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Oprah may love the Kindle, as does our own Sue Walsh, but with today’s announcement from Google about their Book Search gone mobile, we’ve got to wonder if Kindle can keep up.

Google Book Search enters the game

Free.  Now Google Book Search (GBS) is free and mobile.  Specifically optimized for smaller screens, GBS allows you to read the classics for free simply by going to GBS’s mobile website.  That is it; no hefty upfront costs, not yet another thing to lug around with you. 

The high adoption rate of smartphones means there is already a built-in audience that needs nothing more than a data plan (which they’ve already got) to get going.  Plus, that whole free thing is hard to ignore.

But I like current titles…

The Kindle folks love to go on about how easy it is to get current titles and here, they’ve got a great point.  Amazon has done what Apple did in tying up the hardware with the software, it is drop dead easy to get new titles on the Kindle.

I’ve got a feeling that is going to change.  eBook apps like eReader allow iPhone users to buy new titles and read on the phone.  I currently use Stanza and am enjoying Miguel Cervantes Don Quixote when I am on the go.  Having another gadget the size of the Kindle to haul around would just seem silly.  Getting new books in eReader seems pretty easy as well but requires a few more steps. 

At some point, I am sure a big player will step in and bring easy to the iPhone, Android new titles.  Maybe even a Kindle branded App???

Size matters.

Cell phone screen size, battery life, and the very screen themselves are all not the ideal reading surface.  I’d argue neither is Kindle’s.  It is all a compromise in replicating the simple joy in opening a hard cover book.  As with any compromise, users will be all over the scale.  The combination of “it is already there” coupled with extreme mobility, pushes smartphones into something I’d prefer more. 

Battery concerns are a bigger issue thanks to Apple’s crazy ideas on non-replaceable batteries.  Juice packs and rapid battery chargers are around for a valid reason.  However, for many casual readers, we can get around this limitation.

Simplicity?

Reading Ms. Walsh’s words about how there is just something great about a thing dedicated to one task reminds me of how people talk about their beloved books when confronted by a Kindle user.  The Kindle has its place for sure, but the increasingly great thing about smartphones is their ability to sidestep the “one thing to all people” by allowing the kind of customization not seen before via applications.  Rather than have something that does a little bit of everything, developers can make fantastic software that takes the experience to another level.  That’s my opinion, anyway.

In the end, smartphones will steal some thunder from Kindle.  The smaller mobile form factor and that fact you’ve already got it in your pocket make it a temptation many won’t resist.  I think the dividing line is how serious you take your reading: if you are really into it, you’ll stay with the Kindle.  If you do it to pass the time and don’t feel like playing video games, you’ll pick up Don Quixote and read away until your battery dies.

Product Page: [GoogleBookSearch]