Amazon on Thursday introduced a version of its digital book reading software for the Apple Mac. Available for free on Amazon, the Kindle for Mac application lets people buy, read, and organize electronic books purchased from Amazon through the retailer's Kindle Store. Amazon offers more than 450,000 books, including 102 of the 111 New York Times bestsellers.

In launching the Mac application, Amazon expands the number of devices on which e-books bought from the company can be read. Those devices include Amazon's Kindle e-reader.

March 12 (Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. began taking pre-orders for its iPad multimedia tablet today, seeking to expand sales beyond the iPhone, iPod and Macintosh computer.

Customers who order one of three Wi-Fi versions of the device, either for home delivery or store pickup, will receive it on April 3, spokeswoman Natalie Harrison said in an interview. That's the same day the iPad goes on sale in Apple's U.S. stores.

In the battle over the pricing of electronic books, publishers appear to have won the first round. The price of many new releases and best sellers is about to go up, to as much as $14.99 from $9.99.

But there may be an insurgency waiting to pounce: e-book buyers.

Over the last year, the most voracious readers of e-books have shown a reflexive hostility to prices higher than the $9.99 set by Amazon.com and other online retailers for popular titles.

, which remain unavailable on amazon. popular titles such as "sarah's key" by tatiana de rosnay were once again available in hardcover for $17.13. but amazon's website displayed a message for those wanting to read the book on a kindle: "tell

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Enjoy $9.99 electronic books while you can -- for they soon may be a thing of the past.

News Corp Chief Rupert Murdoch, who oversees a media empire than includes HarperCollins books, home to authors like Michael Crichton and Janet Evanovich, made clear on Tuesday his displeasure with the low price Amazon.com Inc has set for electronic books.

In order to raise prices, Murdoch wants to renegotiate the current deal with Amazon, and said the world's largest retailer appears "ready to sit down with us again" to talk about new terms.

Two interesting nuggets from a wide-ranging earnings call today:

On the second point, here's my on-the-fly transcription and paraphrasing of Murdoch's comments re: Amazon, Apple and e-book pricing. It's one of the most candid descriptions you'll hear from a top executive about Big Media's reluctance to embrace digital distribution at the expense of its existing system, and revenues:

We don't like the Amazon model of $9.99….we think it really devalues books and hurts all the retailers of hardcover books. We're not against electronic books.

Buyers of electronic books on Amazon's Kindle store rave about the convenient wireless downloads, the device's easy-to-read screen, and the $9.99 average price for new bestsellers. Before long they may have to settle for two out of three.

Amazon (AMZN) said on Jan. 31 that it will let Macmillan, one of the store's largest publishers, set its own prices for Kindle books and keep 70% of the sales. The green light is expected to result in a price increase of as much as 50% for Macmillan titles and may bring higher prices for Macmillan's competitors, the Authors Guild told Bloomberg News.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc's stock slipped on Thursday, a day after the company's much-hyped unveiling of the iPad tablet computer.

Apple shares were down 4 percent at $199.62 on Thursday afternoon on the Nasdaq. The company's stock often sells off following major product announcements.

Separately, Nokia Oyj said it gained share in the smartphone market, while analysts said Apple's iPhone lost some ground against its competitors.

Washington - Apple Inc. says its tablet-style iPad computer represents a whole new category of consumer-electronic devices, ideal for watching videos, surfing the Web and reading electronic books.

Here is how it stacks up with other Internet-connected portable devices that consumers are already using:

- iPad vs. laptop The iPad is easier to stash and carry than most laptops. The device weighs just 1.5 pounds, compared with a few pounds for the typical laptop. At a mere half-inch thick, the iPad is also thinner than most laptops, including Apple's super-thin Macbook Air.

Apple's hoping to recreate the magic of what iTunes did for music with the addition of a vast selection of electronic books. Announced at Apple's event today, the iBook store.

Book pricing has been set similarly to what's offered on Amazon.com's Kindle platform - the first book shown at Apple's event was priced $14.99, a Ted Kennedy book (available on Kindle for $14.78).

