Richard Harrison’s existing books are the bestsellers in the Symbian Press Portfolio. His latest book, co-written with Mark Shackman is the successor to “Symbian OS C++ for Mobile Phones” Volumes One and Two. Written in the same style as the two previous volumes, this is set to be another gem in the series. The existing [...]
Not that it’s a huge shocker, but Amazon has just gone live with a new page on their website promising a Kindle for iPad app — and they aren’t stopping there, with versions for other tablet devices as well.
On the heels of last week’s Kindle for Mac beta release, Amazon has announced its intentions for Kindle for iPad to compete head-on with Apple’s own iBooks, according to The New York Times. And they won’t be alone, with book competitor Barnes & Noble also planning a digital reader for touchscreen tablets.
Amazon gave a Times reporter a first look at their Kindle for iPad, which features the ability to slowly turn pages with your fingers, similar to how Apple’s iBooks does.
"It also presents two new ways for people to view their entire e-book collection, including one view where large images of book covers are set against a backdrop of a silhouetted figure reading under a tree," the report said. "The sun’s position in that image varies with the time of day."
Amazon has already made a section of its website available to tout the forthcoming tablet versions, specifically citing the iPad as one of them.
"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 site reveals. "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."
Despite pushing their own Kindle hardware, Amazon has publicly stated that they want to have the software on every device and platform where it’s feasible, so the new push for tablet computers isn’t totally surprising.
Competitor Barnes & Noble is also hard at work with a team of 14 developers at the company’s digital unit in New York, working in a “windowless room” to redesign their existing iPhone app for the iPad. With Apple’s own venture into selling e-books, the companies who have already staked out turf in this market appear to have every intention to stand their ground against a formidable opponent.
