Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Will the (iPhone) Kindle app be on the iPad?
- Thread starter Sandy Santra
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Exactly. Apple could ban it. But I think that would be counter productive as they will want as much available e-reader content as possible while the iBook store comes up to speed. After that it might become a moot point as e-book prices stabilize and the titles become universally available.
All things being equal, I think I would enjoy reading content on the iBook app more than on Amazon's (as it exists today).
My thinking is, even if it's the same iPhone app 'stretched' up to iPad resolution, if I use the smallest font, it'll be pretty close to right for me. I even did a comparison between the smallest iPhone Kindle app font size which actually yielded more lines of text than the preferred font size setting on my Kindle 2. I forget the numbers, but I read the Kindle at size 2 or 3 (with 5 being the largest) on my Kindle 2 and the smallest (of 6 sizes) iPhone app font had 2 extra lines. 2 Extra lines on a screen that's considerably bigger (10" vs 6.5") sounds right.
So if the iPhone app is there, it'll be 'good enough' for me, but of course I'd love Amazon to create an iPad app, which I'm sure they're dying to do (imagine their book sales when their install share increases 20 fold) but will Apple allow that?
So if the iPhone app is there, it'll be 'good enough' for me, but of course I'd love Amazon to create an iPad app, which I'm sure they're dying to do (imagine their book sales when their install share increases 20 fold) but will Apple allow that?
If Amazon does submit an iPad-friendly Kindle App, it'll be with clenched teeth and loathing abound. 
How so? It seems publishers are anxious to publish on the iPad and Apple has been able to force Amazon to do away with it's blanket $9.99 pricing scheme. So what is the advantage of buying a Kindle book to read on the iPad? Maybe if Kindle books didn't have DRM, but they do, or if they were less expensive, but they won't be.
The only advantage I see to reading a Kindle book on an iPad is because you owned the book prior to buying the iPad, thus no need to re-buy it. But for an iPad owner to buy a Kindle book doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense to me. You lose out on all the built-in iBook features for no real benefit.
But do I think Apple will nix the Kindle app on the iPad? No. It would be a needless PR blunder. The real question is, will Amazon develop a Kindle app for the iPad? Or does it not want to advance use of a competing e-reader capable device?
My take? Amazon wouldn't care if you read their e-books on a TRS-80. They're in the book selling business and the Kindle was just a means to that end.
If Amazon does submit an iPad-friendly Kindle App, it'll be with clenched teeth and loathing abound.
I wouldn't be at all surprised if Amazon pulls their kindle app, in advance of the iPad's arrival. It is a direct competitor and why offer their competitor products that enhance the device.
I understand that, but if existing Kindle owners have an excuse to buy an iPad b/c their Kindle library will not go to waste switching platforms, and the iPad slows down new Kindle sales then there isn't going to be much demand for new Kindle format books and it goes off to Betamax Heaven.
If I were Amazon I wouldn't want to encourage people to use the iPad. Amazon, by requiring the Kindle format, rather than a more open EPub, clearly wants to sell hardware as well as eBooks. If it just wanted to sell eBooks it could do that w/o the Kindle like Booksonboard.com
You make an interesting point, but why then did they create the iPhone Kindle reader app in the first place?
Because the iPhone/Touch isn't really a Kindle competitor. The iPhone app compliments rather than competes with the actual Kindle device. It gives Kindle readers flexibility in where they can read their books. For example, you could read a few pages while waiting in line at the grocery store, etc. where you otherwise would not probably have your Kindle with you.
I don't have any numbers to back this up, but my guess is the primary user of the Kindle app was Kindle owners vs. people that just bought the Kindle books to read on the iPhone. I'm sure some did, but it had to be a tiny number. Reading an entire book on a 3" screen just seems masochistic.
