Amazon Launches Kindle app for iPhone and iPod Touch devices

(image found on boston.com)
Great news for iPhone and iPod touch device owners, now you can download and view Amazon Kindle books on your handheld device just like on the Kindle, but without the added cost of buying one.

Amazon has just released a new app that can be downloaded from the Apple App Store for free. This e-book reader will allow you to view and purchase Amazon Kindle books. There are currently over 240,000 Kindle books available in the company library. The other plus side to this is if the books have color in them you will be able to see it on your i-device as oppossed to seeing it in select shades of grey on the Kindle unit. Also, the app comes with a sync application that will keep track of where you were reading and book mark it so you can come back to the same place at a future time.

It even gets better, say you have a Kindle and an i-device, well this app also features something called whispersync, which goes and syncs with the amazon server and then lets you book mark the place on the i-device then use your Kindle to finish off from where you stopped previously or vica versa, giving you a digital bookmark for your reading pleasure. There is one thing you should be aware of this free app does not include the Text-to-Speech option that is available on the Kindle.

Stock shares at Amazon were up 2% early this morning giving Amazon stock a price of $62.91.

Not to bad of a free app. With all the assorted different kinds of books available, even 104 out of the 112 New York Times Bestsellers, everyone can find something to read on their i-device. I currently don't have a Kindle myself, but i am still considering getting one because i think its the right time now with the Kindle 2 unit.

What Does Kindle Really Do for iPhone? (PCworld)
UPDATE: Amazon Launches Kindle App For iPhone (money CNN)
Free iPhone Kindle App Lets You Read All About It (Channel Web)

Presidents of the United States of America band release new music steaming app for the iPhone

(image found on arstechica)

The band Presidents of the United States of America has release a new app through the iPhone store that gives fans a listen to four albums plus some earlier taped goodies for just $2.99.

This application does not have the music in it but it does stream the content to you from a remote server. So fans still need to have some kind of internet connection to access the content. But, its not a bad deal to hear some sweet toons and some old recorded stuff too for a small price.

"PUSA isn't the first band to go the App Store route. Snow Patrol made headlines in September of 2008 after it released an "interactive album" for the iPhone and iPod touch that included images, lyrics, artwork, and even videos. And PUSA singer-turned-entrepreneur Dave Dederer thinks this is all just the beginning. "The possibilities around these open app stores, with Apple being the first and foremost, and hopefully RIM, Android, and others to follow in terms of size and impact—they've radically changed the mobile application, because they're open," Dederer told Wired. "You don't have to negotiate, you don't have to go through the process of approval with a big carrier."

More importantly, Dederer sees the value of bringing distribution control back to the bands themselves. "If all the rights to the masters and the publishing are contained—if the artist has control of them or the label has control of them, they can sell music in this entirely new format," said Dederer, "The first one we're doing is for my band, The Presidents... you can sort of pump anything in there that you want, at random. Maybe we'll put my bandmate Chris Ballow's answering machine message on there... it becomes an open conduit to the fans to promote tours... and include links to the band's blog.""

Bands bypass iTunes by streaming music through iPhone apps (arstecnica)

The Presidents of the United States of America offer iPhone app (macworld)

Apple Says Noooo to South Park App for the iPhone

(image found on poster.net)
Creating a cool app for the iPhone is never an easy task. Because once it is made, Apple still needs to decide whether to allow it or not at the App Store. Well now there is one more app that won't be offered according to apple.

"The latest App to get the denial letter from Apple was from South Park Digital Studios. The company behind the popular cartoon Series South Park wanted to sell an app on the App Store that would provide fans of the show with easy access to clips from episodes and other content.

Apple says that the application for the app was denied because the app could be "potentially offensive" to some users. The interesting part is that the App Store is chocked full of apps that make boobs jiggle in images and produce fart sound effects.

The studio says that it applied more than once for approval for its app, but that it was denied each time. The studio said in a statement, "At this point, we are sad to say, the app is dead in the water. Sorry, South Park fans."

Wow, this is so just wrong. Face it folks, everyone who knows what South Park is knows it is the best show to insult everyone and create a great laugh while they do it. I think someone at Apple doesn't like the show and is now sticking it to the fans of South Park because of their dislikes of the great show.

I wonder if anyone has considered opening up another App Store that people could go to without the approval of Big Brother Apple for content? Might be an interesting new place to create to help people get the cool app they desire but not available from the App store.

Apple Vetos South Park iPhone App (Daily Tech)

Apple rejects South Park game for iPhone over "offensive" content (TG Daily)