Amazon's iOS Kindle apps boosted by video, audio clip features

Amazon.com has added audio and video multimedia functionality to its iOS apps for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. The changes, announced on Monday, allow embedding of audio and video clips into e-books.

In case you're wondering about the use cases for such clips, a good example in the Amazon.com press release was given using the Kindle edition of London by Rick Steves.

"In the new Kindle Edition with audio/video of Rick Steves' London, the embedded walking tours allow customers to listen to Rick as they explore the sites of London. Rick's narration adds depth to the reader's experience, while listeners can follow the routes more easily with the text."

More from the press release:

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) today announced a new update to Kindle for iPad and Kindle for iPhone and iPod touch, which allows readers to enjoy the benefits of embedded video and audio clips in Kindle books. The first books to take advantage of this new technology, including Rick Steves' London by Rick Steves and Together We Cannot Fail by Terry Golway, are available in the Kindle Store at http://www.amazon.com/kindleaudiovideo.

"We are excited to add this functionality to Kindle for iPad and Kindle for iPhone and iPod touch," said Dorothy Nicholls, director, Amazon Kindle. "Readers will already find some Kindle Editions with audio/video clips in the Kindle Store today--from Rose's Heavenly Cakes with video tips on preparing the perfect cake to Bird Songs with audio clips that relate the songs and calls to the birds' appearances. This is just the beginning--we look forward to seeing what authors and publishers create for Kindle customers using the new functionality of the Kindle apps."

Ironically, this enhanced behavior won't appear on Amazon's own e-book reader, the Kindle, and thus gives the iPad, it's biggest rival, a major leg up. Still, as with anything like this, the money is made in the "consumables," meaning in this case, the e-books.

Amazon.com still has a huge advantage in the number of e-books it carries vs. Apple's iBook store. That, however, won't be there forever.

Meanwhile, where's that promised Android Kindle app, Amazon.com?