The Kindle platform was originally designed to be paired only with Amazon’s own Kindle device. However, the stars quickly changed with the release of the iPad and the tablet revolution. Amazon, not one to fudge the numbers to make their original ideas sound viable after a better concept has been introduced, quickly released an iPad version of Kindle. This application has seen wild success. But when will it be coming to the other operating systems, including Google’s Android?
According to Android Community, we should expect to see the first release of a Kindle for Android app in the second half of 2011. It’s expected to mirror the iPad version, including in its pro-bono cost.
However, Windows Phone 7 already has a Kindle application. According to a report from Engadget, the WP7 platform was released on January 4th. This wasn’t unexpected, as Amazon had been discussing a Kindle application for Microsoft since the 2010 Microsoft Professional Developers Conference (PDC) back in October. However, it does seem strange to go to the fifth place company in the market before releasing it for one of the top competitors. The earlier release may be because Microsoft has been working directly with Amazon on the application, while no such plans have been released by Google.
Amazon gets most of its Kindle profits from eBook purchases that tap into the extensive Amazon library. Another way that Kindle is remaining viable as a device, however, is Whispersync, which allows standard Kindle devices to synchronize settings and purchases with the tablet Kindle renditions. “When you buy a Kindle book, we make it easy for you to get your books on all of the devices you want to read on, said Dorothy Nicholls, Director at Amazon Kindle. “Your iPhone, iPad, Android-based device, PC, Mac, BlackBerry, and of course your Kindle, Kindle 3G and Kindle DX.”
