News Bits: Amazon E-Books Now on Apple iPhone

Written by Erin Barker

Wednesday, March 4. 2009 at 11:15 AM EST Post a comment

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Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN)'s e-books aren't just for Kindles anymore. The company has introduced a free software application that allows its e-books to be read also on Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) devices like the iPhone and the iPod Touch.

Amazon VP Ian Freed isn't worried that this will negatively affect Kindle sales, telling The Wall Street Journal that users can read on Apple devices for about 30 minutes tops before they begin to drain batteries and strain the eyes (unlike the Kindle, iPhone screens are back-lit). So you should save it for those moments when you're -- gasp! -- caught without your Kindle.

"There are times when you're going to be in a place where you happen to have your iPhone but not your Kindle," said Freed. "If I get stuck in line at the grocery store, I can pick up where I was reading with my iPhone."

Of course, all this means users can finally take advantage of the Kindle 2's previously useless "whispersync" function, which saves a user's place in a book on multiple devices.

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