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Amazon adds 'Active Content' and bumps royalties for Kindles, Tells Apple 'Hey, no freebies'

Posted by Daniel Shain

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In an apparent move to be more competitive with whatever it is that Apple will be releasing next Wednesday, Amazon has hiked Kindle royalties to 70% for publishers (with a notable asterisk) and allowed the equivalent of apps to be developed and deployed.

Yes, Kindle is the undisputed king of eReaders, accounting for up 70% of reader sales and 80% of e-book purchases depending on who you ask. But in addition to the preponderance of eReaders on display at CES, there is also that rumored Apple "iSlate" on the horizon for Amazon to worry about, and it looks like they are worrying indeed.

The new royalty system will allow publishers to keep a 70% cut of the digital list price (after delivery costs), which is about on par with what Apple is reportedly offering to publishers. However, a key difference is that Amazon's offer will only apply to offerings that meet certain criteria. First, the book must be sold for between $2.99 and $9.99, and second, the price must be at least 20% below the physical list price for the book. It's unclear whether Apple will set any restrictions of its own.

Additionally, a Kindle Development Kit (KDK) has been announced with a beta release in February, allowing for "Active Content" to be produced for eager Kindles everywhere. Games will have to deal with e-Ink and since Amazon gives you unlimited 3G access for free, it's unlikely high-bandwidth apps or full browsers will make the final cut. But it will certainly make the Kindle more dynamic and even more desirable.

Huzzah for competition, or at least suspected competition (we're all waiting to hear just what Apple actually comes up with), improving a product for consumers. With speculation that Google will be getting into the ring in the near future, things could get better and better still.

Via NYT, pic via Engadget

Update: Rechecked my sources and I almost missed a few other restrictions for the 70% royalty rate, including a requirement to support text-to-speech. Check it out.

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Comments

  • By: shoemoney system Feb 06, 2010 7:33 AM

    Thanks for sharing the info... mhg@ shoemoney system

  • By: Daniel Jan 22, 2010 2:05 PM

    It definitely makes them likely to be more competitive with Apple - it'll be nice to see what they're finally coming out with next week though. Thanks for the comment!

  • By: smith Jan 22, 2010 1:59 AM

    That's a great offer for amazon,thanks for the post. smith@ link wheels

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