Future of Electronic Books: Web-Based?

Amazon has announced a beta version of its web-based e-book reader. If the online bookseller is successful with Kindle for the Web, it’s an innovation that may well change the face of the e-book in a permanent way. From an announcement made yesterday:

Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) today introduced the beta version of “Kindle for the Web,” making it even easier for customers to discover new books and authors by sampling Kindle books directly through web browsers - -no installation or downloading required. Amazon is also inviting bloggers and website owners who are participants in the Amazon Associates Program to be part of Kindle for the Web by embedding samples of Kindle books on their websites. These website owners will earn referral fees from Amazon when customers complete book purchases using the links on their websites. More information about Kindle for the Web and how to embed Kindle book samples is available at www.amazon.com/kindlefortheweb.

Customers simply click the “Read first chapter FREE” button on a book product page on Amazon or on other websites, and the first chapter will open within the web page. Customers can change the font size and line spacing, adjust the background color, and share their favorite books with friends and family via Facebook, Twitter, and e-mail -- all without leaving the book in the browser.

The Register (“Biting the Hand that Feeds IT”) had this to say:

As Amazon races against Apple, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Kobo, et al to see who can be first to completely destroy the neighborhood bookstore, Kindle for the Web gives it a leg up: making it easier for authors to promote -- and make a bit more cash from -- their own books might just prove to be a formidable marketing strategy.

You can try the technology out for yourself here.