Amazon Kindle for iPad (and other tablets)

Amazon.com announced that its developing Kindle eReader applications for tablet computers including the iPad. The design looks good and its pretty well aligned with other eReader applications I've seen such as the Kobo, Instapaper and, of course, Apple's on iBook. These applications appear to have been influenced by earlier eReader applications such as Classics and Delicious Library and classic Kindle.

It's an exciting area of exploration and I'm proud to announce that I have been contracted to develop a eReader that will work with an existing digital library you may already be familiar with. I can't say who it is yet, but I can say that design of this eReader has been underway for a couple weeks already. We (I've been assembling a small team of artists and developers) are already wrestling with the metaphors and implementation details and we are looking forward to releasing the new eReader on the Apple App Store when its ready.

Developing an eReader that works with an existing digital library is exciting and challenging. There are so many things to consider and so many ways of creating a user experience. The hard part is delivering what readers want and avoiding lots of features they won't find useful while keeping the interface somewhat aligned with existing digital channels. I'll keep you posted as to our progress.