Kindle To Go On Sale At Target

In a surprising partnership with a competitor, and a physical store at that, Amazon has just announced that Target stores across the country will begin selling its Kindle eReader, the Wall Street Journal reports . This marks the first physical retail location for Amazon's popular eReader. The move may come as a reaction to the recent release of Apple's iPad, which has become a major eReader competitor for Amazon. According to the Wall Street Journal, "[a]nalysts say that Amazon and other dedicated e-book reader makers need to take steps to differentiate their black and white products from color tablet computers like the iPad."

The publishing blog MobyLives suggests that this move puts Amazon in an awkward position regarding sales tax, which the company has taken pains to avoid on their site. Most recently, Amazon filed a lawsuit against the state of North Carolina for requesting tax information. Because Kindles sold at Target stores would be taxed like any other item, MobyLives points out that Amazon will have an "unfair competitive advantage against ... itself ..."