Amazon's Kindle for iPhone hits the App Store

Sure, Amazon could pit the Kindle squarely against phone- and PDA-based e-book apps, but why not play both sides? The company had previously mentioned its desire to embrace non-Kindle devices in its digital delivery ecosystem, and the first fruits of that labor have now hit the iPhone App Store. The uncreatively-named Kindle for iPhone allows you access to all of your Kindle content right from the comfort of your iPhone or iPod touch, and if you have the good fortune of owning an honest-to-goodness Kindle, Whispersync will kick in to keep your location synchronized between readers. It's a huge win for owners of both devices, considering that the Kindle's still just a little bit big to be carrying everywhere you go, but your phone -- well, if you don't have that everywhere you go, you're just plain weird. [Warning: iTunes link]

[Via The iPhone Blog]

[Leindurstit @ Mar 4th 2009 12:30AM]

Wow, one more reason not to get a real Kindle.

[Flashpoint @ Mar 4th 2009 12:47AM]

You actually needed a REASON not to buy the Kindle?

[Trent @ Mar 4th 2009 6:17AM]

Who in the hell wants to read a freakin book on their iPhone? I have perfect vision and do not mind reading a small article on my iPhone but an entire book?...crazy people!!!

[kesherz @ Mar 4th 2009 8:25AM]

I started reading ebooks on a 160x160 B&W PalmOS PDA. For me, it was good enough. Having the screen on my iPod Touch for ebooks is just fantastic.

[Vidikron @ Mar 4th 2009 10:21AM]

I'm with Trent... the iPhone, and all similar devices, are a joke compared to an e-reader when it comes to just reading plain text. I might use an iPhone to scan a work document on the road, but for serious recreational reading? Please... the idea is absurd at best. If I'm sitting at home for a couple of hours of reading why the hell would I want to look at a tiny LCD screen? I'd just rather have the book at that point.

I honestly used to think like some of you guys until we my wife actually got a Kindle. I was blown away at how much the screen looked like actual paper. We have both an iPhone and iPod Touch in our home as well and they are pathetic in comparison. I think that the vast majority of people that put down devices like the Kindle while singing the praises of a device like the iPhone simply don't have any direct experience with the Kindle. Once you can use them both directly it becomes painfully obvious which makes for a better reader.

[Hickeroar @ Mar 4th 2009 11:19AM]

@Trent-

I've actually read several books on the iPhone using the eReader app. It's not the BEST solution, but once you get used to it, it's not bad at all.

[Josh Ladella @ Mar 4th 2009 5:55PM]

Actually, its MORE reason to get a real Kindle. People who get used to this app and e-reading on their iPhone will eventually see the benefit of the real Kindle and lust for the larger screen.

This app only exists to boost e-reading. By the time people feel they can't live without their e-books, they will want the full experience.

[Samboini @ Mar 5th 2009 4:29AM]

I still maintain that should you need them, free books from a library or much superior. They are just so booky!

[theoneneo81 @ Mar 4th 2009 12:33AM]

this is great but isnt this gonna hurt kindles sales i mean if you can get a ipod touch for 200 and then this app you can save almost 160 bucks

[Xian @ Mar 4th 2009 12:41AM]

Guess what: Amazon can live with you not buying a Kindle if you're buying books from them. The Kindle's a useful device because it helps solidify and shape the e-book market. But once you're committed to buying books from Amazon's large library and counting on its reliable customer experience, you're not going to stray.

[UnixSystemsEngineer @ Mar 4th 2009 1:46AM]

Also, if Amazon can drive the Kindle brand, they can't lose. They'll be the go-to guys for real ebook readers by strengthening their brand with software for other mobile devices.

Their gamble is probably that e-ink readers will win out over a convergence device that sucks batteries to run the backlight.

If they're right, they win.

If they're wrong, and ebook readers never take off, well, they still win.

[MK @ Mar 4th 2009 2:38AM]

Still, I think Amazon will be a little chagrined when, in a few months, the number of people buying Amazon e-books to read on the iPhone outpaces book sales for their much-ballyhooed Kindle. Amazon may become the iTunes of e-books, but I think this spells the death-knell for any possibility of the Kindle becoming the iPod of e-books.

