Microsoft Shows Off Kindle Reader App for Windows 7

No real details on this at the moment as I’m busy with a project at my real job, but I saw this fly by on Twitter from Stephen Hughes. At the Windows Launch Event in NYC, Microsoft is showing off a Kindle Reader app designed for Windows 7 and touch. Here’s the picture and more details as soon as we can kick the rest of the GBM team out of bed this morning and get them on it.

(edit from Xavier) Update: Amazaon just sent out a press release with more details about the application. Kindle for PC will support multi-touch gestures in Windows 7 including scrolling, pinching and zooming. The application will be available in November at Amazon.com/KindleforPC. You can visit there now to sign up for an email newsletter.

Here’s the full release from Amazon:

Introducing “Kindle for PC” — The Free Application for Reading Kindle Books on the PC
Amazon.com, Inc. today announced “Kindle for PC,” the free application that lets readers around the world enjoy Kindle books on their personal computers (PC). The U.S. Kindle Store (www.amazon.com/kindlestore) currently offers over 360,000 books, including New Releases and 101 of 112 New York Times Bestsellers, which are typically $9.99 or less. The Kindle Store is the only place to find some of the most popular books of today in digital format. Kindle books can now be read on the Kindle, Kindle DX, iPhone, iPod touch, and PC.

Kindle for PC features Amazon’s Whispersync technology that automatically saves and synchronizes bookmarks and last page read across devices. Whether you read Kindle books on a Kindle, Kindle DX, or one of the free Kindle applications, you can always have your reading with you and never lose your place. With Kindle for PC, you can read some on your PC, read some on your Kindle, and always pick up right where you left off. Whispersync helped make the Kindle for iPhone application the most popular books app in the Apple App Store.

“Kindle for PC is the perfect companion application for folks who own a Kindle or Kindle DX,” said Ian Freed, Vice President, Amazon Kindle. “Kindle for PC is also a great way for people around the world to read the most popular books of today even if they don’t yet have a Kindle.”

With Kindle for PC, readers can take advantage of the following features:

— Purchase, download, and read hundreds of thousands of books available in the Kindle Store

— Access their entire library of previously purchased Kindle books stored on Amazon’s servers for free

— Choose from over 10 different font sizes and adjust words per line

— Add and automatically synchronize bookmarks and last page read

— View notes and highlights marked on Kindle and Kindle DX

— Zoom in and out of text with a pinch of the fingers (Windows 7 users only)

— Turn pages with a finger swipe (available in a future release for Windows 7 users)

Microsoft demonstrated Kindle for PC for the first time ever at the Windows 7 launch event today in New York City. “Customers have told us that they want access to a wider variety of content and an increasingly diverse set of form factors,” said Mike Nash, corporate vice president of Windows Platform Strategy at Microsoft. “With the announcement of Kindle for PC, Amazon is making its massive selection of Kindle books available on the world’s most widely used platform. The new Kindle for PC’s use of Windows 7 features such as Jump Lists and Windows Touch demonstrates how Windows 7 makes new things possible.”

Kindle for PC takes advantage of capabilities in the new Windows 7, including Windows Touch technology. In addition to Windows 7, Kindle for PC will also be compatible with Windows XP and Windows Vista. Kindle for PC will be available to customers around the world as a free download next month. Sign up to receive an email when Kindle for PC is available for download at https://www.amazon.com/KindleforPC.