Amazon launches iPhone e-Book app
p2pnet news view P2P:- When it was learned Kindle 2 could read books aloud and wasn’t paying for audio rights, Roy Blount jr, president of the Authors Guild, “whose mission is to sustain book-writing as a viable occupation,” wrote an impassioned New York Times OpEd condemning it.
Amazon chose the path of least resistance and hurriedly backed down, saying in a statement »»»
Kindle 2’s experimental text-to-speech feature is legal: no copy is made, no derivative work is created, and no performance is being given. Furthermore, we ourselves are a major participant in the professionally narrated audiobooks business through our subsidiaries Audible and Brilliance. We believe text-to-speech will introduce new customers to the convenience of listening to books and thereby grow the professionally narrated audiobooks business.Nevertheless, we strongly believe many rightsholders will be more comfortable with the text-to-speech feature if they are in the driver’s seat.
Therefore, we are modifying our systems so that rightsholders can decide on a title by title basis whether they want text-to-speech enabled or disabled for any particular title. We have already begun to work on the technical changes required to give authors and publishers that choice. With this new level of control, publishers and authors will be able to decide for themselves whether it is in their commercial interests to leave text-to-speech enabled. We believe many will decide that it is.
Now, today, Amazon plans to release a free application for reading electronic books on the iPhone, “extending Amazon’s sales of digital books to devices beyond its Kindle e-book reader,” says the Wall Street Journal.
Take that, Roy Blount!
The Programme, “allows iPhone and iPod Touch users to read books or periodicals purchased on the Web or through their dedicated Kindle device, usually for $9.99,” says the story, going on:
“Using a service that Amazon calls whispersync, the program keeps track of a readers’ latest page in any given book across both a Kindle and iPhone.”
However, other e-book providers, “such as Indigo Books and Music Inc.’s Shortcovers,” already allow users to buy and read books on the iPhone and, “Amazon also faces competition from Google Inc., which allows users to read e-books via a Web site optimized for the iPhone screen,” says the WSJ.
BUT – Amaqozon’s iPhone e-book app iPhone application won’t be available for use outside of the US.
wasn’t paying – `Kindle Swindle` and the Authors Guild, February 25, 2009
Wall Street Journal – Amazon Extends Book Sales Beyond Its Kindle to iPhone, March 4, 2009
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