BITS & BYTES: Amazon Kindle changes the way you think about reading

Q: My wonderful parents bought my wife and me Amazon Kindles for Christmas. Can my wife and I share our books?

A: Both of your Kindles should be registered to the same account to share books. On the surface, this doesn't seem to be a big deal. Most books can be shared on up to six devices registered to the same account. Sharing between family members seems like a good move on Amazon's part, but this is just the beginning of what you can do.

You can buy a book and read it on your Kindle, on your wife's Kindle, on your laptop, on your phone or on all of these interchangeably. The device isn't the magic; it's the technology.

I love my Kindle. Why? Because I can buy a book, read it on my Kindle for a while, then pick up where I left off when I switch to reading it on my personal computer, and then pick up where I left off again when I happen to be out and about with only my phone with me and then return to my Kindle to once again pick up where I left off. This, to me, is perhaps the most undersold feature of the Kindle.

It's not about the device anymore; it's the ubiquity of the content.

Kindle for the PC (and presumably Kindle for Mac) works and works well. Much like your Kindle, you can download specific books to be kept on the PC while still retaining access to all the books you've bought through your account at any time. It looks and reads great. In some cases, it's a great alternative approach to viewing certain types of content, such as Kindle books that include images or illustrations that don't render quite as nicely on the Kindle device. Another nice touch is that the notes that you take while on your device become available on your PC's Kindle application as well.

Kindle for Android — and presumably Kindle for iPhone, iPad, and others — also works surprisingly well. The biggest limitation isn't the software at all, but the screen. With most of these newer generation large screens, reading a book is amazingly comfortable. And it's in your pocket or purse wherever you may be.

To top it all off, you don't need to own a Kindle device in order to buy and read Kindle books on your PC, Mac, iPad or mobile device.

Kindles aren't perfect. There are limitations, such as not having search capabilities in the non–device applications. Improvements continue to be made, however. Also, if you're uncomfortable with digital rights management, then any system such as the Kindle isn't something you'll embrace. DRM describes any technology that inhibits the use of digital content that is not desired or intended by the content provider. In other words, if Amazon doesn't want to sell a book in the Kindle format, then you're out of luck.

The opinions are the writer's. April Miller Cripliver, of Chesterton, holds a doctorate in management information systems and is a computer hardware and software consultant. Email computer questions to nwitimes@cripliver.com and specify operating system and other pertinent PC information.