The US-based e-commerce company Amazon.com Inc. has announced that a Netflix-like service to access online books for a monthly fee is on the works. It allows customers to read digital books offered on Amazon.com in return for paying the monthly subscription fee.
The only restrictions are: no new books from publishers allowed and only a number of books are allowed to be read monthly. The company is currently negotiating with book publishers who are interested in offering their books online for an annual fee. It successfully launched Amazon Prime last February which allows users access to digital shows and free shipping for $79 a year.
The service will be extended to subscribers of Amazon Prime but details remain to be seen as to the subscription fee. Netflix has been offering its 7 million subscribers an online movie rental service for instant viewing in PCs. Last May, it has rolled out a Kindle in subsidized version and is planning to unveil a 7-inch tablet posing a competitive challenge to Apple’s iPad.
No further details have been provided and publishers are reported to be hesitant in joining the bandwagon for now due to their fears that the service is a threat to the book industry, or the fee given them is not enough.
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Tags: amazon, amazon ebook subscription launch date, amazon ebook subscription price, e-book subscription service, Netflix
