Amazon Releases Kindle Application for iPhone and iPod

Starting today, owners of iPhone and iPod Touch can download a version of the Amazon Kindle e-book reader from Apple’s App Store. The free application, which allows users to sync with Kindle and Kindle 2, is imagined as a complement to the larger e-book readers.

Kindle application users can read first chapters of e-books for free, buy e-books from Amazon using the iPhone or iPod’s Web browser, or download previously purchased e-books from Amazon. The application also features Whispersync, a program that enables readers who own a Kindle to switch between devices without losing their bookmarks.

Ian Freed, Amazon vice president for Kindle, told the Associated Press that the application has the potential to influence users to purchase the reader, which, in comparison to the Apple devices, boasts a much longer battery life and a larger screen designed for an extended read. The application launch follows closely on the heels of Amazon’s release of Kindle 2, which debuted last month at $359.