iPhone Atlas

Delicious Monster's Library for iPhone app--introduced as a companion to the company's popular Mac Delicious Library 2 application--was removed from the iTunes App Store on Tuesday due to conflicts with Amazon's Product Advertising API License agreement terms.

(Credit: David Martin)

The announcement came from Delicious Monster CEO Wil Shipley, who relayed the bad news via Twitter. Apparently, the company was forced to remove the app because it uses Amazon application programming interfaces (APIs), thus giving it access to information stored in Amazon's database. Amazon prohibits this type of use in section 4e of the terms governing the use of its APIs:

(e) You will not, without our express prior written approval requested via this link , use any Product Advertising Content on or in connection with any site or application designed or intended for use with a mobile phone or other handheld device.

Additional Twitter posts by Shipley indicated that Amazon is not allowing exceptions to these terms for mobile devices at this time, so the company felt obligated to remove the app from the iTunes App Store. The restrictions are perplexing (the Mac desktop version of Delicious Library interfaces well with Amazon), so we can only guess that Amazon may fear that the iPhone juggernaut will bring down Amazon's API--a stretch if you consider Amazon online popularity.

Have light to shed on Amazon's surprising restriction? Let us know what you think in the comments.

You can now opt for black, white, or sepia text color.

(Credit: Screenshot of Kindle for iPhone 1.1 by Nicole Lee/CNET)

Amazon has just released a version 1.1 update to its free Kindle app for the iPhone and iPod Touch, and it sees a number of improvements over the 1.0 release.

This update follows another smaller update a few weeks ago that added an iPhone-optimized Kindle store (which you still have to access via Safari, but at least the interface is now more mobile-friendly).

Two and a half months ago, Amazon released its free Kindle application for the iPhone and iPod Touch that lets you read Kindle books on the devices without having to purchase the expensive e-book from Amazon. If you were an existing Kindle owner, you could also take advantage of the Kindle application thanks to Amazon's Whispersync, which would sync both libraries, and you could pick up reading where you left off.

The reading experience is not as pleasant as on the dedicated e-book reader due to the smaller and backlit screen, but at least it's an option for those who didn't want the Kindle hardware.

With the version 1.1 update however, the reading experience on the Kindle is ever so slightly improved. For one thing, you can now switch the view from portrait to landscape mode if you prefer to read that way. You also have the option to "lock" the phone in either portrait or landscape mode thanks to a padlock icon to the lower right. We actually wished more iPhone apps had this feature since sometimes we wished things didn't rotate when we didn't want them to.

Are there any sweeter words in the English language than "free music?" (I know, "free pizza" runs a close second, followed immediately by "free beer," "free chocolate," and "free Tibet.")

If you're looking to stock your iPhone, iPod Touch, or Zune with some fresh, new tunes, you can find a mountain of free stuff if you know where to look. I'm talking legal free stuff, not the "free" tunes you pilfer from P2P services. Bad user, bad!

Rhapsody generously offers a free MP3 every day of the week.

As you probably know, iTunes gives away one song every week (gee, wow, thanks). Head to Rhapsody, however, and you can score a free song every day. And not just obscure tunes from little-known artists: Green Day's new "Know Your Enemy" was a recent download of the day (ahead of the new album's release, even), and yesterday's selection was Poison's classic power ballad, "Every Rose Has Its Thorns." (Couldn't...help...myself.)

On Monday, Amazon.com put out a small tweak to its Kindle application for Apple's iPhone (iTunes link) that takes users to an iPhone-optimized store when they click on the "get books" button.

There's now a page that lets users search either by title, author, keyword, or category. It also lists some of the New York Times best sellers, and items that have been recommended based on past purchases and browsing habits. Previously it would simply offer up a link to the desktop version of Amazon's Kindle Web store, which required a whole lot of pinching and zooming around to find what you were looking for.

Despite the change, the application still kicks users out to the Safari application instead of implementing the browsing experience within the Kindle app itself. It's safe to assume this will change in the next iteration, since Amazon acquired the company that created the popular Stanza eBook reading application in late April, which includes a built-in catalog of books that users can purchase.

There's also the soon-to-be-released iPhone 3.0 OS update, which will allow developers to add in-app micropayments--something that's perfect for eBooks. As it stands you still need to handle that end of the transaction on Amazon's site, instead of on the Kindle app.

Clicking on the "get books" button in Amazon's Kindle app for the iPhone now takes users to a thumb-friendly version of Amazon's storefront. However, clicking any of these options will kick you out to Amazon's Web app in Safari.

(Credit: CNET)

(Credit: Lexcycle)

Maybe Steve Jobs doesn't think there's a market for e-books on the iPhone, but Amazon seems to. On Monday, it acquired Lexcycle, the company that developed the popular Stanza iPhone and iPod Touch e-book reader application, for an undisclosed sum.

At first glance, it's unclear exactly why Amazon would buy Lexcycle when it has its own successful Kindle iPhone e-book reader application. But it appears to be hedging its bets by picking up what it thinks is "an innovative company" that works across multiple mobile platforms.

Clearly, Amazon is looking beyond the Kindle 2 and salivating over the 37 million iPhone and iPod Touch devices already in the market, as well as the upcoming Palm Pre, Google's Android phones, and future Windows Mobile phones. There's also talk of a rumored oversize iPod Touch that's due out later this year that would make for a potentially intriguing e-book reader. Plus, the Stanza reader supports the ePub format, which is quickly becoming the standard for e-books outside the proprietary format that Amazon uses for the Kindle.

