Amazon deals may force limited iPad apps

Amazon has been hounding book publishers into signing deals that would prevent them from selling iPad books at below Kindle e-book prices, a set of rumors from within the industry claim. Having anticipated an Apple tablet since December, the online reseller has reportedly been trying to negotiate "most favored nation" details that would guarantee that no competitor would get a better price. The larger cut of royalties promised last month is now said to have been intended as an incentive to sign these deals.

Sources have told the NYT that Amazon was supposedly in a panic even as Apple was unveiling the iPad at its late January event, calling publishers of various formats to learn what deals if any they had struck with Apple. Few are thought to have taken up Amazon's maximum price concepts, however, as many want either more royalties or more control over pricing, especially now that Macmillan won a battle with Amazon over the prices it would be allowed to charge for bestsellers.

Apple is widely thought to be courting publishers for the iPad and iBookstore by allowing higher prices and, more importantly, letting publishers have some degree of freedom over prices where Amazon until lately insisted on a $10 cap. As Kindle e-book sales are too important to give up at this stage, however, it's claimed that some publishers may simply agree to Amazon's terms on a conditional basis and make a more feature-limited iPad app until Amazon can provide features close enough that a similar text can exist on both platforms.

The iPad is considered a potentially dangerous blow to Amazon's lead in e-books as it not only handles color and video that e-ink can't provide but also allows for much more customized experiences through third-party apps.

By Electronista Staff