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Amazon.com Offers Kindle for Mac E-Reader Software

Amazon.com introduced a free software package Thursday that gives Mac computer users access to the online retailer's Kindle e-book store in more than 100 countries. Called Kindle for Mac, the beta e-reader completes Amazon's goal of offering consumers access to e-books and other digital content across a wide spectrum of electronic devices.
Kindle books can now be read on dedicated Kindle and Kindle DX devices, BlackBerry handsets, and PCs, as well as Apple's Mac, iPhone and iPod touch, Amazon said. Moreover, the company's e-reader software is expected to work on Apple's forthcoming iPad. 


"Kindle for Mac is the perfect companion application for customers who own a Kindle or Kindle DX," said Jay Marine, director of Amazon Kindle. "For those customers around the world who don't yet have a Kindle, Kindle for Mac is a great way to instantly access and read the most popular new releases as well as their old favorites."
Cross-Platform Support
The system requirements for Kindle for Mac include a Mac computer with a 500-MHz Intel processor or faster, a minimum of 512MB of RAM, and 100MB of available disk space. The beta release, which is compatible with Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) and 10.6 (Snow Leopard), also requires a minimum screen resolution of 800x600 pixels.
Just like Amazon's other e-reader platforms, Kindle for Mac integrates the company's homegrown Whispersync technology, which automatically saves and synchronizes bookmarks -- and the last page read -- across multiple devices. As a result, customers who begin reading an e-book on any compatible device will never lose their place when they switch to another platform.
With Kindle for Mac, readers will be able to choose from 10 different font sizes as well as adjust words on a per-line basis. The new beta release also will enable users to view notes and highlights previously marked on the Kindle, Kindle DX, and Kindle for iPhone platforms.
Additionally, Amazon said it will tweak the new app's features over time. Among other things, the online retailer intends to enable users to conduct full text searches as well as create and edit notes and highlights.
Leveraging the iPad
Amazon's launch of Kindle for Mac in advance of the iPad's rollout next month enables the online retailer to claim full compatibility across the most popular products in Apple's portfolio. Though Apple has been touting the iPad as a device to use alongside a PC and the iPhone, iPad customers must use a cable to sync digital content with a PC or Mac, noted Ian Fogg, a principal analyst at Forrester Research.
"While the iPad has genuinely innovative software and hardware, Apple has done little new to make the device easy to use in tandem with existing devices, beyond what is already in the iPhone," Fogg wrote in a blog.
By contrast, Amazon's Whispersync technology maintains a person's reading position automatically between multiple devices running Kindle apps, Fogg noted. "The same issue hits multiple areas on iPad, from game scores and progress, the reading position on Apple's own e-books, and the preferences of apps downloaded from Apple's App Store, e-mail, calendar and contacts," Fogg observed.
Amazon's Whispersync technology gives the online retailer an opening for attracting the attention of iPad users. As a result, it appears the online retailer's Kindle software will be able to go head-to-head on the iPad with Apple's iBooks app, which supports the open EPUB file format.

(from internet)