We all knew it was coming, but now it has been officially announced, Amazon and Barnes & Noble will release separate digital bookstores to compliment tablet PCs including the iPad.
This how Amazon introduces the Kindle App in its website:
Experience the Beautiful User Interface
Get the best reading experience available on your tablet computer including the iPad. No Kindle required
Tailored to the size, look, and feel of your tablet computer
Customize background color and font size to ease eye strain
Adjust screen brightness from within the app to make reading easier
Page turn animation replicates the look of turning a page in a book,
Or choose Basic Reading Mode for a simpler and unadorned reading experience
The Kindle app features the ability to slowly turn the ebook pages with your fingers just like Apple’s iBooks software. Kindle owners will also be able to view their ebook library with a creative scene. An example of one of the scenes is images of book covers set against a backdrop of a silhouetted figure reading under a tree, and the sun’s position in that image changes depending on the time of day. Pretty clever, huh?
In addition to the app, Amazon created a website to promote Kindle apps for tablets. It specifically mentions the iPad.
“Tablet computers, including the iPad are coming and with our free app you’ll be able to read more than 450,000 Kindle books,” the Amazon page reads. “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.”
In addition to the news about a Kindle app for tablet computers, Amazon released free beta of its Kindle desktop app for the Mac last week. It allows Mac owners to purchase and then download from Amazon’s ebook selection without having to purchase a Kindle.
Since the iPad has been under lock and key until recently, Amazon and Barnes & Noble were only able to test their apps in the simulator mode included in the iPhone OS 3.2 software development kit. The two companies weren’t able to have their apps ready for the iPad’s April 3rd release. No big loss there, as all eyes were on the iPad that day!
This is a great example of how corporate giants can compete against each other, but also compliment each other. It also gives the consumer more choices on whether they would want to read from a tablet like the iPad, or from an ereader like the Kindle, and where they can purchase ebooks. From a consumer point of view, these apps will enable the owner to comparison shop while Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Apple stay in the game by offering their virtual bookstores.