How much time do you spend on Twitter every day? Are you connecting with a service via your mobile phone or a tablet? This article is for you.
Pict. 1: a tweet with a link to Kindle Store
Do you know that you can use Twitter as a quick and convenient way to download Kindle ebooks? You can start reading a book in a couple of clicks from discovering it. There is no need to change a device. You don’t have to save your choice for later in order to access Amazon site from a computer or your Kindle ereader. Isn’t that worth trying?
All what you need to have is a free Kindle application for your mobile device (or devices). Currently Kindle apps are available for those mobile platforms: iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch), Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone 7.
How it works?
If you discover a tweet with a link to a Kindle Store (like the one in Picture 1), you can click on it and an Amazon site opens – optimized for a screen of your device.
As you see in Picture 2, if you’re logged in to your Amazon account, just after one click you can choose: to buy a book or to download a free sample.
When you select from a list of devices the one you’re currently using, after you click on “Buy Now with 1-Click” or “Try a Sample”, you’ll be directed to a next screen when you can make a next choice: “Continue Shopping” or “Go to Kindle App”.
That’s it, in a couple of seconds you can start reading a book!
Now imagine how much time you’ll need to remember your choice, switch to a browser, go to Amazon site and find a book again.
Pict. 2: 1 click and you are in Kindle Store
The great thing about buying ebooks at Amazon is that a book page is optimized even for small screens of mobile devices and that you have an option to download a free sample. As soon as a sample lands in your Kindle account it’s available for reading from any authorized device.
Tip: You can use Kindle app to download/buy books to your account – and read them afterwards on your Kindle ereader.
How to find books?
Twitter is a fantastic discovery tool. There are a couple of ways you can find an ebook to read. You probably know them, it’s just a question of using relevant factors.
The most convenient tool is Twitter search. Browse for words like “Kindle” and “e-book”. A very precise term which returns only links from Amazon.com is a shortened url – “amzn.to” – which is also a guarantee of a safe purchase. You can also use popular hashtags: #Kindle, #ebook, #ebooks.
Example: If you are looking for a bestselling book, use a word “bestseller” combined with a hashtag #Kindle and a phrase “amzn.to”. Check search results here.
You can also follow Twitter users who share Kindle-related news (for example@ebookfriendly) or Twitter lists with authors who publish their books at Kindle Store (like this one).
Via Piotr Kowalczyk’s Password Incorrect blog
YAY – just what I needed a newer way to buy books – now I have to find the time to read.
I love your blog.