Amazon is planning to bring a Kindle reader to the Mac platform, according to a report from Fast Company. The question came up after Microsoft announced during the Windows 7 launch this week that Amazon would release a Kindle reader for that OS, and an Amazon spokesperson confirmed for the magazine that Kindle was coming to the Mac, too.
Kindle is Amazon's eBook platform. The company's main vehicle for Kindle eBooks is its own Kindle device, a standalone E Ink-based device that can download books via a 3G connection, and display them. Amazon also has Kindle for iPhone, a free iPhone app that can sync with your Kindle account, browse books, and display them for reading.
Bringing Kindle to Windows and Mac OS X will put Amazon into the position of allowing its Kindle customers the option to read anywhere they want, browse books from whichever location they find most appealing, and keep everything synced, all without the use of a bookmark or dog-eared pages.
This is important, as Barnes & Noble's Nook device was introduced this week. This is a competing platform from the U.S.'s largest chain of brick and mortar book stores.
It could also figure in to competition with Apple if rumors about Apple making its anticipated tablet device a vehicle for reading eBooks and newspapers are true.