Amazon launches iPad-optimized Kindle store

You may remember the good old days when you could use Amazon's Kindle e-reader app for iOS to pop right into the online Kindle store to purchase ebooks. That feature went away in July of 2011 in order to comply with Apple's policies. Amazon today launched an iPad-optimized Kindle Store website that, while still separate from the Kindle reader app, makes browsing for ebooks a much more touch-friendly process.

The new website is visible at http://amazon.com/iPadKindleStore/ and features a touch-scrollable horizontal bar of recommendations for you. Down below are the Top 100 paid and free ebooks, along with the "New & Noteworthy" section.

At the top of the site are a search field, a button for managing your Kindle books, and a button to launch the Kindle Cloud Reader if you prefer it for your reading over the iPad Kindle app. While the experience of purchasing ebooks from the regular Amazon site isn't that bad on the iPad, the iPad-friendly site does seem to make navigation and purchasing something that your fingers will enjoy.