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We've been assuming that two distinct markets would evolve somewhere between the handset and the netbook - the e-reader, optimized for one purpose, and the more general tablet. But Apple and Amazon are coming from opposite directions to try to blur those lines, and in the course of their stand-off could be the saviors of the publishing industry. So Rupert Murdoch believes anyway.

As the market waits for the supposed Apple iSlate, complete with content deals with various Murdoch properties, Amazon has turned its Kindle e-reader into a full software platform, releasing a kind of app store and a software developers' kit (SDK). The retail giant, which already has content distribution deals with Murdoch titles like The New York Times, has also brought its revenue sharing terms in line with those of Apple's store.

The Kindle has had an impact on the mobile sector well beyond its market reach as a reading device, because it has pioneered some important new business models such as embedded connectivity. Now Amazon is looking to maintain its market lead and broaden its activities into apps, with its new SDK. This will have a limited beta release from next month and will allow developers to create and upload content to an extended Kindle Store, later this year.

Amazon took an initial step towards this recently when it allowed for self-published ebooks to be sold in the Kindle Store but now it is looking at a wider range of apps, which could also presage the creation of new device types under the Kindle brand, including general purpose tablets with a combination of touchscreen and epaper displays.

A key quest among device makers is the perfect balance of optimized book reading (and video viewing, we hear, in iSlate) plus the touchscreen web functionality of a smartbook. Amazon, having almost perfected the former, may now be looking to new device formats. Some of its would-be rivals have gone for split screens, like Barnes & Noble's Nook; two full screens, like Asus; while others claim users will be happy to read books without a special paper screen. A really interesting option may come from start-ups working on technology that would allow a single product to switch between reading and web 'modes' on one screen.

For now Amazon, like Apple, knows it needs to get the content and developer model right. "We've heard from lots of developers over the past two years who are excited to build on top of Kindle," said Ian Freed, VP of Amazon's Kindle operations, in a statement. "The Kindle Development Kit opens many possibilities - we look forward to being surprised by what developers invent."

Participants in the limited beta release will have access to the Kindle development kit and developer support. They also will be able to test content on the device and submit finished content to Amazon. The SDK includes sample code, documentation and the Kindle Simulator, which simulates the 6-inch Kindle and 9.7-inch Kindle DX on Mac, PC and Linux desktops. Apparently early supporters include games firm Sonic Boom and travel guides publisher Handmark, the latter creating interactive guides.

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