Ebooks are not new. They have been around as long as computers and have been a reasonable medium for publishing as long as people have used handheld devices. Ebook readers were traditionally limited to a particular file format and required you to download special software for your computer to keep them in sync, purchase new books, and read them.
Amazon’s Kindle ebook reader did not change that, but it did make ebooks more popular than ever. Moreover, the new Kindle Cloud Reader will put kindle ebooks in more hands than ever before.
Simply put, the Kindle Cloud Reader is a web application, essentially nothing more than a website. What makes it unique is that users can read any book from the Kindle store with it, no matter what device they are using. Rather than be limited to a Kindle reader or one of the devices for which Amazon provides software, anyone, including iPad users, can read Kindle ebooks online.
Why Review It
As is the case with many big corporations, Amazon overlooked Linux users when it released its Kindle PC application, which is a slap in the face since the Kindle itself runs Linux. Linux users who wanted to read Kindle books on their computers were forced to use some type of virtualization. That is my first reason for wanting to give the Kindle Cloud Reader a shot.
My second reason was that this new web-based ereader makes use of HTML5 technology to provide a rich, scalable interface without the need for Flash or other third-party plugins. As someone very interested in web technology, this also appealed to me.
Features
I do not own a Kindle and have only tried it out briefly on a couple of occasions. From that, however, I know that all of the basic features one needs to read are available in the Kindle Cloud Reader. You can bookmark, read notes (but apparently not make them), flip through the pages, resize the text, and sync with your other Kindle-enabled devices.
One of the outstanding features of the app is that it scales perfectly on any supported device. Resize your browser window, and the words will increase in size. This is drastically different from a typical web page, which would simply show you more text. The amount of text on each page does not change with this app. It only gets larger or smaller. If you go fullscreen, you have an interface that looks pretty much like an ebook reader. For tablet users, this is must-have feature.
I downloaded some free books for the Kindle to give it a try and was pleased with the experience. You can access your Kindle library and pick up right where you left off with any book. The site loads fairly fast, and navigating between features feels like a real app rather than a web page that has to refresh or navigate to another page to load content.
You can navigate through a book with your touchpad, mouse, touchscreen, arrow keys, PageUp/PageDown keys, space bar, and probably other things I could not find. It all feels very natural and easy to use.
Although whatever book you are currently reading is essentially a web page, do not expect to be able to right click, select text, or copy and paste anything. Amazon has all of those features locked down. While this is a plus in its app-like functionality, some may find it restrictive compared to the average PDF version of a book.
The Technical Side
Our web experts at UK server hosting provider 34SP.com took a look at the technical side of the Kindle Cloud Reader. A quick look at the source code reveals an HTML 4.01 doctype, but an HTML5 offline cache manifest. It relies on jQuery and a custom Kindle Javascript file. The rest of the page (the text of the book) is loaded dynamically within an iFrame. This gives it its desktop app feel, as the container portion of the site never has to reload.
Many of the buttons at the top display drop-down menus when clicked. The menus are fast and responsive. They are also rounded with drop shadows and are quite attractive.
Once you are logged into the Kinde Cloud Reader, it remembers you the next time you visit. And if you closed it in the middle of reading a book, it will bring you right back to the very page you left it on last time.
Final Thoughts
Kindle Cloud Reader as a web app is very fast and easy to use. From a developer’s perspective, Amazon did a good job making it that way. As an alternative to a desktop e-reader app, I think it is superb in presentation and fluidity but lacks some of the more advanced features you would expect in something like Calibre. But the Kindle Cloud Reader is not designed to be more than it is. It is simple and efficient and may eventually be useful even for Kindle readers who may want to finish reading their favorite novels on their iPhones on the subway ride to work.
Guest article by: Tavis J. Hampton is a freelance writer and author of The Golden Scrolls. You can read it on the Kindle, Kindle Cloud Reader or purchase a print copy.