With yesterday's anniversary of the BlackBerry PlayBook getting unveiled to the world and Amazon's announcement today of the new Amazon Kindle Fire, which looks a LOT like a BlackBerry PlayBook, I couldn't help but chuckle at the promise that Amazon has so far yet to fulfill. Back on September 27th, 2010, they fired off this press release to the world:
September 27, 2010--SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) today announced that it will launch a Kindle app for the new BlackBerry PlayBook tablet computer. Customers can already enjoy the free Kindle app on their BlackBerry today. Like all Kindle apps, the Kindle app for the new BlackBerry PlayBook will let customers Buy Once, Read Everywhere—on Kindle, Kindle 3G, Kindle DX, iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, Mac, PC, BlackBerry, Android-based devices, and in the coming months, the new BlackBerry PlayBook. Amazon's Whispersync technology syncs your place across devices, so you can pick up where you left off. For more information about the free Kindle apps, go to www.amazon.com/kindleapps.
“When you buy a Kindle book, you can already read it on iPhone, iPad, Android, PC, Mac, BlackBerry, and of course on your Kindle, Kindle 3G, and Kindle DX," said Dorothy Nicholls, Director, Amazon Kindle. "We're very excited to add the new BlackBerry PlayBook to that list. As with our other Kindle apps, the BlackBerry PlayBook app will be free and will incorporate our WhisperSync technology so you can seamlessly switch between devices. Our vision is 'Buy Once, Read Everywhere.'"
I guess the Kindle App for the PlayBook fell pretty low on Amazon's priority list once they decided a KindlePlayFireBook of their own was the way to go. Sucks for us BlackBerry PlayBook owners, and it makes me wonder if we'll ever see a Kindle App for the PlayBook. With this new Developer Relations team ramping up at RIM, I'd sure love to see them secure an early win by surprising us at DevCon next month with an Amazon Kindle app for the updated Playbook Tablet OS 2.0 software. And if not for the PlayBook, I at least hope a Kindle app is there for the launch of QNX SuperPhones.
So PlayBook owners.... when you read the press release above from Amazon on a day like today, does it make you want to laugh, cry, or punch something?
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kingbernie06511 Sep 28, 2011 at 6:33 pm
insult to injury
it begs the question: will Angry birds make it to the PB?
LegenJERRY Sep 28, 2011 at 6:57 pm
Yes, it will "be out soon" -- Saw what I did there?
derekjdech Sep 28, 2011 at 8:20 pm
either that, or out "at the end of summer"
Smiley88 Sep 28, 2011 at 9:10 pm
huh? isn't this the fall already? where is the end?
LegenJERRY Sep 28, 2011 at 6:33 pm
It makes me sad... But I'm over it because none of the other cool apps are on PB anyway... So I accept the fact that my PB is simply for web browsing when I dont feel like using a keyboard.
waltb201 Sep 28, 2011 at 7:29 pm
its the most expensive wireless keyboard I have
sk8er_tor Sep 29, 2011 at 1:12 am
You're a moron. If you post the same thing over and over, it doesn't become true. Stop SPAMMING on these boards.
katiepea Sep 29, 2011 at 5:33 am
excuse me but exactly who the f are you? you don't control what anyone says, you don't run these boards, and i don't come here to read personal attacks and name calling. this isn't kindergarten. i see your comment as more spam here than anything else i'm reading
sk8er_tor Sep 29, 2011 at 10:03 am
Go back to your Android forum, fool. You only come here for one reason and that's to talk sh!t about RIM. Be gone!
katiepea Sep 29, 2011 at 10:55 am
This isn't World of Warcraft and you aren't some wizard that can cast people out
ODAAT Sep 28, 2011 at 11:05 pm
I am currently reading my Kindle books on my Playbook using the web app. Works fine in portrait mode. Don't understand why everyone else doesnt use this until the android version is available. After all, it worked perfectly well on the leak. I guess bitching is just more fun.
ubizmo Sep 29, 2011 at 1:16 pm
Some of us need or want the other features of the Kindle app, including the ability to highlight and annotate. The Cloud Reader doesn't yet support these; I don't know if it will do so at some point.