[BLKMGK @ Mar 4th 2009 9:12AM]

Nah, reading "books" on the iPhone will suck compared to the Kindle. It will be nice to use occasionally maybe but the battery life and eye strain will be way way worse than using a Kindle. I have the original Kindle, I have used the Kindle 2, I own an iPhone - this is just something nice to have for those of uis with multiple devices I think. Folks may read some on the iPhone but I think it will drive many of them to realize the Kindle itself is a way better device for this task in the long run.

[oliver hart @ Mar 4th 2009 12:33AM]

spoiler alert

[Phenoum @ Mar 4th 2009 12:33AM]

So amazon and kindle have signed a deal with add-on battery packs for the iPhone? Cause you know this is going to emphasize the "half-day" battery that is in the iPhone. Companies that sell battery extensions should be bowing to amazon and saying thanks......

[phalanges1 @ May 11th 2009 4:23PM]

Just plug it in mate!

[Phenoum @ May 11th 2009 4:25PM]

ah yes - the evolution of mobile device usage - the power cord....

[JJ @ Mar 4th 2009 12:39AM]

You still need a real kindle. You cant buy books on this, only read ones you have purcheses on your kindle.

[Nino @ Mar 4th 2009 12:41AM]

Oh that just sucks.

Also it isn't on the Canadian app store, for those who it matters to.

[Rick @ Mar 4th 2009 12:43AM]

No you don't. The app's App Store description says you can buy a kindle book from your PC or iPhone using a web browser and wirelessly transfer it to Kindle for iPhone.

[iJon @ Mar 4th 2009 12:45AM]

Umm, you can buy Kindle books from Amazon's site using your Mac, PC, or Mobile Safari... No Kindle device needed...

[Greg Mcp @ Mar 4th 2009 12:49AM]

So what it lacks is a browser? You've got to do the purchasing on Amazon.
Oh well, maybe that can be built into Version 2 of the App.

[huskyj @ Mar 4th 2009 1:15AM]

Been playing with the app and found that its easier to use the free Amazon Store iPhone app to buy books for this. The UI is lighter than trying to struggle with the hugemantic Amazon website in iPhone Safari.

[theoneneo81 @ Mar 4th 2009 1:25AM]

actaully yes you can it will take you to amazons website and you can purchase books from the site and transfers the books over to iphone

[huskyj @ Mar 4th 2009 1:31AM]

Agh. Actually you can only browse them on the Amazon appstore app. You can't buy them too. Lame.

[Christopher @ Mar 4th 2009 7:56AM]

You don't need a real Kindle to view purchased content, however, you DO need a real Kindle to view your OWN content since you have to have a Kindle email address to convert them.

[Greg Mcp @ Mar 4th 2009 10:41PM]

Not available in Australia either.
Bugger. I was hoping to mess with it.
Is this to do with the fun Copyright issues? Can't sell to Australia and Canada because they don't own rights for that?

[Fanfoot @ Mar 5th 2009 11:53AM]

Dude, its an iPhone. If you want to view your own content, why would you need to use the Amazon Kindle reader to do it?

[sharp65 @ Mar 4th 2009 12:42AM]

Seems like you can only sync books for now, newspapers and magazines don't seem to work.

[Andrew @ Mar 4th 2009 12:48AM]

Yeah, I'm having the exact same issue. I don't think this will be seriously detrimental to Kindle sales because it is unbearable to read books on the iPod Touch.

[Adam @ Mar 4th 2009 3:37AM]

@Andrew. Thank You. That is the simple matter of fact. Sure you can read a few Web pages at a time or browse through a few pictures. Though I have no interest in snuggling up to read a whole book on my iPhone. For one, its awkward to hold and 2) you would be constantly scrolling assuming you don't want to read in size 6 font.

[pki730 @ Mar 4th 2009 6:50AM]

Yes. I have found that there is no syncing of newspapers and magazines, which sucks, because that's all I use my kindle to read.

[amaechi @ Mar 4th 2009 8:42AM]

Actually, I read a few chapters from two books last night on the kindle program and thought everything was fine. Have been reading entire books on handhelds from my Tungsten T days, to by N80 days, to my treo, and now with the iphone. Never had a problem. I'd say it's a personal preference. No one can speak for everybody; no one, not even Amazon or Steve Jobs, I gather, has data that show what percentage of people can't stand reading on small screens. All i hear is anecdotal evidence and personal preference. All valid, true; but only for the people or groups being discussed. We've got to stop with the pointless generalizations.

