Amazon has decided to go ahead and announce an app for the iPad though the name of the app plays up Tablet Computers. The Kindle Store is now running ads saying that Kindle for iPad (and tablet computers) is coming soon with 450,00 books and it’ll be free.
Kindle for iPad and Tablets Details
Here are the features Amazon are talking up -
- Tailored to the size and feel and look of the iPad or Tablet.
- Font size and background color can be customized.
- Screen brightness can be adjusted from within the app.
- Page Turn replicates book page turns. You can also choose to have simple page turns.
- Synchronizes across Kindle, iPad, iPhone, PC, Mac, and Blackberry.
- Create bookmarks, notes, and highlights and access notes created on your Kindle.
- Shop 450,00 Kindle books in the US. Availability varies outside the US.
It’s interesting to see that Amazon has added the ability to add notes which is missing from other Kindle Apps. Correction: This is also available on the Kindle for iPhone (thanks to Chris and Stephen W.) – it was not present at launch but added in an update.
Kindle for iPad Vs iBooks from Apple
The iBooks app has some big advantages – in-app purchases of books, support for free ePub books, VoiceOver text to speech, it’s Apple’s official app, you can switch between single page mode and double page mode, and fonts can be changed.
The Kindle for iPad also has a few big advantages – it’s available outside the US, it’ll probably have more range, books other than the agency model books will probably be cheaper, the synchronization across different devices is a good feature.
iBooks hasn’t mentioned taking notes – However, it’s a basic feature and don’t see how they could leave it out. At the moment iBooks has a better feature-set than Kindle for iPad. You can read up more on iBooks at my post on reading on the iPad with iBooks.
Why would Amazon release Kindle for iPad?
To become the top ebook app on the iPad and add an important channel for selling ebooks.
We’ve gone through this before – every new device is a channel for Amazon to sell more books on. It also exposes users to the Kindle brand and gets them buying books from the Kindle Store.
If users start reading more they’ll want to get a dedicated reading device (atleast some will) and they’ll already have their Kindle books which would make the Kindle the logical choice.
Adding Kindle for iPad also makes life easy for kindle owners who want to buy an iPad. They get another device to read their kindle store books on and notes, bookmarks, and highlights are all synchronized.
By coming right out and announcing Kindle for iPad early Amazon have put to bed a lot of ‘Amazon won’t support the iPad’ worries and it’s good for reading and for Amazon and Apple.
Filed under: iSlate Apple Slate Tagged: | ipad reading
The ability to add notes and highlights has been in the Kindle for iPhone app for quite some time.
Good Point. Thanks for the correction. Forgot that an update added that.