So no, the Cloud Reader isn't "fine" for those of us who need the full feature set. The iOS and Android Kindle apps do support these features, but since the Kindle app does involve in-app billing, there is now doubt about whether we'll ever see one on the PB.
BBThemes Sep 28, 2011 at 6:37 pm
and people say RIM are the ones with the broken promises
gbsn Sep 29, 2011 at 4:16 am
Nah, you just failed to realize that amazon has absolutely no responsibility or obligation in maintaining RIM's app "eco"system.
Sadly, RIM is the one that should work on attracting developers to its own platform, not amazon...
greatwiseone Sep 28, 2011 at 6:38 pm
Doubt it. They are pushing everyone to the HTML5 cloud player. Just hoping that they bring out an version of the Cloud Player for the PB soon.
LegenJERRY Sep 28, 2011 at 6:46 pm
doesn't look like it. I think we (PB owners) are too small of a population (or atleast they think so) to spend time to develop apps for the PB... BUT, what do I know, just calling it how I see it.
waltb201 Sep 28, 2011 at 7:31 pm
i wouldnt hold my breath
Taxi2base Sep 28, 2011 at 6:40 pm
I would rathere see an Amazon app on my PlayBook; that is able to do all the thing the Kindle Fire is capable of doing.
waltb201 Sep 28, 2011 at 7:33 pm
dunno about that, seems the amazon tablet is better than the BB paperweight. they have android atleast
koool1 Sep 28, 2011 at 8:06 pm
Android bites
katiepea Sep 29, 2011 at 5:34 am
it sure does, it bit about 25% of RIM's marketshare within 2 years.
ldcmobile Sep 28, 2011 at 6:44 pm
I'm fine using the kindle web app
Barefoot_Kevin Sep 28, 2011 at 9:33 pm
+ 1
Max_Powers Sep 28, 2011 at 6:44 pm
Just add that to the pile of things that were promised and not delivered for the Stormbook.
inb4 "Just wait its coming" and "2.0 is right around the corner"
a_silent_song Sep 28, 2011 at 6:46 pm
Punch something, most definitely. I've been debating buying a Kindle as a companion to my nook, but I haven't made up my mind yet. Mainly because I've been hoping Amazon will hurry the heck up and release the PlayBook app.
I wrote my freaking BOOKS on a BlackBerry, and at this point, the only option to read the books on the BlackBerry platform when they're released is with the Kindle app on the current generation of BlackBerry smartphones. You can't buy it and read it from Barnes & Noble, because they've thus far refused to update the app for BlackBerry smartphones to support PubIt! books, though they work just perfectly for EVERY SINGLE OTHER PLATFORM.
What's with these eBook companies falling down on the job when it comes to the BlackBerry platform? :(
ubizmo Sep 29, 2011 at 1:18 pm
The iPhone and Android Kindle apps support highlighting and annotation. The BlackBerry phone app doesn't. When I wrote to Kindle support, they replied that they have no plans to implement the features on BB.
travaz Sep 28, 2011 at 6:46 pm
I thnk Amazon did launch the kindle app for PB today. :( Kind of like being stabbed in the back.
digdah Sep 28, 2011 at 7:26 pm
Exactly. They just did it on their own terms. Well, we know for a fact that it will run on the hardware and do it well so Amazon, where the fetus is our app?
digdah Sep 28, 2011 at 7:26 pm
Exactly. They just did it on their own terms. Well, we know for a fact that it will run on the hardware and do it well so Amazon, where the fetus is our app?
Don00 Sep 28, 2011 at 6:55 pm
Punch something - still waiting for the fulfillment of the promise.
jmiker Sep 28, 2011 at 6:55 pm
Makes me want to punch my Playbook!! Stupid paperweight with no apps.
