Kindle coming to Android devices this summer

18 May 2010

Amazon’s Kindle e-reader technology will be coming as an app to a multitude of mobile devices, from the iPhone to the iPad and BlackBerry, and most notably very soon Android-based smartphones.

Kindle for Android will include Amazon’s Whispersync technology, which saves and synchronises a customer’s bookmarks across their Kindle, Kindle DX, iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, PC, Mac, BlackBerry and, soon, Android, so customers always have their reading material with them and never lose their place.

Kindle is the most wished for, most gifted and No 1 best-selling product on Amazon.com, the company said last night.

“Kindle for Android is the perfect companion application for Kindle and Kindle DX owners, and is also a great way for customers to enjoy over 540,000 books in the Kindle Store even if they don’t yet have a Kindle,” said Jay Marine, director, Amazon Kindle.

“We think customers are going to love the convenience and simplicity of having instant access to a massive selection of books from Amazon on their Droid, Nexus, Incredible and many more Android devices,” Marine said.

Android owners can take advantage of the features that customers love about Kindle and Kindle app experience, including:

– Search more than 540,000 books, including 96 of 110 New York Times best-sellers, plus tens of thousands of the most popular classics for free directly from their Android device. Bestsellers such as Backlash by Aaron Allston, Big Girl by Danielle Steel, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, and The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown, and hundreds of thousands of other popular books are US$9.99 or less in the Kindle Store.
– Browse by genre or author, and take advantage of all the features that customers enjoy in the Kindle Store, including Amazon.com customer reviews, personalised recommendations and editorial reviews.
– Access their library of previously purchased Kindle books stored on Amazon’s servers for free.
– Synchronise the last page read between their Kindle, Kindle DX, iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, PC, Mac, BlackBerry and, soon, Android.
– Choose from five different font sizes.
– Read the beginning of books for free before deciding to buy.
– Read in portrait or landscape mode, tap on either side of the screen or flick to turn pages.