Amazon releases Kindle for Mac!

The day has finally arrived, that Mac users can now enjoy their Kindle eBook purchases on their desktop computer screens. Amazon has released Kindle for Mac. This complements the existing Windows and iPhone Kindle applications.

Install Kindle for Mac

All of these applications are free to download, and any purchased eBooks are synchronized between all of them on demand, including your current page. This makes a reasonable alternative to purchasing a Kindle if you haven’t yet bought one. Although, the Kindle still stands up well for long term reading (longer than about a half hour) as its very pleasant to hold, and incredible calming on the eyes.

Loading Splash Screen

Don’t let the pretty splash loader screen fool you once you’ve installed it though. The Mac application is not quite up to “Apple Design Standards” so don’t expect it to feel like a native Mac application. It doesn’t have that same polish as iTunes, but it is definitely a start. If Amazon spends some time enhancing it, it could be a real winner on this platform.

Home Screen

As expected, Kindle eBooks look quite decent on a large screen. It is debatable whether or not a large screen sitting on a desk is an appropriate place to read a novel, but it’s a fantastic way to lookup research information or some other technical documentation.

Illustrated Cookbook Recipe

I found that my The Cook’s Illustrated How-To-Cook Library looked quite well on Kindle for Mac, and it seemed like an ideal eBook to use for looking up reference documentation. If I had an iMac in the kitchen, this would surely be on it. And since this eBook supports Text-to-Speech, it could technically read me a recipe while I cook. But then of course it would read me the next recipe, and the next recipe, and the next recipe. I would probably start to make Shrimp Lasagna Pizza topped with Baked Brie. So I guess there’s some issues with that. (It should be noted thought that while I like bacon, I absolutely can’t stand shrimp!)

Recipe Direction with an Illustration

And at least eBooks with illustrations (the ones that even have them that is) look decent. What I’d like to see is more eBooks with photos and illustrations, and a better way to organize my eBooks altogether. We still don’t have folders! Is Amazon even listening?!

Download a Kindle application for your platform:

Kindle for Mac
Kindle for PC
Kindle for iPhone
Kindle for BlackBerry

How have your experiences been with the Kindle applications for platforms other than the Kindle itself? Sound off in the comments.