Amazon's Kindle App for Android Lands at the Right Time

By Madhubanti Rudra

TMCnet Contributor

 

iPhone (News - Alert) and Blackberry users have been enjoying Amazon's Kindle e-reader for quite some time.

 

And now, those who favor Android (News - Alert) have nothing to complain about anymore as Amazon has finally launched its Kindle application on Andriod's platform.

 

However, PC World reports that although Amazon Kindle is right there for Android at last, but with a few things missing, such as  automatic synchronization between devices, adjustable text size, annotations, bookmarks and portrait or landscape modes.

 

The application also lacks such functionalities as full text-search and buy in app functions. According to Amazon, it won't be long when Android users will get to enjoy all these features. However, reps for the online bookstore did not say  whether the app will get audio and video support, which were both recently added to iOS devices.

 

With Android getting bigger -- The Evo 4G and Motorola's (News - Alert) upcoming Droid X both have 4.3-inch screens - the e-book reading experience is going to be even more pleasurable.  Dell's 5-inch Streak Android tablet is also coming this summer. With all these offerings flooding the market, there could not be better time for Amazon to launch its e-book reading application.

 

It should be mentioned here that Amazon is currently fighting a hardware battle against Barnes & Noble. This even caused e-reader prices to plummet. Now with releasing its Kindle application first for iPhones and now for Android, and Barnes & Noble pending the release of Android app for months, it seems, software is going to be the next logical battleground. Right now, Amazon is in an advantageous position with audio and video functionalities for iPhone and this new Android app.

 

But is its going to be all smooth for Amazon? Industry experts have doubts. Google (News - Alert) is preparing for the launch of its own digital bookstore, called Google Editions, which will use cloud storage to let readers access their books on virtually any Internet-connected device. One does not need to be a market expert to predict that this Google service will get prominent promotion within Android.

 

As goes the industry news, Google Editions was slotted to be launched in late June or early July, which is round the corner. Amazon is already in battle with Apple's (News - Alert) iBooks on the iPhone and iPad. The industry experts are looking at Amazon's launch of Kindle App for Android as an attempt to get a competitive edge over Google.