Amazon’s much-hyped full-color $199 Android tablet, the Kindle Fire, is due to begin shipping on November 15. But the company is generating advance buzz for the new device by releasing a list of Fire-specific apps, the standout titles from “thousands” that Amazon says will be available on that date.
“Netflix, Rhapsody, Pandora, Twitter, Comics by comiXology, Facebook, The Weather Channel and popular games from Zynga, EA, Gameloft, PopCap and Rovio,” are just highlights from the “several thousand of the most popular Android apps and games,” that will be available, Amazon said in a press release on Wednesday.
Additionally, Amazon took a jab at Apple, saying that Kindle Fire users “will be able to download these apps and games without having to register multiple times.” Apple customers trying to login to the Apple App Store using their Apple ID’s have reported problems with the company re-setting their accounts due to security reasons.
The announcement of the Kindle Fire Facebook app is something of a slap at Apple, too, given that it took Facebook a year and a half to release an iPad-specific app, which it finally did in October to mixed reviews. (Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckeberg in November 2010 defended the company’s lack of an iPad-specific app by saying that he didn’t consider the iPad to be a mobile device, but rather a computer.) Still, the iPad app market remains more robust in terms of total native apps, some 140,000.
Amazon also seems to have timed the announcement to steal some of the thunder away from Barnes & Noble’s announcement Monday of its similarly cheap, $249 full-color Android tablet, the Nook Tablet, which will be available in stores November 17, just days after the Kindle Fire ships, also coming with Netflix and Hulu pre-installed on it, but not nearly as many apps.
In addition, Amazon noted in its Wednesday press release that “all apps are Amazon-tested on Kindle Fire for the best experience possible,” meaning that they won’t necessarily be the versions of those apps currently available in the Android app store for other tablets including the Motorola Xoom and the Samsung Galaxy Tab, which run Android Honeycomb version 3.0. Amazon has declined to say which version of Android it is running, but many suspect it is an older version of the operating system, 2.0 and above.
The new apps also put the Kindle Fire ahead of the RIM PlayBook, which shares the same physical body as the Kindle, but offers far fewer apps. An upcoming Playbook update announced in September, BlackBerry Runtime for Android Apps, would allow Playbook users to install some Android tablet apps, but with severely limited functionality.
So it is little wonder that the tech blogosphere has been collectively salivating over the new list of Kindle Fire apps.
“We started talking to app developers everywhere the day we introduced Kindle Fire, and the response has been overwhelming,” said Dave Limp, an Amazon vice president, in the statement. “In addition to over 18 million movies, TV shows, songs, books, and magazines from Amazon, we are excited to offer customers thousands of apps and games to choose from on Kindle Fire.”
Indeed, apps developers do seem to be as excited as Amazon about the launch of the new device, with Pandora emailing investors to let them know that its Internet radio service would be available on the Kindle Fire.
Netflix, too, was uncharacteristically excited about the news, with VP of business development Bill Holmes saying in Amazon’s press release that: “We’re certain that our members will have a great viewing experience on Kindle Fire.” That’s especially noteworthy given that Amazon’s Prime service is competing with Netflix in the streaming video market. Still, considering how poorly Netflix has been faring with investors and with consumers lately, perhaps the company is eager to throw its streaming app onto the Fire.