Citrix Receiver (sure, if you don't want security)
LogMeIn Ignition (nope)
Kindle (never)
jclazz10 Sep 28, 2011 at 6:57 pm
That's too bad we almost broke the 10 app mark
quellerie Sep 28, 2011 at 6:57 pm
Now we know why they didn't develop a PB app. They took a look at the PB and decided they liked it so much, they made one of their own.
Sadly, PlayBook is dead - don't know how it will ever gain traction unless they develop a pink version that appeals to teen girls.
I bought a kindle a few months ago, so I'm set up on that front. And the web kindle works very nicely on the PB. I wonder when Amazon will make a bid for RIM? It would make a lot of sense for them, I think.
optimo Sep 28, 2011 at 6:58 pm
No one is to blame here but RIM. As you can see the UI (swiping gestures) are exactly what Kindle went with for their player. RIM had the opportunity to plan this move to the tablet space strategically (over a year ago). They dropped the ball on having developer tools in place and partnering with companies like Amazon......
Their are 2 Playbooks in my household and we love them but i am quite disappointed in the approach that RIM has taken to bring a new gadget to market. I have had a Playbook since the release date and I am hoping that V 2.0 blows everyone away.............The Playbook has the best hardware and it is a shame that it has not been leveraged by software.
katiepea Sep 29, 2011 at 7:52 am
indeed 12 months after RIM announced the playbook, they still have yet to release a native SDK for developers to make apps on it. microsoft has had theirs out for wp7 and their tablet for over a year. i have a playbook also, i've also decided to cut my losses and sell it now before i can't get anything for it. it's done, it's never going to improve, and honestly RIM would be better off realizing this instead of continuing to pump money and resources into it. doesn't give me much hope for qnx handsets either. i can't fathom what other result RIM was anticipating, tossing a crippled tablet onto the market without giving developers any tool to make anything for it, and charging as much for it as an iPad. seriously when you try to draw up the roadmap for this thing it is a complete joke, everyone associated with it should be fired.
Bro1988 Sep 28, 2011 at 6:59 pm
guess thats what the android emulator is for
jclazz10 Sep 28, 2011 at 7:00 pm
Playbook was dead from the start the kindle app wasn't going to save it...neither will angry birds or chuck Norris but at least we can rest assured that the 5 inch tablet can fit in our corn hole :)
kw9700 Sep 28, 2011 at 8:19 pm
Ok, thanks, you either have a very large or very loose cornhole.
protofa Sep 28, 2011 at 7:01 pm
the playbook as a consumer product is dead. its only salvation will be to run android apps
LegenJERRY Sep 28, 2011 at 7:08 pm
Salvation? That shipped has sailed...
waltb201 Sep 28, 2011 at 7:37 pm
you mean the android apps that were supposed to some out in late spring, hold on late summer, ummm early fall. look lets face it all we have is a keyboardless browser
raptorstv Sep 28, 2011 at 7:05 pm
Kindle Fire is also much cheaper than the crappy Playbook
waltb201 Sep 28, 2011 at 7:34 pm
cheaper and does more than the blackberry paperweight
mcaples Sep 28, 2011 at 7:13 pm
It IS sad but FUNNY...like the '07 posts about the 9000...it was rumored to have a touch screen (I was "on" CB but not ON CB as I was a NON BB user)...old post are GREAT
papped Sep 28, 2011 at 7:14 pm
If I cared about Kindle in any capacity at all in the first place, but I don't...
laurah2215 Sep 28, 2011 at 7:16 pm
Well, I use the Kobo app, so it doesn't affect me so much, but this is really sad. So many people bought a PB expecting it to have this app so they could read their books on the go without carrying around another device. This is really disappointing for them.
~Laura~
waltb201 Sep 28, 2011 at 7:17 pm
hmmmm new amazon device, 200.00,
blackberry paper weight 499.99
getting reamed from RIM Priceless
yeah and android apps will soon be available for the BBpaperweight, that will happen when you throw this device out and get an android tablet or get the new IPad 3.
Thanks RIM for putting out such a great unfinished product, anyone know where we can get a refund or some money back for this?
