Amazon is starting to include sounds and moving images to supplement the company's e-book offerings. The kicker? You won't be able to access said content on Amazon's own e-reader, the Kindle. Right now, the move is more for iPhone and iPad users using the Kindle app. That is, there's an iPad-like Kindle coming.

Apple iOS users have been able to enjoy Kindle-powered goodness for quite some time now, as Amazon has had excellent adaptations of its platform for Macs, iPhones and iPads. For Kindle users, though, it probably wasn't a big deal when the Kindle app — but not the Kindle hardware — supporting things like color pictures. Now users of the app can, for example, flip through a book about bird songs, which comes packed with audio samples of each bird.

Still, the Kindle offers a distinctly different reading experience than, say, an LCD-sportin' iPad, and its e-ink display, easy on the eyes for readers, is often thought of as a selling point.

That may not be so for long, however. The rumors have all been that Amazon is looking to make an e-reader that is closer to the iPad in shape and function, rather than sticking to the ground its hardware has broken.

With the Nook recently driving prices down for e-readers lower than ever, we would have loved to see a cheaper, no-frills Kindle that is more like the paperback of the e-reader world, as opposed to the hardcover. With developments such as this audio and movie business, however, it looks like we may have to look elsewhere for that to happen.

Via The Register