14 DAY TRIAL // Back in late 2009, when the Amazon Kindle became the company's best-selling product, it seemed likely that it would be one of the main driving forces behind the 2010 e-reader growth and, of course, one of Amazon's main points of focus. Then, the Kindle PC app was developed, showing that Amazon was more interested in widening access to its bookstore than just selling one electronic. This plan is coming to fruition now that Acer has decided to include said app on several of its netbooks and notebooks.
The Kindle app will give users almost instantaneous access to the 540,000 books in the Kindle store. This is possible because mobile PCs already have all the necessary parts to wirelessly access the web. Books, even best-sellers, can be acquired for as little as $9.99, after which they can be read in full-screen by means of the Kindle software (available for free download). Highlights, notes and bookmarks can also be created.
“We are thrilled that customers will begin to enjoy the Kindle for PC experience right out of the box with Asus devices,” said Ben Thacker, VP Sales and Product Management, Systems Business Group, North American Channel, Asus Computer International. “Kindle is something our customers have been asking for and by pre-installing Kindle for PC on select long battery life products, we believe we are providing our customers an even richer PC experience. Working with a customer-centric company such as Amazon and pre-installing their Kindle for PC application is a natural fit for Asus.”
The list of laptops that will be pre-loaded with this software includes the Eee PC 1005PE netbook and the UL30A-X5K and UL30VT-X1K notebooks. Of course, end-users can also simply download the software from Amazon's website.
"We think customers are going to love the convenience and simplicity of having instant access to Kindle for PC from their ASUS device and access to a massive selection of Kindle books," stated Jay Marine, Director, Amazon Kindle. "Kindle for PC lets customers enjoy over 540,000 books in the Kindle Store even if they don't yet have a Kindle, and its the perfect companion application for the millions of Kindle and Kindle DX owners."