I had an on-air conversation with Jeff Bezos in June 2008 where he told me that it was only "an engineering issue" that kept Amazon from offering Kindle owners the ability to use their Kindles to synch up with the rest of the Amazon store so that we could order other products from music to maple syrup.
Windwalker: Are you trying not to overdo it commercially or is that an engineering issue?Well, I know those Amazon engineers have a lot on their plates, but thaty was nearly two years ago! Today the company announced that it has unleashed an iPad-optimized Amazon Shopping App that will allow iPad owners to do any of the following:
Bezos: Yeah, it's an engineering issue. Those are the kinds of things we're working on. We want complete integration between Kindle the device and Amazon.com the website.
- Purchase using Amazon's 1-Click ordering and Amazon Prime
- Track packages or modify orders using the Your Account feature
- Receive personalized recommendations
- View editorial and customer reviews
- Browse Amazon's Bestsellers, Gold Box Deal of the Day and Lightning Deals
- Access Wish List and Universal Wish List
- Watch movie trailers and listen to song samples
Here's the guts of Amazon's press release this morning:
Amazon.com Announces Shopping App for iPad
SEATTLE, May 12, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) --Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) today announced its Amazon App for iPad is now available on the App Store. Optimized for the iPad, the app lets users search and discover products offered by Amazon and thousands of other retailers and includes popular features customers have come to know and trust including bestsellers, daily deals, robust product information, recommendations and customer reviews.
"Following the launch of the Amazon App for iPhone and iPod touch, we've used our customers' feedback to help us build a fun and intuitive shopping destination on the iPad," said Sam Hall, director of Amazon Mobile. "This application offers customers a unique, interactive experience that takes full advantage of the visual and tactile nature of the iPad."
Key features of the Amazon App for iPad include:
The Amazon App for iPad is available for free on the iPad App Store or at www.itunes.com/appstore.
- Purchase using Amazon's 1-Click ordering and Amazon Prime
- Track packages or modify orders using the Your Account feature
- Receive personalized recommendations
- View editorial and customer reviews
- Browse Amazon's Bestsellers, Gold Box Deal of the Day and Lightning Deals
- Access Wish List and Universal Wish List
- Watch movie trailers and listen to song samples
3 comments:
I may be in a distinct minority here: I don't "shop" on the Kindle now. I don't buy books via the Kindle; I don't look at my email. Why? I tried it several times and it left me cold; it's too slow and takes 'way too much time. I shop via my computer(s), browse via my computer(s), and all the other "stuff" one does electronically because it's faster. I am online almost all day, so that works best for me. My Kindle is for reading, but that's okay. I love my Kindle and don't need to have it do more than that. Of course, if I were offered an iPad, I wouldn't say no. From what I can glean from all the hype, it's a cross between a computer and a reader...or have I misunderstood something? Bottom line: my Kindle is a treasured electronic friend and I wouldn't have it any other way.
@WR, thanks for the comment, and I don't think you are in a minority at all. For all of us who have grown accustomed to the great features of the Amazon bookstore over the years, that experience via the computer is far superior to the experience of shopping at the Kindle's built-in Kindle Store. The web version via computer is also a good deal safer because for everything from price to file size to customer ratings and reviews you see a lot more info a lot more clearly. (The Amazon Shopping App, btw, provides some but not all of that, and frankly I am more likely, personally, to go to Amazon's website rather than to its app when I want to shop on Amazon with my iPad.)
Cheers,
Steve
I have shopped at Amazon via my Kindle several times. I just go to the Amazon website, use the Advanced setting, and sign into my account when I've chosen the item I want. So far it has worked just fine.
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