A Monday report in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has revealed that negotiations are on between HarperCollins Publishers and Apple for making electronic books available for the much-rumored, supposedly forthcoming, Apple ‘Tablet.’

With the development likely to pose a notable challenge to the Amazon Kindle e-reader, the WSJ report further elaborated that HarperCollins would likely offer enhanced e-books with video, author interviews, and social-networking applications.

As such, the e-books for the Apple tablet will be more expensive than the existing $9.99 e-book standard for a typical bestseller. As per the information forwarded by a source familiar with the proceedings, new releases of enhanced e-books – which will be sold simultaneously with the print editions - would probably cost between $14.99 and $19.99.

The WSJ report elucidated: “Amazon created the e-book market by making the $9.99 price for bestsellers an integral part of its introduction of the Kindle e-book reader. But the Kindle lacks color and video capabilities, two elements that are likely to be crucial to the future of enhanced e-books. Amazon could be shut out of enhanced e-books until the Kindle offers those features.”

While Apple has refrained from commenting about the reported e-book development, ‘inside’ sources have revealed that some other publishers are also negotiating with Apple. However, it is not sure whether the e-book titles will be sold through the iTunes Store or through a new specialized e-book store.