Kindle for PC: Almost Useful
I don't actually use a Kindle. I've read books on my iPhone and actually like it, so I've been considering buying more. One thing has held me back though- some books just don't work on a phone. Programming books, for one, aren't the greatest. It's tough to scroll through lines of code on a tiny iPhone screen. I thought Kindle for PC would help solve this problem, and I could pop open my laptop (or eventually MacBook) if I wanted a richer reading experience. Unfortunately, Kindle for PC is very bare bones at the present time. It works...but that's about it. Which is actually pretty disappointing.
Three things that cripple the app-
1) While you can view notes/highlights, you can't actually create notes on your PC. This is listed as a known feature request on Amazon, and I hope they get to it quickly. Also, now is the prefect time to address the ability to export notes. This is a must-have for the Kindle platform.
2) Can't adjust background color. On the iPhone I have options other than the standard retina-burning white page w/black text. Not so on Kindle for PC.
3) Cannot select/copy/paste. This is a huge limitation with Kindle's DRM and has no quick fix. How cool would it be to be able to copy/paste a code example directly into you IDE? Since enabling that would also allow you to copy/paste it into a PDF and sell it for $5, this will never happen. Worse, you can't even copy a word or group of words and Google them, or save a neat little quote for personal inspiration.
I love the Kindle, I love the ebook selection & 1-click purchasing on Amazon, and the cloud-based library. But when the DRM rears it's ugly head, it's enough to make you look into other options like Safari books.
