IBookstore is getting updated, coming to iPhone

(Apple)

Apple's iBookstore will soon be available for the iPhone, revealed Apple CEO Steve Jobs at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference on June 7. Already available for the iPad, the e-reader application will soon be compatible with devices including the forthcoming iPhone 4 and iPod Touch.

The expanded iBookstore, said Jobs, will allow readers to buy a book once and download it wirelessly to multiple devices at no extra charge. The app will also automatically synchronize across platforms, meaning that the reader's page number and notes will be preserved and accessible on any of the devices.

Jobs also announced updates to the current iBooks app set to take effect in June. Among the most important changes will be support for PDF files, a common feature of other e-reading software.

During his keynote speech, Jobs said that titles sold through the iBookstore now account for about 22 percent of US e-book sales. The iBookstore's key competitors include Amazon, whose Kindle app synchronizes across Kindle e-readers, iPhone, iPod touch, tablet computers, PC, Mac, BlackBerry, and, launching this summer, Android phones.

The iPhone 4 will go on sale on June 24 in Britain, France, Germany, Japan, and the United States and will be available in two versions at $199 and $299. The iBooks app, likely to launch at abut the same time, will be free of charge.