As Apple Tablet Nears, Amazon Prepares to Launch Kindle Apps

The competition between Apple and Amazon appears to be fully heated. Amazon is preparing the launch of apps for the Kindle e-reader (though it’s avoiding the term apps and sticking with “active content”–much catchier) , clearly aiming at competing with the almost-here Apple tablet, which is expected to offer e-reading, multimedia and other applications.

Amazon will allow software developers to create apps, which will be made available through the Kindle store later in the year. The apps are expected to come in a variety of price formats including one-time fee apps that require under 100 kilobytes per month, subscription-based apps and small, free apps.

A few examples mentioned include games from Electronic Arts and a Zagat restaurant guide with live reviews.

The Kindle app news comes amidst related news detailing the upcoming competition between Apple and Amazon. Yesterday, it was reported that Amazon has come to a new royalty deal with publishers and authors of discount books, offering a 70/30 split. At the same time, Apple is reportedly in talks with publishers on content deals for its tablet.

The next stage of the e-reader war is underway. [via Wall Street Journal]