TomCanuck Sep 28, 2011 at 7:25 pm
... Amazon still doesn't sell me MP3's cuz I'm in Canada lol why in the world would I ever put faith in what they say. That's like beliving a RIM timeline lol
koool1 Sep 28, 2011 at 7:28 pm
Kindles loss - I buy from Kobo!
rgm#cb Sep 28, 2011 at 7:56 pm
The Playbook is dead. I have mine for sell, but doubt it will sell. It was doom from the start with the delayed launch, which put it on sale after the ipad 2, plus the fact that no one wants to develop any apps for it. Hell i still have no predictive text or spell check. RIM has one more chance with QNX phones next year. If RIM gets that wrong the company will have a new owner by 2013.
cookney Sep 28, 2011 at 8:09 pm
looking forward to none of these awesome apps making it to the QNX phones as well............
Big let down the PlayBook is ! offered so much but delivers so little
dagerlach Sep 28, 2011 at 8:17 pm
It's just business.
I'm not sure I would spend a lot of resources on an app for a device with a beta operating system.
If RIM doesn't announce a Playbook with a broadband transciever in the next couple months you can write the the devices future off. I like my Playbook, but 'the writing is on the wall'
OS2, no matter how good of a improvement won't save the platform. The reviews are in, nobody gives a second chance in this business. Change the name, make some improvements in the hardware, etc....and they might have a chance, but that certainly won't change the market...and it's probably not worth the effort cost.
d
sf49ers Sep 28, 2011 at 8:17 pm
oh the trolls are on fire..bring it on..
diegonei Sep 28, 2011 at 8:24 pm
It is just business, true, but if I were Amazon, I'd want my stores available on every device on the planet. The deeper my reach, the better my chances of making a sell.
But that's jsut ME right?
jdelvalle56 Sep 28, 2011 at 8:37 pm
My wife just read this article and is now clowning me for rushing to the store on playbook release date. $500 down the tubes. The old saying lives true. "Live and learn" My wife and 12 year old daughter will be leaving their blackberry's tomorrow and going to iphone. That leaves me and my son to ride out what's left on our 6 month contract end. He wants Angry Birds so he'll probably get an Android which will leave me the only blackberry owner in the house. RIM please - I beg you PLEASE right the ship.
newcollector Sep 28, 2011 at 8:37 pm
I remember a number of threads started about suing RIM for not fufilling their word. One fella in his first post on Crackberry vented by calling Mike L. A liar. Is somone going to start threads about suing Amazon and about calling them liars? :)
pistolpetefan23 Sep 28, 2011 at 8:53 pm
Where can Ibuy all of your "paperweights" off you for $50? I mean $50 is an awful lot for a paperweight so I'm sure you'd gladly let it go for that right? PM me where I can send the cash.
harpcomposer Sep 28, 2011 at 8:54 pm
I love my Kindle, have no need for it on my Playbook. But please, oh please, gimme Netflix!
Cantime77 Sep 28, 2011 at 9:07 pm
Sad, very, very, very sad...
this just shows the future shape of things to come.
Playbook should really come down in price, by at least a hundred to maybe grab some market share... but seriously I would not buy it at even at 399, there are still harldy any apps
I sitll have a blackberry torch 9800 but now also have an iPad and my wife had switched to iPhone after two years of blackberry flip.
I purchased Playbook at release (on preorder at Future Shop) and returned it after two weeks. About a month ago I did it again thinking I need to get a fresh look at the system and while I really like the form factor and the OS swipes etc... without the apps the device was useles and the blackberry bridge was still glitchy.
There are big hopes for OS2.0... but at the current price point it will continue to be a prop at the stores. Especially considering that iPad also has an OS uplift coming up.
Rockstar2448 Sep 28, 2011 at 10:25 pm
It's the reality of why RIM/BB is losing the race against iOS and Android. RIM builds great phones/hardware, but if there's a lack of good quality apps then what's the point? People want and/or need more than just a device that performs very well at messaging and email alone. Customers that are looking to upgrade don't want to buy a device, a smartphone or tablet, that has great potential with lots of great features and apps "coming soon" if they can buy a device that already has what they want available.
