Amazon to offer Kindle e-books on mobile phones

Amazon.com is widely expected to roll out the next generation version of the Kindle, its electronic book reader, next week. So why is the company talking about making books available on mobile phones -- a move that would seem to undercut the Kindle as a device?

The New York Times reports today that Amazon is "working on making the titles for its popular e-book reader, the Kindle, available on a variety of mobile phones." Amazon dropped this news the same day that Google announced a mobile version of its Google Book Search, making 1.5 million public domain books it has scanned available for the iPhone and Android phones.

I asked Amazon spokesman Drew Herdener about this and he wrote back:

Readers deserve a purpose built-device that makes reading e-books better than physical books. Our focus is to offer the world's best purpose built reading device with 3G wireless access to a massive selection of content that people want to read, including New Releases and the latest New York Times Bestsellers. We are also excited to offer Kindle books on a range of mobile phones -- we are working on that now.

Herdener provided no other details. It was not clear if people would have to already own a Kindle to get Kindle titles on a mobile phone, or which mobile phones might be compatible.

Google isn't the only Kindle competitor making books available on mobile phones. There are a variety of ebook applications for the iPhone, including Stanza, eReader, Bookshelf, Classics and Iceberg.

Today's comments by Amazon raise the question of Amazon's commitment to Kindle as a device. Does Amazon aim to turn the Kindle into a huge product, or was it an experiment to nurture the broader e-book market? I asked that question recently of Brian Walker, an Seattle-based ecommerce analyst for Forrester Research.

“From my perspective, Amazon is interested in being viable long-term and selling more content,” Walker said. “The Kindle as a device is less important to them.”

But the New York Times argues that mobile phones have a long way to go before they can displace devices like the Kindle for reading books electronically:

But just as camera phones have not replaced digital cameras, smartphones are not likely to replace dedicated e-book readers like the Kindle or the Reader from Sony, analysts said. These specialized devices have screens about the size of a paperback book and use a technology that does not require backlighting, which makes them easier to read in most light conditions. They also have longer battery life.

However the market pans out, Amazon is apparently looking to get its e-book offerings on a variety of platforms.

About Eric Engleman

ERIC ENGLEMAN is senior technology staff writer for TechFlash and the Puget Sound Business Journal, covering online retail giant Amazon.com. Engleman tracks Amazon's increasingly complex business, spanning ecommerce, Kindle, cloud computing, and more. He's been covering technology and other industries for the Business Journal since 2003.

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