[Germany] The txtr Reader, Germany’s answer to the Kindle, is to get its own app store.
The Berlin-based company has announced an SDK so that developers can start writing apps for the eReader device, which, like the Kindle, supports over-the-air downloads and is powered by a version of Linux.
Inevitably, there’s the carrot of monetization too for both third-party developers and mobile operators who, presumably, txtr hopes it can cut deals with to offer the device subsidised with a lengthy contract to end users. Third-party apps will be sold through txtr’s application store alongside eBooks and other content – although, initially, apps will be given more limited distribution via txtr’s online developer platform.
Aside from the eReader hardware and accompanying book store – all very Amazon-esque – the more interesting aspect of txtr is the web service its building that goes far beyond eBooks.
This includes other content such as traditional newspapers and magazines, as well as web-based reading material which can be anything RSS-based or actual web pages and snippets of content that’s been ‘clipped’ via a browser-based bookmarklet on a user’s PC. This content is then synced and can be read at a later time on the txtr eReader itself or the company’s iPhone app, for example.
The former, however, requires an additional subscription to txtr Pro, a hefty €11.99 per month, to cover the cost of the mobile broadband connection. And while that’s probably a bit too much to swallow for most users, the concept itself seems sound.