Amazon.com has purchased Lexcycle, developer of the iPhone book-reading application Stanza. Stanza allows users to read e-books on their iPhone or iPod touch in the “epub” format, which is an open standard supported by the International Digital Publishing Forum that many publishers use to create e-book files. Amazon’s Kindle device doesn’t currently support “epub” files; nor does its Kindle for iPhone app let users download content from within the application, a feature Stanza offers. According to a post on Lexcycle’s blog, the company is “not planning any changes in the Stanza application or user experience as a result of the acquisition,” adding that they are “excited to join forces with a company that has innovated on behalf of readers for over a decade and is a pioneer in ebooks. Like Amazon, we believe there is a lot of innovation ahead for ebooks and we could not think of a better company to join during this exciting time.”
Charles Starrett
Charles Starrett was a senior editor at iLounge. He's been covering the iPod, iPhone, and iPad since their inception. He has written numerous articles and reviews, and his work has been featured in multiple publications.