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Old 11-21-2008, 10:53 AM   #8
KurtJohnson
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Posts: 10
Karma: 100
Join Date: Oct 2008
Device: Cybook, Sony 505
Thank you for asking GntlmnBndt,

This is great feedback. As soon as the eReader software enables direct downloads from our site to the iPhone, we intend to test it, support it and deploy it. At the moment, the application interface from Fictionwise has not yet been made available to us. Fictionwise, who owns eReader, told us they hoped to have an interface to allow this some time this fall and, as far as we know, are still working hard at getting a solution to us and others ebook retailers. Mobipocket is, apparently, also hard at work on an iPhone solution. We are very happy to have a partial Adobe solution at the moment as Adobe format users make up about half of our registered customers. Plus the titles we have for the Adobe solution are completely ePUB compliant, a critical factor in that adopting this industry standard is one of the best hopes for industry convergence on a universally satisfying experience for customers.

In the end, we (BooksOnBoard) are agnostic about format for readers, believing in any format that will bring superior value to the individual reader. Standards like ePUB, however, can make this happen faster since everyone does not have to re-invent the wheel. Those who choose to develop proprietary solutions are ultimately working against the customer in the interest of dreams of becoming the next iTunes - which is not likely to happen in a space as diverse as eBooks. Nor is it necessarily desirable. More than 80% of content on iPods around the world is not purchased from the iTunes store. Apple makes its profit on the devices themselves, not the music. Customers like and require options for their content with variables in, among other things, selection, price and source.

At the moment, the experience of superior value and the appropriate format often varies from customer to customer, depending on reading devices and other personal preferences. Our top goal is - sometimes in an inch by inch battle - to improve the customer experience, customer options and value received by the customer, both at BooksOnBoard and with our competitors. The eBook space is still young and too small for us not to work together. We are in a very inter-dependent industry which means there are more i's to dot and more t's to cross to get to superior customer value. But this also ultimately will result in an improved total experience for customers that read ebooks, including more buying choice, additional value to that found with traditional print books, and ultimately reliable ease of use across the spectrum. We are obviously not yet there as a company or an industry, but achieving all this remains core to the BooksOnBoard mission with every one of our employees.

And thank you for also participating in this forum, it is a tremendous resource for eBook readers and users of reader devices.

Kurt Johnson
BooksOnBoard
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