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An Empty Romance: Amazon and BlackBerry

By Rick Munarriz – Updated Apr 6, 2017 at 12:58PM

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Amazon launches a BlackBerry application.

Irony fell on its sword and died yesterday, as Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) rolled out a Kindle application for Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) BlackBerry devices.

It's been nearly a year since a similar program has been available for Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone and iPod touch. With Apple's iPad set to seriously challenge Amazon's Kindle as the digital reader of choice, it's surprising to see Amazon wait this long before officially throwing its support behind a non-Apple smartphone.

Developers have a way of gravitating to Apple first when it comes to smartphone applications. Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI) launched its online streaming program for select BlackBerry owners two weeks ago, several months after its iPhone debut.

BlackBerry owners shouldn't take it personally. This comes with the stigma of being portrayed as primarily a tool for corporate email. Amazon also had no reason to speed up the process, since the market for consuming long-form literature on small smartphone screens is as unproven as it is dubious.

Apple's iPad will have a right to be taken seriously, but it's hard to fathom smartphone owners squinting their eyes and pinching their screens to get through even chunks of a novel. I find getting through a single article to be a taxing chore on the iPhone. I can't imagine consuming several pages at a time.

Yesterday's press release sounds scintillating -- promising access to 420,000 Kindle books -- but it's ultimately a empty romance, devoid of passion or excitement.

I don't blame fringe players Sony (NYSE:SNE) and Barnes & Noble (NYSE:BKS) for bypassing the App Store craze entirely. They're not dissing the platform. They're simply making the logical decision.

One can always argue that smartphone apps will be useful in terms of audio-book or text-to-speech features, but I think that misses the point of what being a bibliophile is all about.

Sorry Apple. Sorry RIM. Sorry Amazon. You all know it's true, though.  

Is Rick wrong? Will e-book apps take off? Share your thoughts in the comment box below.

Apple and Amazon.com are Motley Fool Stock Advisor picks. Try any of our Foolish newsletters today, free for 30 days.  

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz has been shopping online for about as long as Amazon.com has been in business. He owns a Kindle. He does not own shares in any of the companies in this story. He is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early. The Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Stocks Mentioned

Sirius XM Holdings Inc. Stock Quote
Sirius XM Holdings Inc.
SIRI
$5.81 (-1.02%) $0.06
Apple Inc. Stock Quote
Apple Inc.
AAPL
$150.43 (-1.51%) $-2.31
Amazon.com, Inc. Stock Quote
Amazon.com, Inc.
AMZN
$113.78 (-3.01%) $-3.53
Barnes & Noble, Inc. Stock Quote
Barnes & Noble, Inc.
BKS
Sony Corporation Stock Quote
Sony Corporation
SONY
$68.43 (-1.37%) $0.95
BlackBerry Stock Quote
BlackBerry
BB
$5.07 (-3.24%) $0.17

*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.

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