One More Thing That You Can Do on the iPad That You Can't Do on the Kindle: Shop at Amazon

Irony of ironies.

I had an on-air conversation with Jeff Bezos in June 2008 where he told me that it was only "an engineering issue" that kept Amazon from offering Kindle owners the ability to use their Kindles to synch up with the rest of the Amazon store so that we could order other products from music to maple syrup.

Windwalker: Are you trying not to overdo it commercially or is that an engineering issue?

Bezos: Yeah, it's an engineering issue. Those are the kinds of things we're working on. We want complete integration between Kindle the device and Amazon.com the website.

Well, I know those Amazon engineers have a lot on their plates, but thaty was nearly two years ago! Today the company announced that it has unleashed an iPad-optimized Amazon Shopping App that will allow iPad owners to do any of the following:

• Purchase using Amazon's 1-Click ordering and Amazon Prime
• Track packages or modify orders using the Your Account feature
• Receive personalized recommendations
• View editorial and customer reviews
• Browse Amazon's Bestsellers, Gold Box Deal of the Day and Lightning Deals
• Access Wish List and Universal Wish List
• Watch movie trailers and listen to song samples

Very cool, of course. But what are Kindle owners? Chopped liver?


Here's the guts of Amazon's press release this morning:

Amazon.com Announces Shopping App for iPad
 SEATTLE, May 12, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) --Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) today announced its Amazon App for iPad is now available on the App Store. Optimized for the iPad, the app lets users search and discover products offered by Amazon and thousands of other retailers and includes popular features customers have come to know and trust including bestsellers, daily deals, robust product information, recommendations and customer reviews.

"Following the launch of the Amazon App for iPhone and iPod touch, we've used our customers' feedback to help us build a fun and intuitive shopping destination on the iPad," said Sam Hall, director of Amazon Mobile. "This application offers customers a unique, interactive experience that takes full advantage of the visual and tactile nature of the iPad."
Key features of the Amazon App for iPad include:

• Purchase using Amazon's 1-Click ordering and Amazon Prime
• Track packages or modify orders using the Your Account feature
• Receive personalized recommendations
• View editorial and customer reviews
• Browse Amazon's Bestsellers, Gold Box Deal of the Day and Lightning Deals
• Access Wish List and Universal Wish List
• Watch movie trailers and listen to song samples

The Amazon App for iPad is available for free on the iPad App Store or at www.itunes.com/appstore.