Amazon launched a new Kindle app for Android devices today. Like the company’s iPhone app, the new Kindle for Android app will let you find, purchase, download, and read digital books on your mobile device.

The mobile app synchronizes your last read pages, bookmarks, and annotations with other devices linked to your account. So if you have a physical Kindle eBook reader, an iPod touch or iPad with the Kindle app, and an Android phone, you can start reading a book on one device, put it down and pick up reading where you left off on another.

Kindle for Android lets you read in portrait or landscape mode, adjust text size,and background color. You can also search Amazon’e library of more than 600,000 free and paid books. You can also read the beginning of a book before making a purchase.

Newspapers, magazines and blogs are not available on the Android app, and you’ll need Android 1.6 or newer to use the app. While Kindle for Android is available in a number of countries, the book selection will vary by region. And it doesn’t look like the new audio and video capabilities that Amazon added to the iOS app today are available in the Android version.

With the launch of an Android app, Amazon now joins Kobo as one of the few companies with a decent cross-platform eBook reader that works on both iOS and Android and which offers a decent selection of book titles.

Purchasing books is easy if you already have an Amazon account — and you can even choose to purchase a title using the Android app and have it sent to another device linked to your account. When I logged in, I saw that I was able to download books to my iPod or PC, both of which also have Kindle software installed.

We already knew Amazon was working on a version of its Kindle eBook reader for Google Android. Now we know when it will be released… roughly. Amazon has announced that the Kindle App for Android is due out this summer — and it will have one major feature that’s missing from the iPhone and iPad versions. You’ll be able to purchase eBooks from within the Kindle app.

While the Amazon Kindle app for the iPhone lets you browse Amazon’s collection of digital books, when you actually want to purchase one, you’re taken to the Amazon web site in your web browser.  The Kindle Store for Android will offer a much more seamless experience. Want to buy a new book and read it? Just fire up one app, find the book you’re looking for, purchase and download it, and start reading right away.

The Kindle app for Android will let you synchronize your last page read and annotations with other Kindle devices. So if you’re reading the same book on a Kindle eBook reader, an iPod touch, a PC with Amazon’s Kindle software, or your Android phone, you’ll be able to pick up where you left off — which is a pretty useful feature.

Amazon says you’ll be able to read in portrait or landscape mode, and turn pages by flicking your finger or tapping on the side of the screen. You’ll also be able to create bookmarks, adjust text size, and tweak other settings.

The Kindle app will be free, although many of the books will cost money to download.

The app will require a device with Android 1.6 or later.

via TechCrunch