Scribd Launches App for Kindle Fire, Nipping at Amazon

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Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos with the Kindle Fire on Sept. 24, 2013.

Image: Stephen Brashear/Associated Press

By Jason Abbruzzese2014-01-29 15:35:15 UTC

E-book subscription service Scribd is looking to take on Amazon from within.

The company launched a new app for the Kindle Fire on Wednesday that will provide an alternative to Amazon's e-book market.

See also: 15 Books to Add to Your 2014 Reading List

Scribd was originally started as a document sharing service but added a book subscription service in October, which featured an agreement with publisher HarperCollins.

The company has positioned itself alongside other digital subscription offerings like Netflix and Spotify, and is competing directly with another book subscription startup, Oyster.

Scribd is already available on iOS and Android devices as well as on the web, but its Kindle Fire app is the first push into e-readers specialized for books. One quirk of the app, however, is that it cannot be found through a search on Amazon's app store; rather, you must access it directly from Scribd.

“Since launching our subscription book service, our readers around the world have been asking for an app that worked with Kindle Fire," said Trip Adler, CEO and cofounder of Scribd. "It’s one of the most popular reading devices available today and we want to enable our readers to enjoy Scribd across any of their devices."

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Topics: amazon, apps, Apps and Software, Business, e-books, kindle fire, Media, scribd, Startups