With the holiday shopping season in full swing, retailers are clamoring to publicize their sales, deals and more. Amazon issued a release today that customers can now give any of the 725,000 Kindle books to anyone with an email address. So a recipient doesn’t need a Kindle to even receive an e-book. The normally data shy Amazon also revealed that the Kindle is the most gifted item in the company’s history, and that “millions” of people are using the Kindle or Kindle apps to read books.
Of course, those without a Kindle can read their e-books on the Kindle App for the iPad, iPhone, BlackBerry and Android devices. Gifters can choose a book in the Kindle Store, and send give the e-book as a gift by simply inserting the recipient’s email address. Recipients can redeem the gift in the Kindle Store to read on any Kindle or free Kindle app.
This is clearly a way to encourage and alert Amazon shoppers and the general public to the fact that they don’t necessarily need a Kindle device to access Amazon’s e-books and use their Kindle apps for e-book reading.
There’s no doubt that Amazon is betting on the Kindle as a big holiday seller, and is launching new ways for consumers to buy into the Kindle platform. A few months ago, Amazon revealed that magazines and newspapers will be available on Kindle apps and that users will soon be able to lend e-books for a two-week period.