Will Apple Close the e-Book on Kindle?

Analysis: Apple is modifying its licensing policy, raising doubts that e-books bought elsewhere will be readable on Apple devices.

By Harry McCracken, Technologizer Feb 7, 2011, PC World

I wanted to buy a book. I did what I usually do these days before I plunk down my money for one: I checked to see if it was available as an Amazon Kindle e-book-one which I'd be able read not only on a Kindle but also on an iPad, an iPhone, an Android phone, a Mac, or a PC. It was. My finger instinctively lunged towards the 1-Click button.

And then it dawned on me: With the recent development that Apple is going to require creators of e-reader apps to sell books using its in-app purchasing feature, it's not the least bit clear what the fate of Kindle books on Apple devices will be. (Apple says that as long as e-readers support in-app purchases, they'll be able to retain access to digital books bought elsewhere -- even though this violates the App Store approval guidelines.)

I've spent several hundred dollars on Kindle books over the past few years. Nowadays, I do about 80 percent of my reading of them on an iPhone and an iPad. An e-book I can't read on Apple gizmos would be dramatically less valuable. And it's not clear what's going to happen to the Apple-compatible e-reader apps offered by Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Google, and Kobo.

At the moment, Apple charges third-party sellers a 30 percent commission on content offered through the App Store's in-app purchasing option. But as Reuters' Aaron Pressman noted in a comment on an earlier post here, the "agency pricing" system used for e-books only gives Amazon and its competitors 30 percent of the book's price. In other words, if Apple insists on getting a 30 percent cut, it's demanding all the profit. That's not going to work.

Full story at PC World.