Last week, Amazon released the first pay-for app for its Kindle platform - Hasbro and EA's Scrabble. Now, four days later, the $5 game is at the top of the device's US bestseller list and selling by the boat-load.
The app is an implementation of the classic board-game and seems to be the perfect sort of thing to play on an e-reader. It should work with all second and third generation Kindles, as well as both models of the Kindle DX.
Of course, while there are plenty of other games and programs available for the platform, this is the first time that a company has tried charging for something that isn't a book. Though it may have been a bit of a gamble for the publisher, the bet clearly paid off, with the game rocketing to the top of the Kindle's US store bestseller list - even outselling the latest from Oprah's Book Club.
Now that a premium app has proven itself, we could see plenty more downloads of this type appearing for the device. The fact that Amazon's e-reader is constantly connected to its store - and the owner's bank account - means that quick, impulse-driven app downloads could be very successful.
At the same time, the limited storage-capacity and the slow e-ink screen will restrict the sorts of games that are possible on the device. Nonetheless, there are plenty of programs that could work well on an e-reader, so we're certain that premium downloads will start flooding the market in the coming weeks.
The game isn't currently available from Amazon UK, but given its current success in the US, it'll only be a matter of time before Scrabble is made available for British Kindle owners.
