Adam Zeiss of CrackBerry noted that Amazon’s Kindle for BlackBerry page is up and touting the foreboding promise that the free app is“Coming Soon.” The big question, though, is whether anyone will actually care when it is officially released.

Sure, the Kindle iPhone application is good.  Don’t have a Kindle but have an iPhone?  Problem solved.  Have a Kindle and an iPhone?  Great!  You’ll be able to pick up exactly where you left off on the Kindle right on your iPhone.  That’s exactly what you’ll be able to do on the BlackBerry, but let’s be honest here.  The experience will be much different.

Instead of pinching and zooming text to make the experience a little easier on your eyes, you’ll be clumsily zooming in and out on your QWERTY or SureType™ physical keyboard, or using the not-near-as-intuitive-as-an-iPhone SurePress™ on a Storm1/2 device.  Look, I do see a few benefits.  First, I’m happy to see Amazon acknowledging other mobile platforms.  Maybe there will be a Windows Mobile, webOS, Symbian, or Android version of the Kindle app also joining the ranks in 2010.

Second, I’ve read eBooks on a BlackBerry.  I will not debate that it can be done.  However, the experience, in my humble opinion, is not nearly as enjoyable as using an actual eReader or even the iPhone/iPod touch.  See, here’s the deal:  the BlackBerry app will be great for grabbing a quick read in between meetings at work or waiting in line at the DMV.  The BlackBerry app will also be great for when you want to go ahead and purchase a book on your BlackBerry — then actually read it on your Kindle.  In other words, the BlackBerry app will be a nice addition, or go-between when you don’t have a Kindle around.  Where the BlackBerry app will falter is that it simply won’t be anywhere near the caliber of the iPhone’s implementation of the Kindle app.

Let me explain:  many people (myself included) have simply forgone impulse purchasing a Kindle or other eReader because they can get a similar experience on an iPhone.  Another device, like the BlackBerry smartphone, just isn’t going to give you the same bang for your buck.  It will complement an actual Kindle, but not serve as a substitution.  That’s not a shot against BlackBerry per se, but it’s just the honest truth.

If Amazon’s eBooks were cheaper for a BlackBerry device versus a Kindle (or even iPhone) version, then maybe it would be able to gain a bit of steam.  That said, there’s no reason for Amazon to go down that path of fragmenting their eBook pricing structure and aggravating existing customers with different prices for different devices — especially when you can sync eBooks between devices.

[Amazon via CrackBerry]