

Just When I Thought iPhone Couldn't Get Any More Awesome....

After downloading Amazon's Kindle for iPhone a couple of days ago I thought I had reached the pinnacle of man-tech love. Seriously, Kindle on iPhone is awesome. I'm about halfway through with Vince Flynn's Extreme Measures already. Great book, but it's only in hardcover now. So, $18.45--- plus shipping and handling --- in the traditional paper format or $9.99 delivered instantaneously to my iphone.

The real advantage for me is that it's one less thing to worry about at the airport. Normally I bring a carry on bag, my laptop, my iPhone, and a novel to pass the time. When my mom offered to get me a Kindle for Christmas I declined under the theory that I didn't need yet one more electronic device to bring with me on trips.

But since I'm bringing the iPhone with me anyway, it's all upside with the Kindle free application. I really don't get why any one would lay down $200 bucks for a stand alone Kindle reader when for the same price you could get an iPhone.

Battery life? Hasn't been a problem so far. I've found that unless I'm constantly surfing the internet then I can go at least a whole day without charging, usually two days for normal usage. I'm not sure how the new Kindle application is going to affect battery life. So far, so good.

But some of you know I already love the iPhone and the new Kindle app. So what's new?

Last night I discovered that I can listen to streaming audio with the iPhone. Several NPR stations are already streaming for iPhone and last night I listened to my first Blogtalkradio show with this function. Not a single interruption waiting for it to reconnect or rebuffer.

Which means my iPhone's streaming audio is more stable than my PC!

But it get's better, because the audio stream can be played in the background while you use other iPhone apps. So, I can listen to the radio on my iPhone while I also check e-mail or read a novel using Kindle.

Man, I love this thing.

One complaint: How come the geniuses at Apple can't figure out a way for me to copy a url out of my e-mail and drop it into my web browser? Seriously, it's basic stuff. Cut and paste. Fix that and I promise to be the first member of NAMiLA -- The North American Man - iPhone Love Association.