Amazon opens the Kindle for apps

With the wide range of available ebook readers, and the allegedly looming Apple Tablet, Amazon seems to be looking for a way to make the Kindle even more appealing. Of course, it could always try lowering the price or something of that nature, but that still makes the Kindle the same reader it’s always been. Amazon looks to make the Kindle more appealing by adding in more functionality.

Amazon is opening up the Kindle for developers to create apps. The apps that come for the Kindle might not be as impressive as the ones for the iPhone/iPod touch or Android, but will play to the strengths of an ebook reader. The example given by Amazon is from Handmark, which is creating a more interactive version of the Zagat restaurant guide that will allow users to search for places to eat more easily than they could in an ebook. Amazon has also distributed the development to EA Games, so when the Kindle’s app store launches it wouldn’t be surprising to find some version of Tetris.

The beta of the program will launch next month, with finished apps being put on a waiting list for the service when it does launch. There is no release date yet, though if Amazon can get it out before the rumored summer launch of the Apple Tablet, it might take away a tiny bit of Apple’s hype. With this release, it’ll be interesting to see if the next version of the Kindle will be optimized to run apps better than the Kindle 2.

Read [Amazon] Read [Kindle Developmet Kit]