As we've come to expect from Amazon, it was a bit coy in its remarks to The New York Times' Bits blog. Cinthia Portugal, a spokeswoman for Amazon, said, "It's very early days for e-books, and we believe there is a lot of innovation ahead of us. Lexcycle is a smart, innovative company, and we look forward to working with them to innovate on behalf of readers."

In announcing the deal on its blog, Lexcycle assured Stanza devotees that it wouldn't be making any changes to the application or user experience as a result of the acquisition. "Customers will still be able to browse, buy, and read ebooks from our many content partners," the post said. "We look forward to offering future products and services that we hope will resonate with our passionate readers."

What do you think? Smart move by Amazon? Was it a good time for Lexcycle to sell?

As always, feel free to comment.

If you don't feel like spending more than $300 on the Kindle 2, Amazon's free Kindle ebook application for the iPhone and iPod Touch may be a much more affordable, if imperfect, solution.

We compared the Kindle 2 and the Kindle application for the iPhone/iPod Touch, and came to the conclusion that the Kindle iPhone application is great for reading short passages, but the Kindle 2 is better for longer reading.

Also, you can't get subscriptions on the iPhone version and you can't buy books from within the application. Still, $359 is a lot to pay for an e-book reader (though the addition of free cellular Web access and a basic Web browser does make the cost slightly more palatable), so the Kindle for iPhone app may still be the preferable e-book reader for people who already have iPhones or iPod Touches

For more information about the Kindle for iPhone application, check out our video first look or read our extensive review.

Images: Kindle for iPhone

Amazon introduced a Kindle application for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

(Credit: Screenshot by Nicole Lee/CBS Interactive)

I bought a Kindle 2 last week, after a year of waiting for the second iteration of Amazon's e-book reader. I was hesitant at first, as I still love reading hardcover and paperback books, but the free cellular Web access and the addition of magazine subscriptions from publications like The New Yorker had me convinced.

I've had it for a week now, and I love it. It feels great in my hands, and the e-ink screen creates the illusion of reading a real book. I can hold it in my hand and read from it for hours.

I also have an Apple iPhone. I've tried e-book applications like eReader and Stanza, but I just didn't find the reading experience very satisfying.

It's OK for short chunks of reading, while waiting in line or sitting on the bus, but not on a lazy Sunday afternoon around the house. Holding a small device like that for long periods of time just isn't comfortable, plus the small LCD screen can be hard on the eyes after a while. And, of course, there are books only available for the Amazon Kindle that are not at any other e-book store. It's this last criteria that really forced my hand when purchasing the Kindle 2.

So when I first heard that Amazon released the Kindle application for the iPhone (download), I immediately second-guessed my purchase of the Kindle 2. Did I make a foolish buy? Why wasn't I patient enough to wait for the iPhone application? A free iPhone app is definitely a lot cheaper than the $359 for the Kindle 2. So I downloaded the Kindle for iPhone application to find out whether I should send my Kindle 2 packing with a return slip.

Kindle titles could be available soon on a variety of mobile devices.

(Credit: Amazon)

Some people have criticized Amazon for essentially making the Kindle a "closed" e-book reader system. However, word from Yahoo Finance is that it might not be so closed after all and that Amazon will be making its Kindle books available on a wide variety of mobile phones in the near future.

At this point, it's unclear whether it will be offering up all its Kindle titles (the Kindle Store currently has about 230,000 e-books for sale) or just a fraction of them. Amazon spokesman Drew Herdener simply said the company is working on making Kindle books available "on a range of mobile phones."

Additionally, Google announced Friday that titles from its Book Search service will be available for reading on the iPhone and T-Mobile's G1, which uses Google's Android operating system.

Electronic book readers like Stanza from Lexcycle and the eReader from Fictionwise are already popular on the iPhone. However, getting books onto your iPhone to use with those readers is more cumbersome than downloading a book from Apple's iPhone App Store. However, if Amazon were to create an iPhone Kindle application that tied directly into its store, Lexcycle and Fictionwise would certainly have to up their games to compete.

What's this all mean? Well, we'll probably learn a lot more about Amazon's e-book strategy on Monday when it's widely expected to announce the Kindle 2. But it's clear that the company sees big bucks in publishing and distributing e-books, which cost nothing to make (in terms of raw materials) and only need to be stored on a server and not some shelf in a warehouse.

Currently, Amazon takes a nice cut from authors and publishers to sell Kindle versions of their books--up to 65 percent of the list price--though big publishers and authors get better terms.

Anyway you look it, these announcements from Google and Amazon mean you're going to be seeing and hearing about a lot more e-books--and e-book readers. It also shows that Amazon's Kindle strategy is not just about hardware but software.

Click here for more stories on Amazon's Kindle.

Amazon has announced Amazon app for the iPhone and iPod Touch which was released this week and it is free (iTunes link). The app allows iPhone users to shop for merchandise on Amazon's popular website. Users can access wish lists, shopping carts, one-click shopping, plus all the customer reviews and ratings that might help buyers make decisions on what to buy, etc.

It also introduces a very nice new feature called "Amazon Remembers" which according to their press release:

"Amazon Remembers helps customers keep track of items they see in their daily lives and even tries to match photos of products to the same or similar products available on Amazon.com. Customers simply snap photos with their iPhone, the photos are automatically uploaded to Amazon.com, which then tries to find products similar to the ones in the photos. As soon as the customer receives the results, they can then purchase the item immediately or "remember it" for later in their Amazon account. lets you save snapshots as visual post-its if you see something you want to buy later. The app saves the photo and searches for similar items, too."

So far the app is being well received according to iTunes App Store reviews, but we found that you cannot use the app to buy music from Amazon. You can add music to your wishlist and buy it later on your computer according to some of our readers.