The books you own will be displayed on a bookshelf and the pages inside the books themselves are displayed on an off-white background. Page turns are handled simply by tapping on the right or left sides of the screen and showcase a nice page-curling effect.

As part of its new iPad tablet unveiled Wednesday, Apple has come out with an e-book reading app. Dubbed iBooks, the app lets you read e-books on the iPad's 9.7-inch LCD screen.

"Amazon's done a great job of pioneering this functionality with the Kindle, so we're going to stand on its shoulders," Apple CEO Steve Jobs said at Wednesday's product launch.

iBooks lets users buy and download electronic books directly from the iPad. Users will buy books through Apple's new iBook Store, which will be fully integrated into the app. From the iBooks demo on Wednesday, it appears book prices will be between $8 and $15.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Apple Inc unveiled its wildly anticipated "iPad" on Wednesday in the biggest product launch since the iPhone three years ago.

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Prices start at $499 for the sleek, full-color, half-inch thin gadget that is designed for a variety of media, from videos to games to electronic books and newspapers.

NED MAY, DIRECTOR AND LEAD ANALYST, OUTSELL INC:

"The $499 price point is a great place to have an entry point. That's low enough to get traction in the marketplace. Their core market in some.

SAN FRANCISCO - Apple Inc. is taking the wraps off its "latest creation," which analysts believe will be a tablet-style computer - somewhat like an iPhone, but larger.

Apple CEO and showman Steve Jobs is expected to take the stage at a San Francisco event Wednesday.

Although Apple has been silent publicly about its new gadget, analysts believe it will be billed as a way to watch videos, surf the Web, play games and read electronic books.

With Apple expected to finally unveil its tablet computer Wednesday, I'm among the many who are eager to see what the gadget will look like and how it will work.

Judging from reports and rumors, it will resemble an overgrown iPhone and will be able to surf the Web, read electronic books, view digital videos and play games. It will be built around a 10-inch touch-sensitive screen, run a version of the Mac OS X operating system, and allow users to download applications through a version of the iPhone App Store. And if you believe the latest reports, it's likely to allow you to access the Internet via Verizon's 3G data network.

Amazon.com Inc. is showing signs of app envy.

The e-commerce giant says it plans to open its Kindle e-reader to "active content"--application programs that would allow the device to take on a wider range of uses.

Amazon's move appears to borrow a page from Apple Inc. and its popular app store for the iPhone. It comes just days before Apple is expected to unveil a tablet computer that is likely to compete directly with the Kindle as a platform for the distribution of electronic books while offering a range of other uses, including music, video and games.

We had heard that Apple was pitching its yet to be launched (or even confirmed) tablet device to publishers, but a Wall Street Journal story posted Monday offers a few potential specifics.

The story, citing unnamed sources familiar with the situation, says HarperCollins Publishers is negotiating a deal with Apple that would make electronic books available for the tablet. HarperCollins is expected to set the prices of the e-books and Apple would take a percentage of sales, according to the story. Whether Apple will sell titles via iTunes or a new e-book store "couldn't be learned," according to the Journal post.

There is little doubt that electronic books have gone mainstream. The question now is, in just which direction will the market go? It's possible that the Kindle will do what Apple and the iPod did for music, essentially owning the market. Or things could split open, with many sellers competing on an open platform. Kobo is betting on the latter.

Kobo is a rebranded Shortcovers, which sells e-books that can be read on almost any device, from Macs and PCs to the iPhone, Blackberry, Android, Palm Pre and any e-reader that can work with EPUB-format books, such as the Barnes & Noble Nook or the Sony Reader. Notably, the Kindle is absent from the list.

Plastic Logic has given a name--but not a launch date--for its forthcoming e-reader.

The e-book reader, which can display electronic books as well as PDFs, PowerPoint, and other business documents, will be dubbed the Que, the company is announcing this week. Plastic Logic said it will show off the Que at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, at which time it will announce pricing, availability, and other details.