Subscribe RSSApple wants publishers to create two new price points for e-books of best-sellers: $12.99 and $14.99, with some titles offered at $9.99, according to the report. As it does with iPhone apps, Apple is negotiating for a 30 percent take on the sales price, with publishers getting the other 70 percent, the Journal reported.
The move would put Apple in an open battle for the e-book sales crown with Amazon, which has slashed the prices of titles for its Kindle e-book reader, offering some best-sellers for free. Amazon has also announced the release of a software development kit for the Kindle , which will allow developers to build and eventually sell their own applications for the device, apparently opening a new front with Apple and its iPhone.
Apple and Amazon representatives did not immediately respond to request for comment.
When Apple allowed Amazon to develop a way for iPhone users to get access to Amazon's library of e-books, it appeared the company was ceding the mobile computing e-book market to Amazon. Apple CEO Steve Jobs has dismissed the e-book reader and market in general, declaring in 2008 that "people don't read anymore." However, Jobs is notorious for dismissing a new product or concept right up until the day Apple ships a similar product.