Kindle for Web is Here! Well, Sort of...

They pre-announced it once before, then quickly retracted all but the help files. This time, it appears that Kindle for Web is here to stay. Right now, the app is in beta phase and only available on selected book pages. So far, I haven't found any of them, so I invite you to add a comment if you run into one, so we can all give this a try.  In the meantime, though, you can try it on the product page reached by clicking on the picture or link above. If you just want to see what is included, I've copied in the main features, below. One of the cooler things you'll be able to do is share a book sample via email ... also, potentially one of the more annoying, I suspect, for recipients.

Update: I was looking in the wrong place for the Read First Chapter Free button - it is located on the paper book product page and looks like it takes the place of the old "Look Inside" feature. Check out the product page for Easily Amused, by Karen McQuestion (an indie author turned bestseller), and you'll find the button below the usual buy choices, along the right hand side of the screen. I predict that nearly every author will start embedding these on their web pages ... because it is just so easy to do and it lets them give a sample of their books to any reader that passes buy, with no coding effort on their part. Of course, their book does have to be available as a Kindle edition ... which is a win for Amazon and a win for readers of ebooks.

Read and share book samples

• Read a book sample from Amazon.com without leaving your browser. No download or installation required.
• Share book samples with your friends via email or social networks.
• Embed a book sample in your personal blog or website and earn referral fees on sales.
• For a list of frequently asked questions and other information, please visit our help page.

Get started

• Simply click the "Read first chapter FREE" button on selected Amazon book overview pages and a new browser window will open containing the book sample.
• To buy the full Kindle edition of the book from the sample screen, click the "Get Kindle Edition" button. You may then choose to download the book to your Kindle or other Kindle reading application.

Share a book sample

• Book samples can be made visible on any website that supports embedded content. If you can add script tags to your site or blog, you can post a sample.
• First, click the "Embed" button, visible on the right side of the screen when viewing any book sample. You will then see the code to embed. Click on "Customize" if you would like to change the width and height of the window or add your associate tag.
• After making any customization changes, simply copy the embed code and paste it into the source code of your website or blog.
• You may also share book samples via email, Facebook, or Twitter by clicking the "Share" button on the right side of the sample screen.