Experiencing Kindle for Android on a Motorola DROID

About two months ago, I posted an article where I pointed out my thoughts on the technology behind e-ink and my ideas on digital versus/plus physical books.

Why I gave in to using an e-reader...
I've been meaning to get my hands on the Starcraft 2: Heaven's Devils book. Like some books, the concept is good, the summary on the back cover is enticing, and the except on the inner book cover is good. But the actual reading isn't enjoyable. Here's where I decided to try reading a free sample from Amazon on the recently released Kindle for Android app. If I liked the sample, I would've went out to a Barnes and Noble or Borders to pick up a hardcover copy.

Making the most of what I had...
The first three chapters were available for me to read on my Motorola DROID's 3.7 inch screen. I choose a font size to match that of an actual book and lowered the backlight drastically, both for comfortable reading. The story caught my attention and for a second, I almost forgot I was reading on a phone instead of a book. I either tapped left or right on the screen to flip pages or use the D-pad. I chose the D-pad route since that forced the screen to transition into landscape mode making the sentences much easier to read rather than on the DROID's narrow portrait mode (lines that were already short were made shorter due to longer words at the end ended up giving a lot of justified space, making it uncomfortable to read).

With all books for Kindle across all platforms (currently on Mac, PC, iOS, Android, and BlackBerry, in addition to the Kindle hardware), Amazon uses a feature they call WhisperSync to share books on your account to all your devices, even syncing your latest location and bookmarks. This was welcomed as I transitioned to the Kindle for Mac app for longer reading sessions at home, while a majority of the book was finished with shorter reading sessions during commutes and waiting at other places. This was an ultimate benefit of having the app on my phone since it would always be with me at times when I wouldn't carry my Kindle if I had one.

At the end of the sample, it displayed two options to either buy the full digital copy or see more details of the book on Amazon's website, both launching the DROID's website instead of an in-app store. Wanting to dive deeper into the story, I bought the full digital copy for $11.99 (with the hardcover Amazon price at $16.50 and retailing at $25.00). The price wasn't bad for the convenience of instant reading.

Three days later...
Finishing the book, it wasn't a chore or hassle. I thought that it was a drain on my battery which normally lasts a day, but after multiple days, that wasn't the case (I actually was able to prolong the battery by removing Twitter notifications and decreasing the frequency of Facebook contact syncing). I'm swayed by the convenience of using a Kindle. I still stuck with my preference of going to an actual bookstore to look for books, but instead of purchasing the book, I downloaded samples in store straight to my phone for later reading. It's disappointing though that several books that I wanted to read weren't available for Kindle, but I could put in a request for Amazon to do so.

What didn't work so well...
I did have one problem and that was with my DROID multitasking between the Kindle app and others. When switching back while a book was open, it would display a not responding error message where I'd have to force close the app, and it would return to the Kindle home screen. Not too bad since my place in the book wasn't lost, but I learned to expect it each time I switched between applications.

What else could we possibly squeeze onto a smartphone?

Hardware wise, all of the new smartphones have seem to come to a standard:

- 3.5"+ display

- 5 MP+ Camera with flash

- HD Video Recording

- 32GB+ Storage

- 1Ghz+ Processor

- Accelerometer & GPS

At this point, is there anything new that we can add that is essential for use on a mobile phone? There really isn't much else. We've transformed phones into pocket sized computers, replaced our landlines, and now we read digital books and magazines anywhere we have our phones. Besides upgrading the display, megapixels, storage, processor, and RAM, I think we've just about finished one of the big races in the smartphone industry. I think we can start to relax for the next couple of years, because every phone from every manufacturer will generally function the same way.

StarCraft II Beta -- Patch 13 (version 0.15.0.15449)

Blizzard has released Patch 13 for the StarCraft 2 Beta detailing:

General

• Map Publishing is now enabled: Using the map editor, you can upload your custom maps to share with the Battle.net community.
• Facebook feature is integrated: Here’s a quick way to expand your social network by seeing who among your existing Facebook friends also has a Battle.net account.
• 3v3 and 4v4 formats are now enabled.
• Numerous updates have been made to the Leagues & Ladders system:

• Removed Copper League and added Diamond League above Platinum League.
• Player ratings start at 0, rather than 1000.
• No longer displays loading screen odds in placement or practice league matches.
• Matchmaking system logic updated.
• UDP is enabled to help improve game performance.
• Numerous performance and stability improvements.

