Kindle for Samsung App

Users of the new Kindle for Samsung app will get up to 12 e-books for free a year, as Samsung Electronics joins forces with Amazon.com to boost the content on its mobile devices.

The app will arrive this month for the Galaxy S5, and then become available on other Samsung smartphones and tablets, the company said on Thursday.

The free book offering is called Samsung Book Deals, and will be available to all users of the application. Users won't be able to choose just any title, but instead pick from a selection of four different titles every month.

The Kindle for Samsung app isn't just about free books: The two companies are also hoping users will buy books, newspapers and magazines from the app's store.

That Samsung is joining forces with a company like Amazon shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who has been following the smartphone market. The pace of hardware improvements has slowed down and high-end devices have similar specs. Vendors have to look elsewhere to differentiate their products and offering books, music and video is one way to do it.

The Galaxy S5 went on sale on April 11, and the same week Samsung also announced a deal with streaming music service Deezer. People buying the Galaxy S5 in countries such as the U.K. and Germany will get a six-month subscription for free.