Samsung app lets you buy Kindle e-books

Consumers won't have to jump through hoops when buying Kindle e-books once a new online store opens here in September.

The e-store - in the form of a free app for Samsung devices - means people can buy and read Kindle e-books on their smartphones and tablets without having to use the tedious workarounds required now. These include getting friends travelling to the United States to bring back Kindle devices or signing up for a virtual private network service that masks their real location so Amazon will not block their purchases.

The new app was announced in April by Amazon and Samsung to give book buyers access to millions of digital books, newspapers and magazines even if they do not own the Kindle reading tablet. It is being rolled out progressively to 95 countries.

The app has the same functions enjoyed by Kindle hardware users, such as being able to save the last page read and back up e-books on the Internet.

Another option will let users pick one free book out of four select titles every month.

Sales manager Faith Heng, 36, said she has stopped using her Kindle tablet as she has forgotten how to top up the Amazon gift card credits used to pay for e-books.

"This (new) arrangement is even better since I will be able to download e-books directly on my Samsung phone," she said.

Engineer John Wong, 36, said: "The launch of the Samsung app here will allow more people to access the millions of Kindle e-books."

itham@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on July 16, 2014.
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