Amazon and Samsung partner up for custom Kindle store on Galaxy smartphones and tablets

Samsung and Amazon have struck a deal to produce a custom version of the Kindle eBook store specifically for Galaxy smartphones and tablets, giving Samsung customers another way to get Amazon’s extensive range of books, magazines and articles onto their device.

Essentially a modified version of the existing Kindle app for Android, Kindle for Samsung has all the features existing users will expect including Whispersync for saving and synchronising the last page read, bookmarks and annotations across all Kindle devices and apps, automatic archiving to the cloud, and Time To Read, which indicates how long it will take to finish a particular chapter based on your average reading speed.

The biggest selling point for Samsung device owners will almost certainly be Samsung Book Deals, which lets you choose a free book from a selection of four different titles every month. Each selection is apparently chosen “specifically for Galaxy smartphone and tablet owners” from a wide selection of prominent titles. The announcement will come as good news to anyone picking up the newly-launched Galaxy S5, as they will be entitled to twelve free eBooks a year on top of their existing Premium software bundle.

The first month’s selection includes THe Fort by Aric Davis, Elizabeth Street by Laurie Fabiano, Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End by Manel Loureiro and Bone River by Megan Chance.

“We’re delighted to be able to deepen our long-standing relationship with Amazon and offer Kindle for Samsung as the perfect app for reading on a smart device,” Lee Epting, Samsung’s European Media Solution Center VP said of the deal. “With this service we demonstrate our commitment to creating and broadening key content partnerships that deliver rich and personalised experiences for our customers.”

The custom Kindle app is available right now for the Galaxy S5 and existing Samsung Galaxy smartphones and tablets running Android 4.0 or above.