I first found out about this app through MacBreak Weekly’s Podcast, specifically MacBreak Weekly 128: I Cannot Confirm Nor Deny. In the podcast, the hosts Leo Laporte, Andy Ihnatko, Frederick Van Johnson, and Don McAllister discussed about the many different possibilities for this app, including ultimate rejection by Apple.
Not anymore. Amazon’s Kindle for iPhone is now live in the iTunes App Store, as a free download.
What does it do? Well, Kindle for iPhone allows iPhone and iPod touch owners to read their Kindle books using a simple and easy-to-use-Apple-inspired interface. Your options to purchase the books include: using a Mac, PC, from within the iPhone/iPod touch’s Mobile Safari browser and then wirelessly transfer them into the device. Shop for hundreds of thousands of books at the Kindle Store. Prices start from $9.99 onwards. Books purchased via Kindle for iPhone will work with your existing Kindle or Kindle 2 device.
Kindle for iPhone also allows users to preview the first chapter of any book for free before deciding on the purchase. As a current owner of Stanza and eReader with a bunch of books, I think this is a great idea when compared to other stores which provide excerpts accessible mostly via a web browser. Reading the first chapter of the book from within the app gives a much better experience, in my humble opinion.
If you are a current Kindle owner, you may download the books you already own for free and transfer it into your iPhone device. Books are stored in a virtual library at Amazon.com, so your books follow you wherever you (and your iPhone) may be.
One of the technologies included with Kindle for iPhone is Whispersync. This wonderful technology lets you seamlessly switch back and forth between your Kindle device and Kindle for iPhone, while at the same time keeping bookmarks and last read location synchornized, allowing you to easily pick up and read right where you left off on either device.
Check out and download the free app via the iTunes Store here: Kindle for iPhone
