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Amazon.com is seizing on the popularity of its electronic book reader Kindle to reach a new market. On Friday the online retailer said it will make Kindle e-books available on a variety of mobile phones, but the company is not saying which books would be available or on which phones, according to the Associated Press.

Amazon.com currently has 230,000 book titles available for Kindle.

The news comes one day after Google launched its Google Book Search project, a controversial project that brings books to Apple's iPhone and T-Mobile's G1 Android-based phone. The project, started three years ago, landed Google in court when it was sued by the Author's Guild and the Association of American Publishers, but the case has since been settled.

Amazon.com said it has not been able to keep up with the demand for Kindle, which costs $359, and as of last week had run out. To deal with the demand, Amazon.com has encouraged buyers to reserve a Kindle by ordering in advance.

In the future, however, readers will also be able to read Kindle e-books on mobile phones.

Wave of the Future

While books and newspapers continue to be the dominant platform for reading, there is a shift toward mobile devices. Consumers continue to embrace change, such as newspaper readers who get their daily news online and hard-copy book readers who are beginning to see convenience in reading a book electronically.

"This is clearly a wave of the future," said Michael Gartenberg, a technology analyst. "For some people you will want a dedicated e-book reader; for others it is about the screens that they are carrying around in their pockets. It makes great sense for Amazon to not only want Kindle to be a device, but software as well."

Will consumers be receptive to using Kindle e-books on cell phones? Gartenberg said yes. "It's about consumers who want their content to flow device to device and location to location."

Companies such as Sony are paying attention and want a piece of the e-book market. Sony has come out with the PRS-505 Portable Digital e-Reader System. Stanza, an e-book reader software developer, has sealed a deal with Random House to allow several books to be read on the iPhone.

Easy Reading

Electronic readers were listed as the second fastest-growing products in 2008 based on estimated shipment revenues, according to the Consumer Electronics Association. E-reader shipment revenues grew 265 percent, according CEA, who expects revenues for e-reading devices to increase 110 percent this year.

Advances in screen resolution have helped consumers embrace the idea of using a mobile phone to read a novel. And some consumers, according to Gartenberg, would rather have it all in one device instead of multiple devices or having to lug a book around.

Amazon.com's leaders are grateful for Kindle's success, but say sales of physical books are still greater than for electronic books.