Samsung is again in the news headlines, but this time it's not about its smartphones or smartwatches.
It's about the Kindle, in fact, a "Samsung" branded e-reader offering due to a deal with powerhouse e-reader Amazon.
News reports claim Samsung Electronics and Amazon have inked a deal to build a custom eBook service. The Samsung app will be available on Galaxy S5, Samsung's other Galaxy phones and tablets boasting Android 4.0 and higher.
The service will give users a dozen free eBooks each year.
"We are delighted to be able to deepen our long-standing relationship with Amazon and offer this as the perfect app for reading on a smart device. With this service we demonstrate our commitment to creating and broadening key content partnerships that deliver rich and personalized solution offerings to our customers," said Craige Fleischer, director of mobile communications at Samsung Electronics SA.
"We're thrilled that Samsung has chosen Kindle as its eBook provider," said Russ Grandinetti, VP, Amazon Kindle. "With it, people around the world will have instant access to the best digital bookstore and reading experience, including more than half a million titles that are only available from the Kindle Store and innovative features like Whispersync, Time to Read and much more."
The news comes on the heels of Samsung announcing a smartphone-free smartwatch in the next few months. As Tech Times reported the rumored smart watch from Samsung is very different from the others, since it doesn't require being tethered to a smartphone to make or receive calls.
Samsung's current smart watch devices such as the Galaxy Gear line, is required to be tethered to a smartphone send and receive messages, along with having the ability to perform basic tasks. A smart watch that doesn't require being tied down to a secondary device should be seen a true smart watch, and Samsung could be well on its way on making this happen.
This proposed smart watch will continue the trend of running Tizen and not Android. If this is the case, then it is clear Samsung no longer wishes to tether itself so close to Android and Google, which could turn out to be a huge problem for the search company since Samsung is the largest player in the Android market.
