PCmag has reported on a new Kindle reader application for the BlackBerry family of devices from Amazon. The free app is still in beta, and downloadable from the BlackBerry browser. It is only available to US customers.

The link delivered the app rapidly, and the installation was simple. Once the download was complete, a sample book was tested for readability.

The display is sharp and clear, black type on a white page. Twelve easily-readable lines appeared on the Storm, portrait mode only, pressing on the right edge of the screen advanced the pages one by one reliably and quickly. Pressing the left edge backed up a page. There is a bit of clicking with only 12 lines visible at a time, however, the font size is the same as a paperback book, and comfortable to read. The backlight stayed on during the reading experience due to the continual activity of pressing the screen to read the pages.

Lance Ulanoff of PCmag used a BlackBerry Bold for his review and found that the 11 lines viewable at a time were too small to read, with lots of clicking on the space bar to get up to a usable reading experience. Users with the smaller screens should try before buying, it may be too cumbersome to work with for a good reading experience.

The very cool feature of the app is that it synchronizes with the Kindle device via Whispernet. Yes, the user is able to read part of the book on the Kindle2, then continue on the BlackBerry, and switch back and forth without losing the place.

Access to the Kindle store is included, with all the features one would expect, best sellers, books by category, etc..

Kindle Reader for BlackBerry