Kindle for Mac, Kindle API On Their Way?

Nook may not ultimately be the device that kills Amazon Kindle, but it seems to have created a sense of urgency for Amazon (that we have not seen in the past few months). After announcing a few days ago that Kindle books will be available to read on PCs, there is good reason to believe that Amazon is working on a Mac version of the software as well. One has to wonder what took Amazon so long to bring Kindle books to other platforms. Kindle for iPhone was a start, but Amazon has been a bit slow in taking advantage of its leading position in the e-book reader market to solidify its position. The news that Amazon will be releasing an e-book reader software for both Window and Mac is a good step in the right direction. But it’s not merely enough.

As Fast Company reported last week, Amazon is working on a Kindle for Mac software. But more importantly, Amazon officials are hinting that a Kindle API may be in the works. That is a much bigger step for Kindle, one that will take it to a whole new level. Nook, QUE, and Sony Reader are all decent devices, but what they do not have at this point is an app store and third-party apps for their platforms. Considering the fact that Nook runs Android, it’s not too hard to imagine B&N opening up its device to third party developers. This is a move that Amazon should have implemented months ago. Amazon missed plenty of chances to open up its reader to developers, but now it can’t afford not to.

The good news is that we may see a Kindle SDK with the next generation Amazon Kindle. The rumor has it that Kindle 3.0 will be a color-screen e-book reader with a much more flexible software. It’s certainly another chance for Amazon to get it right. If it doesn’t, another company will.