Customer Reviews

Austin American-Statesman

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

The description implies that all of the articles are included in the Kindle edition. It says it omits, "some images and tables."

The issues I've received appear to omit ALL images, ALL tables, and a portion of the articles, too. For example, I was annoyed to see that all of the movie reviews are omitted. Also, forget the cartoons, even the editorial cartoons.

I was also a little annoyed that the columns in the Opinions section usually gave only the last names of the columnists (e.g., "Will" instead of "George F. Will, Washington Post"). Today, they just omitted the columnists names altogether.

There are also frequently missing spaces between words, particularly following names that are in bold.

Still, it's useful enough that I was willing to pay for at least one month.

I tried the sample, and the presentation does not appear to have improved since F. Hewett's review. It had the feel of news feeds from 1990's Usenet - plain test, no tables, charts, imaqes, etc. Other Kindle-ized papers include these items, so it is very disappointing that the paper from the "Silicon Hills" has not entered the 21st century.

UPDATE: There are fewer missing articles in the paper now but delivery continues to be a problem. More than a week was missed in December (Amazon credited me for the month) but for the last month (Feb 2010) the paper is not delivered to the Kindle until after 8:00 AM so I have to read this morning paper from the web site or the iPhone application with my breakfast. I'm giving up and canceling my subscription.

ORIGINAL REVIEW: This is not an opinion of the quality of the Statesman but a comparison of the printed paper with the Kindle edition. The Kindle has no pictures, no ads, no weather, and no TV listings. Most articles from the paper are in the Kindle but not all - no pattern I can detect for the omissions. For example on Sun 3/29 only 2 of 4 articles on the front page were in the Kindle edition. The Life and Arts section only appears in the Sunday version of the Kindle - not in weekday versions. The sports section is pretty complete but of course no box scores or charts. The editorials and letters to the editor are included. The Kindle stories almost always have a different headline from the real paper, but the text is normally the same in both places. The Nation and World section is pretty complete and includes articles from AP, NY Times, and the Washington Post among others. No inserts are included so no neighborhood editions or Parade on Sunday. The Statesman web site has a more complete version of the newspaper and it is more current, but if the Kindle is your preferred reading method this is a reasonable, if incomplete, version of the local Austin newspaper.

I have been getting for about 1 month now and have really enjoyed it...very good different types of articles than we usually get in our Local Paper...some of these are upbeat positive news....Not just the depressing, sad news that newspapers normally have.

I find myself reading some of the articles to my wife they are so interesting and different...not something I would ever do with the Atlanta Paper.

I tried this paper because I love Texas....didn't realize just how good it would be !

On too many days, I received a message saying that Amazon and the American-Statesman had encountered a problem delivering that day's edition, and that they were working to fix the problem. Given that my other subscriptions never had this problem, I imagine they weren't working on it, and they just don't care.

I'm canceling, as the American-Statesman cannot be counted on to deliver on the Kindle.

Today is December 18, 2009. I understand when there are technical difficulties with anything. However, there was NO paper at all, not a late paper as stated, yesterday, and again today I get the same useless message that the paper will be late. How can this be? The Kindle edition paper comes fine for weeks at a time, then all the sudden, no delivery is possible. This occurrence doesn't just happen sometimes, it happens more often than it should. At the end of this month, I am cancelling my subscription. I have been a subcriber for approximately a year and a half and LOVE it when it actually gets delievered. Yesterday and today, no delivery, so tough. I am tired of that attitude for a service that I pay for!!

UPDATE: Here it is December 21. The last paper I was able to download was December 15. Unreal. I called the Amazon Kindle Customer Support and was told to turn on my Kindle at 2 p.m. today to get the paper (December 21). No mention of problems, explanation, reimbursment for missed downloads, nothing. I was also speaking with a foreigner that I could barely understand. Am I the only one ticked off here?

UPDATE2, December 31, 2009: I received an email this morning 'fessing up about the problems the Statesman had between Dec 15 and Dec 23 and giving a full refund for the month. I already canceled my subscription on Dec 22 when again I couldn't get my paper to download. I then subscribed to the Statesman online, 5.99/mo and you get a scanned version of the paper.

I write this because I believe the Statesman and Amazon have done the right thing. I changed the rating from 1 to 3. However, I believe the reliability of the Kindle version might still be a problem. Subscribe at your own risk.

Newspapers are a real disappointment on the kindle - after trying out the American Statesman on the kindle, I realized that I much prefer reading it on the iPhone:
1. It's reliable - the kindle version doesn't show up at all some days
2. it's current with updates during the day.
3. It has photos - missing from the kindle version
4. It's easier to navigate - the kindle forces me to either go through article by article or or an awkward multi-click access to pick articles from the menu.
5. I can read it in low light.
6. It's free.

Neither the Statesman kindle version or the iPhone app have the ads from the paper.

The Paper content is pretty good but not as full featured as the New York Times. The absolutely worst part though is that I never knew if I would get a delivery for a certain day. I called Amazon Kindle support and their customer care reps in India could barely spell Kindle let alone resolve my problem. I emailed Austin American Statesman and I think they had to figure out how all that Kindle "magic" works. This is really bad for a Kindle newspaper. One of the reasons I am sold on newspapers for the Kindle is that you get it so much earlier and more predictably than from a newspaper carrier.. not so with the Austin American Statesman.

I have subscribed to the Statesman on my Kindle.

I woke up on Friday, June 26 and tried to read the paper, but my Kindle only displayed a message to the effect of "We are sorry, but today's paper is unavailable." They were probably scrambling due to the death of Michael Jackson the day before. No big deal, I figured, I'll read the paper later.

NOW IT IS SATURDAY and although the Saturday paper have arrived on my Kindle... THERE IS STILL NO FRIDAY PAPER.

Does that mean that the Kindle edition will only be delivered when it's a slow news day? Seems like it.

I was a little hesitant with the reviews, however, went ahead and purchased a subscription.

Unlike previous posters experienced, most of the articles include a picture or table. They appear to be progressing on the quality of their product.

5 stars, well worth the price.