Amazon has apparently had an iPhone (and iPod touch) version of their site for quite a while now, completely unbeknownst to me. While I’m resoundingly unimpressed and would much rather use the full “PC” version, it’s nice to see more sites putting out device specific versions of their websites. The main problem with site is how completely stripped down it is, it’s more like a WAP site than an iPhone optimized site.

The homepage is simple, but usable. Big buttons and quick links dominate the page, no frills, but also no branding. It doesn’t feel like Amazon. I attribute this to their lack of using their signature colors for anything but the logo, which doesn’t even appear on all pages.

The search is probably the best part about the site, which really isn’t saying a whole lot. It lacks the more function drill-down features that Amazon is famous for, but does deliver concise results with just the information you need. The product site is equally as stark without the product research functionality. Really only useful for people who know exactly what they want and need it right then.

The cart is minimally exceptional as is the account interface. Bland bland bland.

I can’t comment about the purchasing portion of the Amazon iPhone website, but I’m willing to bet it is bland too. I applaud Amazon for trying, but their site misses the Apple mobile browsing experience by a mile. It’s not about stripping content and diluting your brand with black on white text, it’s about making rich content fit into the device. It is still in beta and hopefully we’ll see massive improvements before it’s official launch.