HTC_Droid_EvO Sep 28, 2011 at 10:42 pm
PERFECT...this is the simple but honest truth that so many BB users fail to come to terms with.
:) Yep
FrankDLR1972 Sep 29, 2011 at 8:15 am
+1
Kingkracker Sep 28, 2011 at 10:30 pm
Meh, don't really care. I use the cloud reader so it's a non issue that there isn't a kindle app.
Kuttysark Sep 28, 2011 at 11:01 pm
I think Amazon is pretty stupid. If they make it look like the playbook, they can get nailed like samsung did from apple with an injunction barring sale of the device.
ODAAT Sep 28, 2011 at 11:04 pm
I am currently reading my Kindle books on my Playbook using the web app. Works fine in portrait mode. Don't understand why everyone else doesnt use this until the android version is available. After all, it worked perfectly well on the leak. I guess bitching is just more fun.
DaveTheA Sep 29, 2011 at 12:03 am
Kobo is fine for me, and it works pretty well on the Playbook [although it could use some improvement]. My wife is interested in the Kindle, even though she's a Blackberry user herself and could find the Playbook quite useful. A missed opportunity for Amazon AND RIM...
svanneck Sep 29, 2011 at 2:29 am
Is it just me or is just a bit ironic that the Kindle Fire comes with a native email client, while the BlackBerry PlayBook on which its hardware is based does not?
jkrist Sep 29, 2011 at 3:08 am
Precisely why should someone waste their time and effort in developing apps for a dead platform and a dead device?
Paladinleeds Sep 29, 2011 at 3:52 am
I've since swapped to an Android phone and hence won't be getting a PlayBook, but this still makes me very very very very very (you get the drift) angry
CDM76 Sep 29, 2011 at 7:49 am
I use Kobo and love it. So no issues here :)
Ps: the new kindle will only be able to run android apps you buy thru amazon ? Wtf ?
artsheart Sep 29, 2011 at 8:21 am
I bought a Sony S Tablet. It has four book apps, Kobo (the PB app has never been updated and falls far short of what Kobo is doing on other OS's), Kindle, Nook and Google Books.
I just can't see being limited to one content provider's store. If you are a serious reader, the money you save getting a book for the best price justifies the more expensive device. Why get relegated to a limited app store.
I was hoping to do all this stuff on the PB. Its not just that Amazon didn't follow through, RIM has botched their promises on PB from the beginning. So mine has become an expensive paperweight.
The Sony is is a fantastic device. It has a tablet OS (unlike iPad). Sony got it right.
TorontoWireless Sep 29, 2011 at 8:44 am
I am using the Kobo App
rlhammon Sep 29, 2011 at 8:56 am
I think the writing that's been on the wall, has been blasted out across the media now.
RIM's dying... plain and simple, and their competition is growing every day.
I waited to see what the Kindle Fire was, and while it's great for what it is meant for (consumption of Amazon products, like the iDevices are for consumption of Apple products), I drove to the store after work last night and bought my Toshiba Thrive tablet.
I'll be picking up my Droid Bionic phone and dumping my Storm2. No sense in picking up yet a third RIM device which has no future support for the OS. I got screwed with the Storm, and again on Storm2, why get the Torch now knowing OS7 is DOA as well.
RIM's killed themselves with poor technology implementation... irony, seeing as great technology implentation was what got them started.
Jonathank Aug 13, 2012 at 7:40 pm
hope they fail and then say man i wish we jus came out with an app lol
Blackberry_boffin Sep 29, 2011 at 11:02 am
The Kindle is so dumbed down I'm just not interested.
ODAAT Sep 29, 2011 at 12:28 pm
You should know better than to make a posting like this on the front page. The replies speak for themselves- any opportunity to stick the boot in and people take it. The RIMPIRE or your site won't be striking back if you continue to feed the negativity.
Locrian_Mode Sep 29, 2011 at 4:23 pm
never been much of an Amazon fan anyway but this seals the deal. I just will not shop with them any longer.