Amazon Announces Kindle Development Kit--Software Developers Can Now Build Active Content for Kindle
Travel books that suggest activities based on real-time weather and current events, cookbooks that recommend menus based on size of party and allergies, and word games and puzzles--just some of the possibilities with the new Kindle Development Kit
SEATTLE, Jan 21, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- (NASDAQ: AMZN)--For the past two
years, Amazon has welcomed authors and publishers to directly upload and sell
content in the Kindle Store through the self-service Kindle publishing platform.
Today, Amazon announced that it is inviting software developers to build and
upload active content that will be available in the Kindle Store later this
year. The new Kindle Development Kit gives developers access to programming
interfaces, tools and documentation to build active content for Kindle--the #1
bestselling, most wished for, and most gifted product across all categories on
Amazon. Developers can learn more about the Kindle Development Kit today at
http://www.amazon.com/kdk/ and sign up to be notified when the limited beta
starts next month.
"We've heard from lots of developers over the past two years who are excited to
build on top of Kindle," said Ian Freed, Vice President, Amazon Kindle. "The
Kindle Development Kit opens many possibilities--we look forward to being
surprised by what developers invent."
The Kindle Development Kit enables developers to build active content that
leverages Kindle's unique combination of seamless and invisible 3G wireless
delivery over Amazon Whispernet, high-resolution electronic paper display that
looks and reads like real paper, and long battery life of seven days with
wireless activated. For example, Handmark is building an active Zagat guide
featuring their trusted ratings, reviews and more for restaurants in cities
around the world, and Sonic Boom is building word games and puzzles.
"As the leading worldwide publisher of mobile games, EA Mobile has had the
privilege of collaborating with many dynamic and innovative companies in
bringing exciting gaming experiences to new platforms," says Adam Sussman, Vice
President of Worldwide Publishing, EA Mobile. "Working with Amazon, we look
forward to bringing some of the world's most popular and fun games to Kindle and
their users."
Starting next month, participants in the limited beta will be able to download
the Kindle Development Kit, access developer support, test content on Kindle,
and submit finished content. Those wait-listed will be invited to participate as
space becomes available. The Kindle Development Kit includes sample code,
documentation, and the Kindle Simulator, which helps developers build and test
their content by simulating the 6-inch Kindle and 9.7-inch Kindle DX on Mac, PC,
and Linux desktops.
About Amazon Kindle
Kindle and Kindle DX are the revolutionary portable readers that wirelessly
download books, magazines, newspapers, blogs and personal documents to a crisp,
high-resolution electronic ink display that looks and reads like real paper.
Kindle and Kindle DX utilize the same 3G wireless technology as advanced cell
phones, so users never need to hunt for a Wi-Fi hotspot. Kindle is the most
wished for, the most gifted, and the #1 bestselling product across the millions
of items sold on Amazon.
About Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, opened
on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth's Biggest Selection.
Amazon.com, Inc., seeks to be Earth's most customer-centric company, where
customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and
endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and
other sellers offer millions of unique new, refurbished and used items in
categories such as Books; Movies, Music & Games; Digital Downloads; Electronics
& Computers; Home & Garden; Toys, Kids & Baby; Grocery; Apparel; Shoes &
Jewelry; Health & Beauty; Sports & Outdoors; and Tools, Auto & Industrial.
Amazon Web Services provides Amazon's developer customers with access to
in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon's own back-end technology
platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any type of business.
Examples of the services offered by Amazon Web Services are Amazon Elastic
Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2), Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3), Amazon
SimpleDB, Amazon Simple Queue Service (Amazon SQS), Amazon Flexible Payments
Service (Amazon FPS), Amazon Mechanical Turk and Amazon CloudFront.
Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including http://www.amazon.com,
http://www.amazon.co.uk, http://www.amazon.de, http://www.amazon.co.jp, http://www.amazon.fr,
http://www.amazon.ca, and http://www.amazon.cn. As used herein, "Amazon.com,"
"we," "our" and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries,
unless the context indicates otherwise.
Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of
Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management's
expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties
that include, among others, risks related to competition, management of growth,
new products, services and technologies, potential fluctuations in operating
results, international expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims,
fulfillment center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements,
acquisitions and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system
interruption, inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud.
More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com's
financial results is included in Amazon.com's filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and
subsequent filings.
Kindle devices are sold through Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
SOURCE: Amazon.com, Inc.
Amazon.com, Inc.
Media Hotline, 206-266-7180
http://www.amazon.com/pr