Another good news from Kindle’s Amazon especially for developers.
Amazon.com (NASD: AMZN) on Thursday announced that it will release a software development kit to allow third-party developers to create applications for its Kindle e-book reader device.

The Kindle Development Kit will be offered in limited beta beginning next month.

The company said that developer Handmark is building a Zagat guide application for the Kindle, while Sonic Boom is building word games and puzzles; Electronic Arts is also developing games for the Kindle.

Write a book, good luck if you have one already, and sell it on Amazon both the physical and e-book version. You’d get 70% royalty for the latter version. Bright future for book authors. I wrote three books already (in Bahasa Indonesia) and I plan to sell it through Amazon soon.
Amazon dropped a bomb on the publishing world Wednesday morning by announcing a new royalty program that will allow authors to earn 70 percent royalties from each e-book sold, but with a catch or two. The move will pay participating authors more per book than they typically earn from physical book sales so long as they agree to certain conditions—conditions that make it clear that Amazon is working on keeping the Kindle attractive in light of upcoming competition. Still, authors and publishers are split on how good this deal really is.

Amazon’s old system will remain in place for those who don’t want to participate in the new arrangement, but the carrot to upgrade is pretty attractive—a typical $8.99 book would pay an author $3.15 under the “standard” system, while an author or publisher would get $6.25 under the new 70 percent scheme.

The catch, however, is that authors or publishers must list their books for between $2.99 and $9.99 on the Kindle. A majority of Kindle books already fall into this range, but authors are able to set prices higher if they want, and some do.

Amazon Launches iPhone-Optimized Kindle Store
Amazon on Monday launched a version of the Kindle Store optimized for Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch, the latest indication that the online retailer is taking a multiplatform strategy in selling electronic books.

Amazon has modified the Kindle Store, so people accessing it through the Amazon application for the devices will get an interface tailored for the size and shape of their touch screens. Amazon offers its application for free through Apple’s App store.

Amazon blames book-search glitch on ‘cataloging error’
The disappearance of certain titles quickly led to public uproar. The online retailer says more than 57000 books were affected, including those about gays, lesbians, health and erotica.

Discovery sues Amazon over Kindle
Less than a month after delivering the second version of its Kindle ebook reader, Amazon has been hit with an intellectual property lawsuit from Discovery Communications, the company behind the Discovery Channel.

Ok, now if you have iPhone or iPod Touch, you can start buying kindle-formatted books at Amazon.com.
Trying to expand its book sales, Amazon.com Inc. released a free application Wednesday that lets iPhone and iPod Touch users read electronic books purchased at the e-commerce giant’s Kindle online bookstore.

The software performs many of the same functions featured on Amazon’s $359 Kindle 2 reading device released last month, including bookmarking, noting, highlighting and adjusting the font size, the company said.

But the Amazon Kindle for iPhone application lacks the Kindle’s read-aloud feature that garnered controversy.
Some analysts predicts it could “spur demand for some of the 240000 digital titles sold through Amazon’s online bookstore.” I believe it will. Not only that, with that technology now reading the latest and rarest books no longer a monopoly of developed country. Anyone anywhere who got iphone or ipod touch (and internet access) will have an equal opportunity to read as much books as they can get.

Amazing!

Amazon’s new E Ink-powered Kindle 2 is all the rage right now, but a Canadian bookseller is confident it can give you the same experience on your smartphone, and without the hefty pricetag. more