Want to subscribe to a newspaper on the Kindle? The three most popular newspapers on the Kindle are the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and USA Today. But are they worth the subscription price?
I originally intended this review to weigh the pros and cons of each of these publications. However, that intention died when I realized that the design of these three newspapers are remarkably similar. Instead, I’ll judge these three sources together to make a general review of newspapers on the Kindle.
What’s good
Organization
Each newspaper has an article list and a sections list (the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal has a more diverse sections list). Readers can also browse manually throughout the electronic newspaper. Listed articles appear in this easy-to-read format: Title By THE AUTHOR│Section Name
A short summary (typically a single sentence) describing the story.
If interested, readers click next to the article, and they’ll be taken to the full story.
Prompt delivery One of the biggest advantages, of course, is that the paper arrives via satellite as soon as it’s ready. Although a few people reported some late issues, newspapers usually arrive before their print versions are delivered. At the very least, you don’t need to worry about your neighbors stealing your newspaper.
No ads
Do I really need to elaborate any more on this benefit?
Search function
Want to read every single reference to Rod Blagojevich or Bernie Madoff in the newspaper? Now that you have a newspaper on the Kindle, you can use the Kindle’s search function to look up any topic using key words or phrases you want to read about.
All three newspapers have pictures. The New York Times and USA Today prefer putting pictures at the front of its articles, while the Wall Street Journal has pictures embedded within the articles. Picture quality is decent, and while there are significantly fewer pictures than in the print version, I find it’s actually easier to focus on the articles.
What’s bad
Few graphics/charts
So far, I’ve only seen a few graphs or charts in the Wall Street Journal articles (which aren’t the best of quality). With time, hopefully newspapers will add these reading-aid devices.
Limited individuality
Another reason why newspapers need to add some graphics or charts is to differentiate themselves. There’s no unique charm to any of these newspapers. While some people may like this “words-only-matters” format (and I can sympathize), I don’t feel an affinity to any one source. They all look the same.
Missing content
Occasionally, readers complain an article is missing from the electronic version of the newspaper. As I don’t own the print versions, I did not do a side-by-side review of what’s there and what’s not. So if you absolutely love your print version and have been thinking of switching (or already have), be vigilant about missing articles.
Conclusion
Kindle newspapers are probably best for those who like convenience and aren’t hung up on more superfluous features in newspapers. Die-hard fans of a particular paper may want to still keep the print versions. Kindle-owners can always get a sneak-peek and judge for themselves with a free two-week subscription available on Amazon.
