Amazon Kindle for Mac released

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It's been a long time coming, frankly, but Amazon have finally released their Kindle for Mac application, which allows OS X users to read the same Amazon ebooks as they would on a standalone Kindle.  The free software has the same functionality as its previously-released PC counterpart: not only can you buy ebooks from Amazon's bookstore, but thanks to Whispernet both bookmarks and the furthest point to which you've read will be synchronized across Kindle and Kindle for Mac.

That means you can start reading an ebook on your Kindle in the morning, pick up where you left off on the Mac application, then continue on your iPhone and finally grab the Kindle and keep reading before bed.  What you can't do, so far, is add or view text notes and annotations, or search for text through ebooks, though Amazon say that functionality is coming in a future update.

Still, there are 10 different font sizes and you can adjust how many words are shown per line for more comfortable reading.  You can download Kindle for Mac here, and the software is available in over 100 countries at launch.

Press Release:

Introducing "Kindle for Mac" — the Free Application for Reading Kindle Books on the Mac, Now Available in over 100 Countries

Read on Your Kindle, Read Some on Your iPhone, and Now, Read Some on Your Mac – Read Wherever and Whenever You Want, and Never Lose Your Place

SEATTLE, Mar 18, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) today announced "Kindle for Mac," a free application that lets readers around the world enjoy Kindle books on their Mac computers. The U.S. Kindle Store (www.amazon.com/kindlestore) currently offers over 450,000 books, including New Releases and 102 of 111 New York Times Bestsellers, and is the only place to find some of today's most popular books in digital format. Kindle books can now be read on the Kindle, Kindle DX, iPhone, iPod touch, BlackBerry, PC and Mac, and soon the iPad. Customers in over 100 countries can go to www.amazon.com/kindleformac to download the Kindle for Mac application for free today.

"Kindle for Mac is the perfect companion application for customers who own a Kindle or Kindle DX," said Jay Marine, director, Amazon Kindle. "For those customers around the world who don't yet have a Kindle, Kindle for Mac is a great way to instantly access and read the most popular new releases as well as their old favorites."

Kindle for Mac features Amazon's Whispersync technology that automatically saves and synchronizes bookmarks and last page read across devices. Whether customers are reading Kindle books on a Kindle, Kindle DX, or one of the free Kindle applications, they can always have their reading with them and never lose their place. With Kindle for Mac, a customer can read some on their Mac, read some on their Kindle, and always pick up where they left off.

With Kindle for Mac, readers can take advantage of the following features:

Purchase, download, and read hundreds of thousands of books available in the Kindle Store

Access their library of previously purchased Kindle books stored on Amazon's servers for free

Choose from 10 different font sizes and adjust words per line

Add and automatically synchronize bookmarks and last page read

View notes and highlights marked on Kindle, Kindle DX, and Kindle for iPhone

Read books in full color including children's books, cookbooks, travel books and textbooks

Several features will be added to the Kindle for Mac app in the near future, including full text search and the ability to create and edit notes and highlights. Kindle for Mac is available to customers around the world as a free download. To download the free app, visit www.amazon.com/kindleformac.