[CraigJ @ Mar 4th 2009 1:22PM]

@Andrew,

Actually I was there too, but I've been playing with this today, and I find that the font style and size makes it perfectly usable. I'd prefer more words on the page, but when your stuck someplace with nothing to do, it's very nice to have a novel to read.

[Greg Mcp @ Mar 4th 2009 12:42AM]

Well, obviously what we really need now is a bigger iPod Touch that would be bearable to use as a eBook reader.

[Tagbert @ Mar 4th 2009 11:09AM]

and get rid of the backlit LCD screen that sucks batteries and hurts your eyes.

[mmaestro @ Mar 4th 2009 12:53AM]

Great. Now all we need is Blackberry, Windows Mobile, and Android versions and Amazon are set for domination. Which, TBH, I'd be quite happy with - if they get the reader right, I'd certainly be interested in reading on my phone.

[Christopher Wilson @ Mar 4th 2009 12:53AM]

Wake me when I can borrow ebooks with my library card.

[RAD Moose @ Mar 4th 2009 2:24AM]

You most likely already can.

Check your local library's website to see if they have it in place already.

For example Sacramento Public Library system lets you 'check out; eBooks, AudioBooks and more digitally.
http://www.SacLibrary.org (click on "Download Digital Books, Videos and Music" button on the home page for an example.)

See if your library has a system like "NetLibrary" or "OverDrive" in place already.

These systems don't support the Kindle.. yet.. I think it is a system that would be nice to see Amazon support in someway with the Kindle hardware.

[Rob @ Mar 4th 2009 2:37AM]

OverDrive servers that deliver .mobi files are actually compatable with the Kindle....with a little hacking. Two guys created a program called KindleFIX which assigns your Kindle a valid PID number (that works with DRM'd .mobi files) based upon it's serial number....or something like that.

I've purchased a few books like this, that weren't available on the Amazon store, but were elsewhere.

[Argot @ Mar 4th 2009 6:39AM]

You can already do that, at least here in Sweden.

[gravescp @ Mar 4th 2009 12:55AM]

Wow!! This changes everything. ebooks are now here to stay, just like the app. store made little applications accessable. This will make ebooks now available to a huge install base. This is the best decision Amazon could have ever made. My only question is why would anybody spend over $300 for a kindle?

[ran @ Mar 4th 2009 1:48AM]

Because I want to read books without letting my eyes tire from staring at a light bulb for hours on end.

[Plothole @ Mar 4th 2009 2:33AM]

For starters, a Kindle's battery life is measured in days. An iPhone's in hours. The other is just eInk in general. You have to see it in action to really understand.

[Plothole @ Mar 4th 2009 2:37AM]

Oh, also iPhones aren't available everywhere in the US. And an iPod Touch won't give you cellular wireless.

[amaechi @ Mar 4th 2009 8:47AM]

Somebody really should do a study on how many people actually read entire books on pda's. And despite all the putative advantages of the kindle over smaller screens, there's still the economic and convenience factor of having one device (to rule them all); and that's huge.

[Timm @ Mar 4th 2009 12:58AM]

Didn't Amazon just render the Kindle obsolete with this move? It wasn't popular to begin with, and now its ebooks are available on the iPhone?

[Greg Mcp @ Mar 4th 2009 1:01AM]

As everyone has already said, it makes Amazon the goto place to eBooks.
If they have a good app that's available everywhere, including for Windows and MacOS for all the laptop and netbook peoples, then Amazon will become even wealthier peoples.

[ill trooper @ Mar 4th 2009 1:27AM]

No they didn't.

What they did is move the format of the Amazon e-book into a postion to grow to be the defacto cross-platform standard, and put the idea of 'the book I'm reading' into the cloud - you no longer have to wish you had brought your Kindle or paperback with you - the book you're reading is in the cloud, and now you can access it with two devices, one that easily slips in your pocket, and allows you to catch a few pages while waiting for the subway. Some people may now never need the Kindle hardware - this may be enough. For serious reading sessions, the Kindle is still easier on the eyes, and more efficient with the battery - but I don't always have mine with me. I am into this move, all the way.

To paraphrase/twist the old Gillette strategy: They're selling the razor blades - the razor you use is up to you. The Kindle is only what 'books' you put on it anyway.

[loosely_coupled @ Mar 4th 2009 2:34AM]

People need to actually look at e-ink in real life.. I think many don't understand that the display doesn't hurt your eyes to stare at for hours.. It looks just like ink on a thick slab of paper