After news that the rumoured Apple tablet could be venturing into the e-book reader market, Amazon seems to be making some aggressive moves to beat off the speculated Apple tablet with a stick by introducing the KDK (Kindle Development Kit), which will enable developers to create apps for the device.
So what type of apps will run on the Amazon Kindle? Well, it is suggested that we will probably see more ‘educational like’ apps, such as interactive books, travel guides, RSS Readers and may even include newspaper and magazine subscriptions. Ok, so you won’t get an extensive apps catalogue like you do on Apple apps store, however the similarity to the Apple apps model lies with Amazon’s proposed plan to include a 70:30 split. At the moment, Amazon keep a large part of their selling price of Kindle e-books, however this will change with the Amazon’s KDK, in which the 70% is expected to go to the developer.
So, do we see this drastic change of events from Amazon as a natural progression for their product or is this because Amazon are re-empting the arrival of the rumoured Apple Tablet? We personally think that there is a market for both. If the rumours are true about the Apple Tablet then we could see Apple looking to appeal to a more younger target audience who will want an all round device which offers everything, and for the Amazon Kindle, given the relatively low price, it will appeal to an older, book buying audience which will want simplicity and ease of functionality all in one. So everyone’s a winner!
What do you think? Do you think that there is room for both devices on the market or is this just the start of the Kindle-Tablet war? Leave us a comment and let us know what you think?