Kindle Dev Kit open to beta testers

Voice over IP functionality, advertising, offensive materials, collection of customer information without express customer knowledge and consent, or usage of the Amazon or Kindle brand in any way are not allowed. In addition, active content must meet all Amazon technical requirements, not be a generic reader, and not contain malicious code.

We will work to refine the above guidelines throughout the beta."

Available APIs: http://java.sun.com/javame/reference/apis/jsr217/ http://kdk-javadocs.s3.amazonaws.com/index.html

Why would anyone worry creating a native application for a highly restricted and proprietary platform when he/she has the option of creating a web application with much better control of deployment, simpler learning curve, etc?

We've seen this history before. Just ask Lotus, WordPerfect, Ashton-Tate, Borland, Computer Associates and thousands of iPhone developers how nice it is to put a leash around your neck and handle it to Microsoft and Apple. Oh, and, after that ask McMillan if Amazon is a non-controling company with open standards.

This is a gold rush with Amazon and Apple selling the picks and shovels.