Amazon Kindle Released for Mac: iPad App Coming Soon

A year after the release of its Kindle iPhone application, Amazon has announced a beta version of Kindle reader for Mac OS X. The company also said an iPad app of its popular e-reader software is on the horizon, allowing Kindle subscribers to access their library on Apple's tablet.

With over 450,000 books, including most New York Times Bestsellers, Kindle is poised to compete head-on with Apple's own iPad application, iBooks. iBooks will provide access to the iBookstore, Apple's answer to the digital library concept. Other iPad reading apps are also on the way such as the Barnes and Noble eReader.

Apple, who retains control over the App Store, could choose to reject these competing applications for approval on the iPad. This is unlikely however, as this response could generate too much bad press for Apple and ultimately turn people away from iBook.

The advantage to a Kindle application that runs on multiple computer and mobile platforms is that subscribers can access their content from anywhere. Kindle also allows the user to read the first chapter of a book for free before purchasing the text.

We know from the Kindle iPhone app that the software has many features people have come to expect from the Kindle device. Although the screen size is noticeably smaller, users can change text size, highlight passages, and bookmark pages. Annotations to text can't be made on the iPhone, however previous notes made on a Kindle device are viewable on the Kindle iPhone app.

Whispersync technology automatically saves and synchronizes bookmarks and last page read across all devices. With Kindle for iPhone or Mac, a user can read some on their Mac or iPhone, read some on their Kindle, and always pick up where they left off.

Assuming the iPad app will be similar to the Mac and iPhone versions, features include:

- Purchase, download, and read hundreds of thousands of books available in the Kindle Store
- Access their library of previously purchased Kindle books stored on Amazon's servers for free
- Choose from 10 different font sizes and adjust words per line
- Add and automatically synchronize bookmarks and last page read
- View notes and highlights marked on Kindle, Kindle DX, and Kindle for iPhone
- Read books in full color including children's books, cookbooks, travel books and textbooks

Amazon plans to add several features to Kindle for Mac in the near future, including full text search and the ability to create and edit notes and highlights. Kindle hardware is not required to use the free Kindle apps.