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Where is the Kindle app for the PlayBook?

By | June 22, 2011, 2:29pm PDT

Summary: RIM’s PlayBook has been out for a while now, yet there is still no Kindle app available. One has to wonder if Amazon is rethinking that release given the expected appearance of its own tablet soon.

Last year Amazon and RIM were all excited that the Kindle app was coming for the then unreleased BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. The announcement was no surprise as Amazon has produced the app for every platform running phones and tablets, including BlackBerry phones. The Amazon press release didn’t divulge a release date for the Kindle app as RIM hadn’t confirmed a release date for the PlayBook when it was made. RIM’s tablet has been out for a while now, yet there is still no Kindle app available. One has to wonder if Amazon is perhaps rethinking that release given the expected appearance of its own tablet soon.

PlayBook owners have been patiently waiting for the Kindle app since receiving their tablets. Each software update by RIM has been followed closely by owners hoping that a Kindle app would be involved in the process in some way. The Amazon Kindle user base is huge, and PlayBook owners are firmly in that group. To date Amazon has not released the Kindle app for the PlayBook, and is mum on when that might happen.

One PlayBook owner reached out to Amazon directly to ask when the Kindle app would be available. The response from the Amazon rep was encouraging:

Kindle for BlackBerry Playbook is not yet available, but stay tuned. You can view our Kindle apps currently available and discover when we’ve released Kindle for BlackBerry Playbook by following the link below:

www.amazon.com/kindleapps

This is not exactly firm information but at least it didn’t state it was canceled. When you visit the link given by Amazon one thing is clear: the PlayBook is not mentioned anywhere. There is not even a “coming soon” message, nothing.

A more recent Amazon press release mentions in passing that Kindle ebooks would be accessible “soon on HP TouchPads and BlackBerry PlayBooks” so all hope is not lost. Let’s hope “soon” means just that, as PlayBook owners are getting anxious. Amazon has been good at releasing Kindle apps for all platforms as it makes good business sense to do so for selling ebooks. It does seem strange that the company has gone quiet about the PlayBook version, since it was announced so long ago. PlayBook owners may get loud if a Kindle app appears on the TouchPad before it does for the PlayBook.

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Topics

Research In Motion Ltd., Amazon.com Inc., BlackBerry PlayBook, Kindle, Amazon Kindle User Base, Tablets, Notebooks, E-books & E-Readers, Hardware, Notebooks & Tablets, Personal Technology, James Kendrick

James Kendrick has been using mobile devices since they weighed 30 pounds, and has been sharing his insights on mobile technology for almost that long.

Disclosure

James Kendrick

James Kendrick has no affiliations or relationships that need to be disclosed.

Biography

James Kendrick

James Kendrick has been using mobile devices since they weighed 30 pounds, and has been sharing his insights on mobile technology for almost that long. Prior to joining ZDNet, James was the Founding Editor of jkOnTheRun, a CNET Top 100 Tech Blog that was acquired by GigaOM in 2008 and is now part of that prestigious tech network. James' writing has appeared in many print publications: Smartphone and Pocket PC Magazine, Information Week and Laptop Magazine to name a few. James' coverage of the mobile technology sector has regularly appeared in the New York Times, Salon.com and CNN/ Fortune online. Not just a writer, James has filmed numerous video reviews and how-tos that have garnered well over a million viewers. He has appeared on local news segments and been interviewed by the Associated Press on mobile technology topics. Additionally, James has been podcasting about mobile technology for years.

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RE: Where is the Kindle app for the PlayBook?
FAULKNE 13th Oct
Good day to confirm this comment I would appreciate T h e b e s t o f Z D N e t d e l i v e r e d your website very nice to everyone Yes, Oracle is the only one with shared-disk architecture, but that is there advantage. It means you can add or remove nodes and the database lives on. In a shared nothing architecture, if you lose a node, you lose the system. I'm sure Oracle appreciates EMC highlighting their advantage.I also desire to signal in your RSS feeds. Thank you as soon as once again and maintain up the great operate Awesome post! Thank you very much || thanks for nice content this is really benefit to me.
View in thread
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Don't care for 2 reasons
woulddie4apple 22nd Jun
1. I have the Kindle app for all my iOS devices.