Well, I'm one of your supposedly "tiny number" of people who use the Kindle app, even though I don't own the device. I really wish there were a reliable survey of Kindle app users to see how many owns a Kindle device, as opposed to only using the app. For me, downloading the app was a no-brainer, because after all, it's free. Then I downloaded a few free books to try it out. I actually did read entire novels on the iPhone screen, which, like you say, is a masochistic excerise, and one of the main reasons why I'm looking forward to having an iPad. After a few free books, I got hooked on one of the authors of the free books, and bought her other books to read on the Kindle app. After that, I just got used to the system, and now, if I'm looking for a book to read, Kindle is the first place I look. The question, of course, is how many others there are like me, and whether our numbers and our book purchases are enough to make it profitable to Amazon. Regardless, I think Amazon will have to make a Kindle iPad app, if it hopes to compete in the ebook market at all. No Kindle iPad app, and the entire iPad user base goes straight to iBooks.
Hmm.. I don't know.. People who buy iPad will probably do so regardless of whether they can read Kindle eBook format or not. Why would Amazon want to miss out on a potential market of millions of iPad users?
I think the real question here is whether Apple will allow "full screen" Kindle app on iPad, as it will directly compete with its own iTunes Book Store.
Knowing Apple, they will do whatever they can to disallow Amazon to compete directly with its own bookstore on iPad platform. I am sure they will offer the usual "justification" that having access to multiple Book stores will "confuse" iPad users, or something along those lines..
Time will tell...
....but I do know this: Amazon has made a Kindle reader for Windows, OSX (soon) and even the iPhone. I think they will make one for the iPad and I think that Apple will allow it in the Apps Store.
A lot of folks have made some compelling arguments to the contrary and it will be fun to see where the chips fall
....but I do know this: Amazon has made a Kindle reader for Windows, OSX (soon) and even the iPhone. I think they will make one for the iPad and I think that Apple will allow it in the Apps Store.
A lot of folks have made some compelling arguments to the contrary and it will be fun to see where the chips fall
I think Bezos has said that they are more interested in selling books than hardware, as its where the money is made. I can't see them pulling the app, and I could see them developing one for the optimized for the iPad.
I have thought about this and since iBooks is a free app on the App store, it is not in the same classification as Safari or the Mail Application that is part of the core OS. This being the case, there are many applications on the App Store that do close to the same function.
Amazon isn't missing out on a potential market. There is no market on the iPad for Amazon b/c Apple's iBooks will be priced the same, potentially have more content (color pics, graphs, video extras), and be designed to work with the iPad. Thus there is zero reason for an iPad user to buy a Kindle book over an iBooks book.
OTOH, if Amazon makes a Kindle app specifically for the iPad then it effectively gives existing Kindle users a bridge to a competing device. Once existing Kindle users are on the iPad they won't be buying new Kindle books anymore, they'll just use the app to read the Kindle books they bought in the two years prior.
It's to Apple advantage to have a Kindle app on the iPad. Apple doesn't care about selling books, it wants to sell iPads. A Kindle app helps to lure over Kindle users who are now reassured their existing library will work on the iPad.
I don't believe the Kindle App on the iPhone allows you to buy books, only read them, so your theory doesn't really work, as the Kindle app would not be a direct competitor to the iBooks app. You have to buy the Kindle book on your computer then sync it with your iPad/iPhone. That is a lot of work when you can just punch a button on your iPad and directly d/l the book.
Are you serious? I suppose they dont care about selling music or movies either...
Sure, but iBook will blow it away in terms of UI and the process of using the application as a whole.
Are you sure? I heard the iBook app doesn't even currently support bookmarking or highlighting.
Let's not take what I'm saying out of context OK?
1) Did I mention music or movies, no. Is this thread about music or movies, no.
2) Of course Apple would like be the sales leader for bragging rights but only because that leads people to buy its hardware. Apple's profits on media content pale in comparison to what it makes on hardware. Ultimately, Apple is agnostic on what media sells users on the iPad, if its books great. OTOH Amazon has nothing to sell Kindle users but books & newspapers.
3) If you recall, when Apple started iTMS, Apple did not make a recognizable profit from music/movie sales. Jobs even said it was a "loss leader."