One For The Books: Amazon's Kindle For Android App Arrives
Amazon had previously confirmed the Kindle for Android app in May/>, saying it would be ready by summer. The Android version joins previously released versions of the Kindle app for PCs and Macs, as well as Apple's iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad and Research In Motion BlackBerry devices.
The app doesn't yet include full text search or the ability to buy Kindle content from within the app itself, but in a statement Amazon said those features are coming "in the near future."
"With Kindle for Android, customers can choose from a vast selection of over 620,000 books to read on their Android-powered phone, no matter where they are -- on the bus, waiting for a cab, or in between meetings," said Dorothy Nicholls, director, Amazon Kindle, in a statement. "Kindle for Android and the rest of the free Kindle apps are the perfect companions for readers who don't have their Kindle with them or don't yet own a Kindle."
Putting Kindle apps on smartphones continues a strategy launched by Amazon more than a year ago, when it first released its Kindle for iPhone app. As other dedicated e-readers have arrived to challenge Amazon -- and e-readers themselves seem threatened by more versatile devices such as the iPad and e-book services such as the upcoming Google Editions -- Amazon is looking to ensure its Kindle brand gets in front of as many potential users as possible.
While it expands the brand, Amazon's Kindle is also in the midst of an apparent price war. Rival Barnes & Noble last week cut the price of its original Nook and debuted a low-cost, Wi-Fi only version of the e-reader. Amazon responded hours later by cutting the Kindle's price from $259 to $189, the first time its second-generation Kindle has dropped below $200.