SAN FRANCISCO -- Amazon.com Inc., the biggest online retailer, created a shopping application for Apple Inc.'s iPad tablet computer, expanding its reach with the help of a rival device.
The app, similar to programs for the iPhone and iPod Touch, will let customers search for products and track packages on the iPad, Seattle-based Amazon.com said Wednesday in a statement.
The company competes with Apple for sales of digital books and music. Amazon.com's Kindle e-reader faced a new challenger with last month's release of the iPad, which has a color screen and can access the Internet. In April, Amazon.com forecast earnings for the current quarter that fell short of analysts' predictions.
Customers can download the iPad application from Cupertino, California-based Apple's online store, Amazon.com said.
EBay Inc., the auction and fixed-price marketplace, introduced an app for the iPad earlier this year, part of the company's plan to generate US$1.5 billion in merchandise sales in 2010 through mobile devices.
Amazon.com is trying to get its e-books on multiple devices to maintain its lead in the digital book market, which Credit Suisse AG estimates will grow six times to US$2.2 billion by 2015. Apple will also benefit from e-book sales through its iBookstore and help cut Amazon.com's share of such sales to about 72 percent this year from 90 percent last year, according to Credit Suisse.
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