Application:
Amazon Kindle
Interviewee:
POP Team, Designer / VP Technology /
Windows Mobile Designers
Can you introduce the app?
POP designed the WP7 Amazon Kindle App; a Top Ten Strategic App for the launch of the phone. Having designed the Kindle app for the iPad, we used our intimate knowledge of the book reader to create a compelling, easy to use version that took advantage of the unique capabilities of the Windows Phone Platform.
Features:
• Integration with Amazon’s Whispersync technology
• Customisable reading experience including font size and background colour options
• Search and browse more than 950,000 books in the Kindle store
• Integrated shopping experience allowing users to shop without leaving the app
• Intuitive ‘page turn’ via flicking or screen tap
• Portrait or landscape reading options
The app- what does it do well?
It fits well into the new Windows UI and embraces it.
Does the design reflect the parent site?
I would probably say no. The only thing the app shares with the parent site is the images. The navigation is completely different.
There are some big differences when designing for mobile, what do you think this application does well?
The Amazon Kindle app remains true to the Kindle Brand and reading experience, but also takes advantage of the panorama, pivots and other platform specific capabilities without creating an experience that was a departure from that of the actual Kindle product.
Does the design reflect the brand and/ parent site? How does it do this? If not, why not?
Yes, it’s similar to the design approach for the Amazon Shopping app, we maintained the same experience Kindle users have come to love and expect but leveraged the platform capabilities and new Windows UI principals to create a unique experience for Windows Phone.
What has user feedback on the design been like?
We’ve been very happy with the feedback. The Marketplace reviews have been consistently positive with an average rating of 4.5 stars.
———————————————————————————————————————————————
Build your own app
Been inspired? We’ve put together a step-by-step guide to building a Windows Phone 7 app. You will find helpfull tips, tricks and free downloads to get you started.
Firstly, download the free tools here
Step 1: Designing your App
Step 2: Laying out elements in Expression Blend
Step 3: App styles
Step 4: Adding the glossy elements
It's almost a good application. it falls down on the fact that you can upload your own books to the kindle yet you can't with the WP7 format. I have various technical books that I read on my kindle (Not bought from Amazon) yet these can't be sync'd across to the WP7 app. Makes it useless in this scenario.
- spam
- offensive
- disagree
- off topic
Like