Amazon has just made their new Kindle for PC available for pre-order online, a move that turns almost any PC in the entire world into a fully-fledged ereader. The software comes on the heels of all of the big Win7 announcements today evens up the playing fields when it comes to PC-based ereaders.
Amazon has long had the Kindle but Barnes & Noble launched a PC ereader long before Amazon, putting them at a disadvantage. B&N also has versions of their reader for OS X, BlackBerry smartphones, and the iPhone/Touch.
Kindle for PC Demo on Windows 7
The actual Amazon PC version isn’t quite available – it’s still coming soon – but it’s currently floating around in Beta. Unfortunately there is no planned Mac version either, something that B&N already has. Interestingly, Michael noted the value of “opening up” the Kindle service to multiple devices back in August 2008 and it seems that they’re clearly seeing ways into new markets untouched by the current ereader craze.
The B&N’s PC/Mac/iPhone e-reader is here.
I also have this song in my head:
I like the fact that the app will be available world wide. That’s a lot of PCs
THis is the best move so far for Kindle material.
With so many netbook flying around, it is great that Amazon see the full potential of being open as Mr. Bezos promised at the Wired conference.
This is a great way to come back after the into to the Nook device. One upe em, let’s make all PCs a Kindle :)
Now if we can get TC to employ an editing plug-in for comments would be great.
Kindle for iphone/touch has been around since Kindle 2 came out
Free of for a fee? Will it sync with a Kindle or the iPhone app so you can pick up reading where you left off on another device?
Yes – the whispersync actually works – i use it w/ my kindle and ipod touch.
Seems like this may cannibalize Kindle sales.
I don’t really think Amazon cares all that much about Kindle sales. It’s a nice bonus, but the focus is on ebooks.
I think their focus is on book sales. The Kindle is just one method to drive book sales. Thats why they built the iPhone/iTouch app and now the app for the PC.
It would be nice if Kindle & B/N ebooks could be moved to any device you want, rather than being locked into their readers. My wife has a bunch of Kindle books but I don’t want my collection locked into one device, so I keep waiting….
Jeff Bezos = King C. Gillette
Kindle = Razor
eBooks = Blades
About time they realized it should be about selling the content and not selling the gizmo. Kudos to BN for realizing it first and offering their free ebook reader months ago. Also love the fact BN has built in portability throughout their Nook and eReader downloads so you can flip between tools and still have access to all the same books.
I downloaded the BN reader to my netbook and used a nifty free bit of software that rotates my netbook screen — so I can hold it like a book to use the eReader!
See the video of The Kindle on PC
http://thetechnologycafe.com/kindle-for-the-pc-announced-and-its-awesome/
can’t wait till the Kindle is on the new MSFT courier
Why downloadable software and not just a nice WebSite?
Re: “new Kindle for PC available for pre-order online”
It’s a free app. See: http://www.amazon.com/KindleForPC
Heck with the PC, when will they finally make Kindle for Windows Mobile???
Cool. I was reading “The Lost Symbol” on my iPhone and I wanted to finish it up on my eeepc with a 10″ screen. I bought the book, so I didn’t feel too bad downloading the PDF from an illicit source.
It was actually pleasant. The PDF reader in Ubuntu lets you rotate the page and in presentation mode, a left click goes forward and the right click goes back.
It looks like the book in videos had color high-resolution cover. I’ve linked to the video here: http://blogkindle.com/2009/10/kindle-for-pc-application-coming-soon/
Please notify me when the Kindle for PC software/application is available.
Thanks!
Ha! That laptop is a Compaq just like the one I’m typing this on.
You can clearly see the HP logo on it. It’s a TouchSmart TX2 laptop, just like the one I’m typing this on.
thanks Ian. ..
Why do I need a Silverlight plug-in to watch a video?
if you want to read kindle ebook on other device, try this Kindle Pc Converter