Kindle Gets its First Paid App: Scrabble

Nine months after Amazon announced the launch of an app store for its Kindle e-reader[mashable link], the first paid app, Scrabble, has made its way into the store.

The $4.99 app [Amazon link], which was developed by Electronic Arts, joins two free word games already in the store. Amazon will take a 30% cut of revenue generated from sales of the app.

Although it’s a well-designed app, perfect for the Kindle’s book-loving userbase, it’s somewhat disheartening that only three apps have been released thus far. When the app store was first announced, Amazon VP Ian Freed said that the company had “heard from lots of developers over the past two years who [were] excited to build on top of Kindle.” Somehow, we weren’t expecting “lots” to equate to “one.” (The first two apps were both developed by Amazon’s internal team.)

It’s possible that the promise of an app store, announced just ahead of the iPad unveiling, was merely an attempt to make the media think twice before labeling Apple’s tablet device the “Kindle killer.” Time will tell whether Amazon does, in fact, plan to go after developers and build an app store to rival those of Apple,Android and BlackBerry. Given the Kindle’s lack of a touchscreen, ability to play animations, and myriad other capabilities that allow for highly interactive apps, it doesn’t seem likely.

Of course, if Scrabble turns out to be a commercial success, that may change things.

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[via Wired]

Posted in: Apple,Kindle