Amazon will also keep track of where you are in a book, so you can stop reading on your PC and pick up at the same place on your Kindle.
If you’re running Microsoft Corp.’s new Windows 7 operating system and have a touch screen on your computer, you can zoom in on book pages by pinching your fingers. In the future, Amazon said, you’ll be able to turn pages by swiping a finger across the screen.
The company already offers a similar application for Apple Inc.’s iPhone and iPod Touch that lets users read Kindle books whether or not they own the device.
Amazon is facing a rising tide of competition in the e-reader market from companies like Sony Corp. and Barnes & Noble Inc. Sony already offers several e-readers, and both companies plan to release wireless-enabled devices soon that, like the Kindle, will be able to download books straight to them.
Making Kindle books available to consumers who don’t want to buy a dedicated reading device may provide another stream of revenue.
Also yesterday, Amazon said that it lowered the price of its newest Kindle by $20, to $259, matching the cost of a US-only device that it is discontinuing. The new version has wireless access that works around the world, replacing a model that worked only in the United States.
Just two weeks ago, when it introduced the international Kindle, Amazon cut the prices for the US version by $40, to $259.
The company still sells a larger-screen version of the Kindle called the DX for $489.
