Every time Samsung comes up with a new device or software, I get excited and I’m never disappointed. I’ve been using the Samsung Galaxy S2 for a number of years now and I’m still pretty happy with it. It works great, gets updated quite frequently, works with pretty much all the apps I need and has a large screen. I’m not planning on changing my phone any time soon, unless something magical happens and it breaks or I lose it, but if I were to change it, I would stick to a Samsung. I’m impressed with the clean and high resolution screens, the softness of the touch and the amazing apps that come with it.
Samsung has launched the Galaxy Tab 4 and are getting good reviews and I predict the device itself will be a success like much of Samsung’s devices. If it retails at 220$, I would have to say that it is a fairly reasonable price. What particularly impresses me the most is its multitasking capability. As a publishing student, what interests me is its new application that comes already installed. “Samsung for Kindle” seems like the follow-up of Reader’s Hub but there are a few “improvements”.
It can seem like this new application will work, especially since it is an app that functions through a partnership with Amazon. This is great for avid readers, since it means they will have immediate and quick access to a lot of titles. This app also offers a gift to their clients. Every month, you can choose one book among four titles for free.
But Nathan mentions something that I believe is crucial to the application’s success or failure. Regardless of their partnership with the mega e-tailer and the gift they offer to their customers, I predict the application“Samsung for Kindle” will fail. In this day and age, one does not expect an application to take its time in opening. It’s almost unheard of. And coming from Samsung, we would not expect that. In fact, because it is a Samsung application, we would expect it to be quicker and better than any other in the market. But no, it is slow and this will certainly be a turn-off. Now, what people must understand is that since the app has been created by Samsung, Samsung is at fault but its slow to open characteristic has nothing to do with the device itself. I am positive that everything else works superbly.
If Samsung can fix this problem, this application can probably be a success. The question is not can they fix it (I am sure that is an easy task for them), but will be fix it? It would be a great idea if they did because they are really falling behind in the ereading world. I always think Samsung is a much better company overall than Apple but in terms of ebooks and ereading apps, they certainly fall behind.
Inae's Tech & Publishing Blog 