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‘Optimized Kindle Store seamlessly integrated with Kindle for iPhone App’: Safari in just the right size and shape
May 11, 2009 | 8:29 am
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By David Rothman
“Now when users of the Kindle for iPhone app click on ‘Get Books,’ the new
The TeleRead take: Bravo to Amazon for offering the spiffy view to the left—rather making me mess with resizing or horizontal scrolling!
Shown is the page that comes up when I search for TeleRead contributor Steve Windwalker’s newspaper novel, Say My Name.
Now—if only Amazon can improve the iPhone shopping application (different from Kindle for the iPhone reading app)!
The app needs to let you buy Kindle books directly rather than just putting them on a wish list for action with your desktop!
Detail: Of course I’d rather that the Kindle books be in the nonproprietary ePub format. In a related vein, see GOOD thing for e-books: Amazon MIGHT draw closer antitrust scrutiny, due to new Justice policy.
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Comments:
You can actually buy Kindle-for-iPhone books on your phone through Safari without having to go to your desktop. It’s a fairly cumbersome process, but you can do it–or at least I managed to do it.
Hi Tina, can you provide the steps to do so?
Sure.
1. Open Kindle app on iPhone
2. Click on Get Books
3. Click on Search the Kindle Store.
4. Pick category to brose from menu or type in a book you want to search for. this closes app and opens kindle store in safari.
5. Click on book you want to buy
6. You will see “Buy now with 1-Click”
7. click on “Buy now with 1-Click”
8. Sign in to your amazon account
9. You will see a drop down menu where you can choose the device to receive your purchase. Choose iPhone.
10. Close Safari and open Kindle app on your iPhone. Voila, there’s your book.
David – double check your take. When I go through the “Get Books” link on the Kindle iPhone app, I can buy a book and have it download directly to my iPhone after putting in my Amazon password…no wish list involved.
Hi, Aaron. Many thanks for helping us get at the facts here. However. I wonder if you’re talking about the Kindle books app. That will work to fetch Kindle books, of course. But I’m not so sure about the shopping app for the iPhone (not the same as the Kindle book app–as noted). That’s when I get the Wish List notifier.
Thanks,
David
Update, 5:14 p.m. I just tried the shopping app again, the one with the shopping cart in the icon (not the human reader under the tree). Once again I received the wish list message, along with the explanation that the app won’t support digital downloads.
AH, sorry. I was confused by your nomenclature. The iPhone shopping app, as you dub it, is officially called “Amazon Mobile.” But with the improvement to the Kindle books shopping experience through the Kindle app, doesn’t the Amazon Mobile problem become kind of irrelevant? I’m not sure I care if the second-best way to buy a Kindle book on an iPhone stinks.
OK, I just saw your 2nd message. I’m glad to reconcile our facts here. Yes, I meant the shopping app, which has an icon that says simply “Amazon” and “Amazon.com.” No “Mobile” spotted on the desktop, lol. So I sjust said “shopping app.” Guess Amazon needs to spread this-here “official” stuff to the icon. Thanks for your help at acquainting readers with the full story.
David
So, basically, the Kindle app completely ignores the Amazon Mobile app, and instead launches Safari to buy the books from the Amazon website.
It’s interesting to compare this with eReader’s recent change to cause eReader to launch Safari for browsing or ordaring books from eReader.com, Fictionwise, or other sites, instead of doing it from within the program. iLounge thinks that this change is to get around Apple’s impending changes regarding content sold through apps in the App Store.
Exactly Chris, it’s most likely because Apple won’t allow in-app transactions that are not using their micro-payment system, even with an embedded browser inside the app.
Don’t expect eReader or Amazon to give 30% of their revenue to Apple: we won’t see in-app transactions in e-book apps anytime soon on the iPhone.
Does this mean Stanza will be dropping its own in-app stores? (Pity, I rather liked the smoothness of how they were implemented.)
Stanza won’t have to drop their in-app catalog (especially free content), but you’ll get redirected in Safari for any transaction if it doesn’t use OS 3.0 in-app purchase.