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Kindle software coming to Mac OS X

by Mel Martin Oct 24th 2009 at 2:30PM

Fast Company is reporting that there is a Kindle reader application coming for the Mac. At the Windows 7 launch this week, Microsoft said there is a Windows version of the e-reader on the way, prompting a promise from Amazon that a Mac version was coming as well.

Amazon hasn't released sales figures for the hardware-based Kindle reader, but under pressure from Sony and the new Barnes and Noble 'nook,' Amazon is working hard to increase the share of Kindle users. That means not restricting e-book reading to an Amazon device, but opening up the software to run on more platforms.

Kindle already has a clever e-book reader for the iPhone and iPod touch, and it allows standalone use, or synchronization with a Kindle so you can stop reading on one device and then pick up on the same page on the other.

There's no estimated shipping date for the Mac Kindle software, and we can't forget that if Apple delivers a tablet computer it could put Amazon into direct competition with Apple.

This is bound to be fun to watch.




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Fast Company is reporting that there is a Kindle reader application coming for the Mac. At the Windows 7 launch this week, Microsoft said...
 

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tk

The biggest problem with kindle is not the readers, but the unregulated ways publishers can make ebooks without hyperlinked table of contexts or indexes. Textbooks will not thrive until navigation in thousand page books start to improve and become standardized. Also, news flash, "search" doesn't work on my 2,000 page kindle version of a medicine text.

October 26 2009 at 1:47 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Misplaced Mage

I'm willing to bet that Amazon's Kindle application for the Mac is nothing more than a new version of Lexcycle's Stanza. After all, Amazon purchased Lexcycle back in April.

October 26 2009 at 2:35 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Denny

Just in time for the Mac tablet? That would be great!

October 25 2009 at 7:42 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Kevin

Amazon may not see Apple's tablet as competition (at least not in the way that the nook is).

A nook sale is a lost sale for the Kindle, because the buyer is obviously buying a reader that is not a Kindle. It's also a loss in terms of content sales, because a nook owner can't buy content from Amazon.

An Apple tablet sale is not necessarily a lost sale for the Kindle, because the buyer may be buying it primarily for other reasons. If the Kindle app runs on the tablet, the Apple tablet could mean additional sales of content.

Amazon could increase content purchases on Apple (and PC) products with the convenience of an in-app store. Apple might take a cut of the in-app purchases, but it could make it profitable for both companies.

October 25 2009 at 4:28 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Kevin's comment
matt

I agree w/ Kevin, and add that Amazon produces a free Kindle iPhone app that allows the user to read all e-books purchased on Amazon. (Although the screen is small and bright and therefore not ideal for reading, the touch interface is great for highlighting text and adding notes.) Amazon also has a link to an iPhone-optimized web page from which to buy more Kindle content.

So Amazon's play here is not mainly selling devices, but rather selling books from there online store. It's the razor blades, not the handle. This contrasts w/ Apple, which uses the lure of content (e.g., iTunes Store media) to sell more Macs, iPods, and iPhones.

Also, to respond to GJN, I'll bet that any tablet that Apple introduces would be based more on the iPhone OS than the desktop OS. (Of course, they are both OS X at heard.) I suspect that it will run iPhone apps, including the current Amazon Kindle reader app; or, alternatively, that it will allow Amazon to easily adapt the current app to the new device.

October 25 2009 at 12:47 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
rogers

I tried to buy the Kindle app a while back, but of course, anything from Amazon that is software related is unavailable in Thailand. The Barnes & Noble app is. I now have that; and when their email circulations showed me a book I liked, I tried for the online version first, but ended up having the hard version shipped. Amazon (and CNN with their unavailable app) have lessons to learn.

October 24 2009 at 11:20 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
GJN

Interesting. So I could be reading Kindle books on an Apple tablet/eBook reader!

October 24 2009 at 8:25 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
John.B

So the guys at Amazon finally got to the bottom of their inbox and decided maybe to throw Mac users a bone? Like they are reading from the Google Chrome playbook?

October 24 2009 at 6:19 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to John.B's comment
homan2

The PC version wasn't even announced until Oct. 23rd.

October 26 2009 at 10:44 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
bikeham

Hold of on buying a Kindle, according to David Pogue's tweet:

“I haven't seen the Nook in person, but "on paper," it sure looks like it wipes the floor with the same-priced Kindle! http://bit.ly/TMc3h”

October 24 2009 at 5:42 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
4 replies to bikeham's comment
Thomas

I still worry about e-reader books being purchased then being deleted by Amazon due to some internal mixup. If I buy a physical book it's pretty hard for Amazon to take it back. I'll stick to physical books.

October 24 2009 at 5:29 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Yoshi1080

Actually I was planning to buy a Sony eReader instead of a Kindle mainly for the reason that Kindle books can't be read on a computer. Now I guess I'll better wait and see ... and don't buy any more eBooks with Adobe DRM until I've decided. ;-)

October 24 2009 at 4:31 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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