14 DAY TRIAL // Amazon.com has announced plans to release the Kindle iPad application, an upgrade to the existing Kindle app for iPhone and iPod touch, which allows users to browse, buy and read their favorite books. Amazon is the largest online seller of printed books and the biggest e-book seller in the US.
Not long after introducing the free Kindle application for Mac OS X, Amazon.com posted an announcement on its website, saying that, “Tablet computers, including the iPad, are coming and with our free app you’ll be able to read more than 450,000 Kindle books. Like all Kindle apps, Kindle for tablet computers will include Whispersync technology, which automatically synchronizes your last page read, bookmarks, notes and highlights across your Kindle and Kindle compatible devices including PC, Mac, iPhone, and Blackberry.”
Amazon obsessively includes references to the Apple iPad throughout the description of its new application, which evidently aims to take a bite at Apple’s iBooks app and iBookstore, ensuring that Amazon’s offerings remain attractive. However, Apple has already signed deals with several major publishers to have their content distributed on the iPad, and plans to further expand its offerings through the yet-unreleased iBookstore. The Mac maker may, in fact, reject the Kindle iPad application altogether, in what would be Apple’s attempt to protect the newborn iPad and its e-reading features.
It is being speculated that, with Amazon already featuring a Kindle application in the App Store, the iPad version could be considered a mere upgrade. While proving it is not afraid of Amazon’s impressive background, Apple wouldn’t be doing itself any favors by approving the iPad Kindle application.
However, Apple’s iBookstore may prove to be so attractive for end consumers (including attractive prices) that many would simply choose to tap on the conveniently placed, iPad-native iBooks application, regardless of the existence of Amazon’s Kindle app. Without a doubt, it will be very interesting to see how all this plays out.