From the official Kindle Community forum:
First, we are making Kindle newspapers and magazines readable on our free Kindle apps, so you can always read Kindle periodicals even if you don’t have your Kindle with you or don’t yet own a Kindle. In the coming weeks, many newspapers and magazines will be available on our Kindle apps for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, and then we’ll be adding this functionality to Kindle for Android and our other apps down the road. Our vision is Buy Once, Read Everywhere, and we’re excited to make this possible for Kindle periodicals in the same way that it works now for Kindle books. More details when we launch this in the coming weeks.
Second, later this year, we will be introducing lending for Kindle, a new feature that lets you loan your Kindle books to other Kindle device or Kindle app users. Each book can be lent once for a loan period of 14-days and the lender cannot read the book during the loan period. Additionally, not all e-books will be lendable – this is solely up to the publisher or rights holder, who determines which titles are enabled for lending.
What, exactly, is “lent once”? Does that mean I can only lend a book once, to one and only one friend, for all time?
And why not have an option to extend the lending period for another 14 days.?
Or better yet, why not let a user simply transfer “ownership” to another account. That way it can be lent for as long as needed, and then returned. It also allows for resale.
And finally, I have no faith in publishers allowing one bit more than they have to…
Oh boy! I’ll be able to lend my kindle ebook ONCE for its entire life for a whole 14 days!?! Amazing! Groundbreaking! Revolutionary! ZOMG things will never be the same again, ever!
The 14 day limit is fine, but ONCE for the book’s lifetime is ridiculous.
So those of us with Windows tablets will be the last to be able to read our periodicals ? Hmph. Not impressed, Amazon! ==
These restrictions are the same ones as those of Nook Lendme. These are restrictions from the publishers. Otherwise they will not allow the lending feature at all. There is nothing Amazon or B&N can do about this.
Publishers do not like you lending books.
I find these ‘lending’ functions are complete insult to me as a reader who pays a full price for a product. It is outrageous and they have an astonishing amount of pure arrogance to think that this is some kind of enhanced function !!!
What about non-drm ebooks? Will users be able to lend those as well and without restrictions?
@Amalthia: Yea, it’s called email. =P
The publishers should thank the Kindle readers. We are buying books (some for more than paperback prices). The publishers do not have the expense of printing, materials, middlemen for distribution etc. Also when books are in the printed version they are passed to many, many people. The publishers are only making money on the Kindle readers!