Amazon caves in on book pricing

Amazon may soon raise the price of its e-book titles

Amazon has reportedly agreed to allow publishers to set higher prices on its e-book titles.

Deals with book publishers Harper Collins and Simon and Schuster would allow the companies to select their own prices rather than the default $9.99 price tag, according to reports in The Wall Street Journal.

The paper suggests that new titles could be priced anywhere from $9.99 to $15 under the new deal.

Amazon has sought to rework its dealings with publishers in recent months as new competitors such as the Apple iPad have loomed in the market.

Earlier this year Amazon looked to take early action to appease publishers and authors by increasing its royalty payouts.

The move comes just days before Apple is set to release the first US versions of its iPad tablet. Several major book, newspaper and magazine publishers are said to be onboard the platform, and many in the industry believe that the iPad could provide the stiffest competition yet for Amazon and its Kindle reader line.

Competition could be even fiercer in the UK, where the latest Kindle models have only recently made their debut. Apple has targeted the iPad for release in the UK by the end of April.