Kindle Unlimited, a new subscription service from Amazon allowing customers unfettered access to e-books and audiobooks, has officially launched. Amazon began testing the service, which has long been rumored, earlier this week.
In an announcement this morning, Kindle said the service will give access to 600,000 Kindle e-books, as well as over 2,000 audiobooks, for $9.99 a month. Amazon is offering a free 30-day trial for the service, along with a free three-month Audible membership, which will indicate what titles are included in it with Kindle Unlimited logos on the e-tailer's website. Titles included in the program will have a button "Read for Free," through which Kindle Unlimited members can access the content. Subscribers can have access to up to 10 books at one time.
Some of the most recognizable titles currently included in the Kindle Unlimited program, which Amazon touted in its press release, are the Harry Potter series; the Hunger Games trilogy; Flash Boys; and the Lord of the Rings trilogy; and Diary of a Wimpy Kid; Kitchen Confidential; The Blind Side; and The Giver.
The program, not surprisingly, also features a number of Kindle exclusive titles, such as Oliver Pötzsch's The Hangman's Daughter; Ed McBain's 87th Precinct; and J.A. Konrath's Whiskey Sour. Much like when Amazon launched the Kindle Owners Lending Library in November 2011, there are no titles from the Big Five houses. In fact, the launch list of titles for Kindle Unlimited resembles the list for the first KOLL list--a mix of books from some major trade houses, independent houses, and Amazon titles.
Kindle Unlimited can be accessed through Kindle's reading apps in addition to Kindle devices.
