The battle over the e-book market has just gotten a little nastier. According to Sony, Apple is now telling some application developers that they can not create apps for the iPad and iPhone that would allow users to purchase content — or even be able to access content — that isn’t sold through its App Store.

A Sony exec tells the NY Times that Apple rejected a Sony iPhone app that would have allowed people to purchase and read e-books from the Sony Reader Store.

“It’s the opposite of what we wanted to bring to the market,” Steve Haber, president of Sony’s digital reading division, tells the paper. “We always wanted to bring the content to as many devices as possible, not one device to one store.”

Like the rejected Sony app, Amazon’s Kindle app currently allows users to read their Amazon e-book purchases on iPhones and iPads without having to use an actual Kindle. But if Apple extends these content restrictions to other companies, that may cease to be the case.

Apple Moves to Tighten Control of App Store [NY Times]

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