Edible Apple

Amazon may be looking to compete with the iPad by making serious improvements to its Kindle device, but it’s smart enough to know that it better get on the iPad bandwagon before getting left behind. That being said, Amazon today unveiled a new preview page on its website highlighting their forthcoming Kindle app for the iPad.

Speaking to the New York Times, Amazon’s VP for Kindle Ian Freed stated, “We have actually developed a tablet-based interface that redesigns the core screen and the reading experience. Our team had some fun with it.”

The Kindle app for the iPad, which Amazon demonstrated to a reporter last week, allows readers to slowly turn pages with their fingers. It also presents two new ways for people to view their entire e-book collection, including one view where large images of book covers are set against a backdrop of a silhouetted figure reading under a tree. The sun’s position in that image varies with the time of day.

Some of the touted features also include more realistic page turning animations (which can be turned on and off), Whispersync technology which enables seamless syncing across devices, full color image and graphics support, as well as the ability to adjust screen brightness from within the app.

While Apple began accepting iPad app submissions last week, Amazon is planning to hold off on their own app submission until they can actually get their hands on the device itself. As we reported earlier, while some developers are anxious to get their apps up on iTunes on the first day, others would rather test their app on an actual iPad before releasing it out into the wild.