AMAZON - A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION WITH THE KINDLE

Amazon has announced that it will open up the Kindle e-reader to third party developers, allowing applications, or what Amazon calls “active content”, to run on the device. This will allow for Apps such as interactive books, travel guides with locations data, RSS readers and anything that brings text to the device would be a good candidate. This could even include magazine and newspaper subscriptions. Which is all a good thing for the end user - we need to reach a format that will work across all eReaders - Kindle, Sony, Elonex and the countless other models now on the shelves. And Amazon's opening up of their best-selling electronic device is a step towards this.

The developments in the eBook industry are coming thick and fast, and the market is still growing. It is impossible to predict what the state of play will be this time next year, but one thing is for certain eBooks are on the verge of taking off the way MP3's did several years back.

The question for us book lovers is will eBooks spark a renaissance in reading?

Well you know, it looks like it already has and that can only be a good thing. The technology press are full of reports on the different readers available and market developments, even the trendy gadget magazines are talking about eReaders alongside games consoles, smart phones and the like.

Keep reading the Archive for all the eBook developments as the market fast develops.