Amazon Launches Kindle for iPhone and iPod Touch
By Anna Johnson on March 8th, 2009Amazon has released Kindle for iPhone and iPod Touch, a free application available from Apple’s App Store, which iPhone/iPod users can use to access all 240,000 of Amazon’s ebooks.
The New York Times suggests the move may be designed to position Amazon as the leading seller of ebooks, rather than the leading maker of ebook readers, but Amazon says otherwise.
Amazon says its Kindle reader and mobile devices such as the iPhone are complementary, and that people are really only likely to read ebooks on their iPhones/iPods for periods of time e.g. when waiting in a queue and the like.
I agree that most people are likely to prefer reading ebooks on the larger Kindle device, but the move also seems to reflect a desire on Amazon’s part to hedge its bets.
It may also be calculated to deter Apple from entering the ebook reader fray. Apple has said it’s not interested in getting into the ebook space… but it could be a different story if ebooks become highly popular.
Amazon’s move, however, not only capitalizes on the popularity of the iPhone and iPod devices but is also something of a pre-emptive strike against Apple entering the ebook reader arena.
And Amazon has done it with Apple’s blessing!
Source: Brad Stone, “Amazon to Sell E-Books for Apple Devices,” The New York Times, March 4, 2009
