Amazon shows media companies the future of the web

Amazon has released a browser-based version of its Kindle e-book app, called the Kindle Cloud Reader, in what appears to be an attempt to detour around Apple’s in-app purchasing requirements. But what the e-book retailer has also done is provide a great example of how media companies should be looking beyond the world of apps to the future of the web: one in which websites behave like apps, thanks to the magic of HTML5, and publishers can get the benefits of both without having to sell their souls to one app-store provider after another.

The Kindle app mimics the native Kindle app for the iPad in almost every way (although it lacks some features such as the ability to create new notes or highlight passages). The Cloud Reader is also fast at rendering pages. One of the complaints some have about browser-based apps is that they can be slow, but the Kindle app doesn't suffer from this problem. The app also allows you to download books so they are available when you don’t have an Internet connection.