2. I don't use Kindle because iBooks is better.
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RE: Where is the Kindle app for the PlayBook?
Aerowind 22nd Jun
@woulddie4apple People are going to laugh at you for #2. The only thing iBooks has going for it is that it looks like, well, a book. But other than showing off that you can turn half a page and wave it back and forth, it doesn't really offer much.
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iBooks is a joke
Michael Alan Goff 22nd Jun
when compared to Kindle.
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RE: Where is the Kindle app for the PlayBook?
dhmccoy 22nd Jun
@woulddie4apple

Shrug. I don't prefer either. Both Kindle and iBooks are not very good for tables and charts. I truly wish both would give you basically a PDF file, but with all the Kindle or iBooks features.
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RE: Where is the Kindle app for the PlayBook?
Bates_ 23rd Jun
Stop feeding into this Apple Troll! That's all he is. Most of his comments get flagged anyway for being down right stupid. I swear he must be Steve Job's pet gimp or something.

As for the article: LOL@ RIM doing anything remotely right, and any reputable company or app developer wanting to waste time and money developing anything for a doomed OS.
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RE: Where is the Kindle app for the PlayBook?
kaylajazzmin 23rd Jun
id actually rather have the nook app for my playbook. i bought my husband a nook and would rather have the same purchase methods.
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Amazon's Actions and InAction
sthompson@... 25th Jun
What concerns me is Amazon announcing it will release a PlayBook Kindlle app and then not doing so or providing any information.
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RE: Where is the Kindle app for the PlayBook?
scotty1024 26th Jun
The one I miss most is the Wall Street Journal for any platform other than iOS. Despite Mossberg gushing all over the Xoom as the place to read the WSJ they've never shipped a tablet app for any platform other than the iPad. No Playbook, no Honeycomb.

My bet: no native developer kit == no DRM apps like Kindle and WSJ. You have to hand it to HP for getting the Kindle app built and bundled on the TouchPad from day 1.
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RE: Where is the Kindle app for the PlayBook?
BrandonMartin 2nd Jul
Right now the Playbook QNX or Blackberry Tablet OS has two decent SDKs for higher level development, but I imagine many, many developers are waiting for the release of the native SDK before developing or releasing an app for the device. If Amazon managed to put together a Kindle reader in using Flexx or Flash Builder or something they'd meet current demand, but not really be prepared to compete with the next wave of apps for the Playbook developed with the native SDK.

The Playbook is an awesome device. By far the best tablet on the market right now if you can live with the smaller form factor. I'm not sure whether QNX would provide an advantage on single core processors in phones and such, but on the dual core in the PB it multitasks incredibly well -- 15 or 20 flash apps and browser screens open and running (not task-switching like iOS) with almost no slow down. The web browser is great and the GUI is nearly perfect. Having said that, until (and maybe even when) there's a native SDK released to developers, I can't see the device competing in the app wars with Apple or Google's operating systems. If Amazon is trying to develop a real, ******** Kindle app for the playbook right now, one of the reasons for the delay may be that they can't figure out how to do it. It's not like iOS or Android where they can just order one of a hundred different books for developers explaining the APIs and the ins-and-outs of development...
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RE: Where is the Kindle app for the PlayBook?
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RE: Where is the Kindle app for the PlayBook?
FAULKNE 13th Oct
Good day to confirm this comment I would appreciate T h e b e s t o f Z D N e t d e l i v e r e d your website very nice to everyone Yes, Oracle is the only one with shared-disk architecture, but that is there advantage. It means you can add or remove nodes and the database lives on. In a shared nothing architecture, if you lose a node, you lose the system. I'm sure Oracle appreciates EMC highlighting their advantage.I also desire to signal in your RSS feeds. Thank you as soon as once again and maintain up the great operate Awesome post! Thank you very much || thanks for nice content this is really benefit to me.

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