Amazon has announced Kindle First today. Kindle First will allow Kindle users to download and read an ebook up to a month ahead of the general release. Basically, this is providing early access to new ebooks. For Amazon Prime members, you will be able to download and read these books for free and those without Prime, these ebooks will be priced at $1.99.
While this all sounds good so far, there are some limitations. To begin with, these ebooks will be titles that are being published by Amazon Publishing. And on top of that, there will only be a small selection of titles to pick from each month. Or in other words, you may not be able to score a free (or $1.99) ebook each and every month depending on your preferences.
That being said, the process is simple and there is support for all Kindle devices — including Android devices using the Kindle app. Amazon has set up a Kindle First page that breaks down the process, which is really nothing more than picking the book you want and then downloading it to your device to begin reading. And to make sure you don’t miss out on any future releases, Amazon has set up a monthly email.
The titles available this month include Things We Set on Fire by Deborah Reed, We Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor and Sue Carswell, No Place for a Dame by Connie Brockway and Silent Echo by J.R. Rain. Also, just to clarify, regardless of whether you are Prime and get these for free, or choose to stay non-Prime and pay the $1.99 — once these have been downloaded they remain in your collection.
Anyway, while the non-Prime price seems to be attractive, this really appears to be adding yet another perk for Prime members. Not to mention, offering another reason to choose Kindle, whether you have a hardware device or are using the Android app.
Otherwise, in recent Amazon news, we also saw a new Kindle-only publication launch earlier in the week. That one was called “Day One” and promises to showcase one short story and one poem each week. Day One launched with an introductory price of $9.99, but will eventually settle in at $19.99 per year.
SOURCE: Amazon Kindle First, Business Wire