Balance Changes

PROTOSS

• Sentry: Force Fields can now be destroyed by Massive ground units walking over them.
• Void Ray: Range decreased from 7 to 6.
• Warp Gate: Subgroup selection priority changed from 2 to 3 so that it takes priority over Gateways when selected.

TERRAN

• Marine: Stimpack research cost decreased from 150/150 to 100/100. Combat Shield research cost decreased from 150/150 to 100/100.

ZERG

• Infestor: Infested Terran spell removed. Frenzy spell added: Costs 25 energy, Targets a single biological unit which deals 25% more damage and is immune to snare, stuns, and mind control for 30 seconds.
• Overseer: Contaminate spell added: Costs 75 energy, Targets a single enemy structure which cannot train units or research upgrades for 30 seconds. Infested Terran spell added: Costs 125 energy, Infested Terrans have the same stats as those previously created by the Infestor and are placed directly under the Overseer when spawned.
• Ultralisk: Life decreased from 600 to 450. Damage changed from 25 to 15 (+25 Armored). Damage versus structures increased from 60 to 75.

Hotkey Changes (English Only):

• Zerg Set Worker Rally Point changed from R to G.
• Zerg Spore Crawler changed from W to A to avoid conflict with the Select All Warp Gates hotkey.

Battle.net Interface

• Revamped summary pages for player Profiles and Leagues & Ladders.
• Added a Help system with tech trees and other tips and tricks.
• Removed identifier from the character naming process and added the ability to refer friends for invitation into your party or lobby.
• Updated the Battle.net user interface to consistently use a nested menu system.
• Added in-game blocking and player muting.

See the full patch notes here: http://forums.battle.net/thread.html?topicId=23094049316&postId=250240003971&sid=5000#16

Oh. My. God. Finally they have enabled 3v3 and 4v4 which makes multiplayer on SC2 MUCH more exciting. Unfortunately after downloading the update, Battle.net was down for maintenance, so I'm going to be frantically trying until it works. As a Terran player, I'm most excited for the reduced price in Stimpack and Combat Shield research. It's also nice to see Facebook integration, only so that you can find your Facebook friends who are already on Battle.net and add them easily. Removing Copper and adding the Diamond Leagues only makes league naming more "prettier", but it should mean that everyone gets a bump up (if you were Copper, you're now Bronze, if you were Gold, you're now Platinum, etc.)

Seems like Facebook is pulling an Apple

I thought it was just the usual lag between when I post a tweet until when it shows up as my Facebook status update, but this time it's different. All Twitter tweets will show up as a post on your Facebook wall, but won't show as a status update. It still shares all of the same information that you normally would, but Facebook is taking initiative to have users post updates on Facebook directly, instead of using Twitter as a medium. So if you're favoring Facebook over Twitter, this would be reason to, well, stop using Twitter.

The (hopeful) future for offline Google mobile apps

With Android, it's already possible to read and respond to your e-mails, create and delete calendar events, and manage your contacts all offline. When you get back online, your Android phone will do a great job of syncing all the changes made on to your Google account and everything is fine and dandy.

Now what I'm looking for is all of the popular Google apps mobilized and available to be downloaded on an Android phone. The reason for this is things like Docs, Blogger, and (native) Reader will allow you to create, edit, and view your items all offline and have it synced and changed online when you get connected again. The problem with the current system is that you would need internet access in order to launch Docs, Blogger, or Reader in the web browser, and then you're allowed to continue working offline. Even when you do, there's no sure way on saving your data when you're offline.

So I ask you, Google: please make your popular apps available offline. I know you're trying to get everything into the cloud, but there are somethings which some people wish to get started with offline.