Samsung and Amazon launch a custom Kindle e-book store for Samsung’s Galaxy range

Late last week, Samsung announced that it is collaborating with Amazon to bring a customised Kindle e-book store exclusively to Samsung’s Galaxy range.

This new collaboration service is launching alongside the recently launched Galaxy S5 device and will available worldwide to all Galaxy devices that run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich or greater. Amazon are boasting that Samsung Galaxy device owners will now have access to over 500,000 titles in its catalogue that include best-selling books and magazines from around the world.

To entice owners to the new joint service, Samsung and Amazon have announced a Samsung Book Deals initiative. The deal will allow customers to receive a free title (from a selection of four chosen by Amazon) each month. It’s more than a monthly freebie, though. There’s a referral incentive as well; users who refer new users can receive up to 12 additional free e-books every year.

To access the joint Samsung/Amazon store, users will need to install Kindle for Samsung, which is available to download now from the Samsung App Store, or if you don’t have access, via the Samsung Apps website.

The additional app, instead of a version of the Kindle app tailored to Galaxy devices, is likely to be a bit confusing for users, when those who enjoy e-books quite likely have the existing Amazon Kindle app already installed. We remain hopeful that the free titles available each month, and based on referral credits, are actually titles people will want to read, instead of obscure choices which might not be worth much.

Would you consider using this new collaboration service app from Amazon and Samsung? Do you have a qualifying Samsung smartphone or tablet? Have you already downloaded the Kindle app from either Samsung Apps or the Play Store? We would like to hear your thoughts in the comments below.