iPhone Public Domain Books for 99 cents

[TheJohnNewton]

Originally Posted by HarryT

There actually is, believe it or not, a reading app (for text files) available for Canon DSLRs .

Lol, should I ask Nikon when they'll have a mobi reader app? Maybe I could ditch my Kindle

[RickyMaveety]

OK .... here are my questions for whoever wrote that article ...

1. How well are you able to read from the iPhone in direct sunlight?
2. How long does the battery last when you are reading?
3. Since books in the public domain are generally available for free elsewhere, how is selling them for 99 cents supposed to be a good deal?
4. What different font sizes are available, and how well do large fonts display on the iPhone screen (with respect to reading)?
5. How is staring at any piece of electronic equipment supposed to make someone look "sexy."?

[HarryT]

I can answer some of your questions.

Originally Posted by RickyMaveety

OK .... here are my questions for whoever wrote that article ...

1. How well are you able to read from the iPhone in direct sunlight?

Reasonably well. Not great, but it's OK.

2. How long does the battery last when you are reading?

About 6h.

3. Since books in the public domain are generally available for free elsewhere, how is selling them for 99 cents supposed to be a good deal?

Er, why are bookshops full of books by authors like Dickens and Shakespeare? For many people the convenience of buying a book that someone else has created outweighs being able to get it "for free" for themselves.

4. What different font sizes are available, and how well do large fonts display on the iPhone screen (with respect to reading)?

Can't help you with that one, I'm afraid.

5. How is staring at any piece of electronic equipment supposed to make someone look "sexy."?

Depends what else you're wearing at the time?

[jerryleejr]

Originally Posted by RickyMaveety

OK .... here are my questions for whoever wrote that article ...

1. How well are you able to read from the iPhone in direct sunlight?
2. How long does the battery last when you are reading?
3. Since books in the public domain are generally available for free elsewhere, how is selling them for 99 cents supposed to be a good deal?
4. What different font sizes are available, and how well do large fonts display on the iPhone screen (with respect to reading)?
5. How is staring at any piece of electronic equipment supposed to make someone look "sexy."?

Yeah what she said, (I am seeing a trend of me riding your coat tails Rick)
As for the looking sexy some people need all the help you I mean they can get!

JJ

[jerryleejr]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Depends what else you're wearing at the time?

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by RickyMaveety

3. Since books in the public domain are generally available for free elsewhere, how is selling them for 99 cents supposed to be a good deal?

I think $.99 is reasonable for assemblying the book, formating it, uploading it to apples servers. That's not really bad. Amazon sells Pride and Prejudice for Kindle for about $.25 - $3.00.

BOb

[pagansoul]

Well I tried eReader on my iPhone, I got 2 free books, Last of the Mohicans and Tarzan of the Apes. Both look great. It does use your bookshelf from, in my case, Fictionwise. It will not replace my Kindle but it's nice to have.

[jerryleejr]

Originally Posted by pagansoul

Well I tried eReader on my iPhone, I got 2 free books, Last of the Mohicans and Tarzan of the Apes. Both look great. It does use your bookshelf from, in my case, Fictionwise. It will not replace my Kindle but it's nice to have.

SO would you say that it is a nice interim solution until one can buy an actual Reader?

JJ

[RickyMaveety]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

I think $.99 is reasonable for assemblying the book, formating it, uploading it to apples servers. That's not really bad. Amazon sells Pride and Prejudice for Kindle for about $.25 - $3.00.

BOb

Yes, but then I don't generally purchase books in the public domain. And, the article makes it sound as if the 99 cent price will apply to all books, such that it is a better deal than can be found at Amazon or at another bookstore.

So, if Amazon has the public domain book at say .... 25 cents, then that would make it a better deal than the Apple version. And, if that same PD book is here for free ... that makes it a really great deal.

My thought is that the article is maybe just a bit biased ... more like an advertisement than an article.

However, the iPhone is not my thing ... touch screens can be nice, but they get grungy way too quickly. Heck ... my sunglasses are almost opaque with smudges and goop at the end of the day, and I'm trying hard NOT to touch them.

But, for people who like touch screens, and don't want to tote around a regular ebook reader, it may be just perfect. I just wish the article had been a bit less evangalistic in the review.

[HarryT]

You appear to be implying that work done in producing a nice edition of a public domain book is completely without value. Those of us who have spend many hundreds - probably thousands - of hours creating books which we're uploaded to this site might beg to differ .

[TheJohnNewton]

Originally Posted by HarryT

You appear to be implying that work done in producing a nice edition of a public domain book is completely without value. Those of us who have spend many hundreds - probably thousands - of hours creating books which we're uploaded to this site might beg to differ .

Harry,

I'd say the quality of the books found here are generally better than the quality of the public domain books found on the Amazon site or pretty much any other site. I always look here first. Thanks for all your hard work and that done by others who have formatted and uploaded books here. Your work is VERY valuable :-)

[HarryT]

That was rather the point that I was making. The source material may be "free", but time taken to nicely format them, etc, certainly isn't. To complain about someone charging 99c for such a book does seem a little churlish.

[RickyMaveety]

Originally Posted by HarryT

You appear to be implying that work done in producing a nice edition of a public domain book is completely without value. Those of us who have spend many hundreds - probably thousands - of hours creating books which we're uploaded to this site might beg to differ .

No, Harry, I am not implying that, or inferring that, or even saying that. What I am saying is, why would anyone write in an article that reading on an iPhone is a great thing because they can get public domain books for 99 cents .... when people (thanks to the volunteers here and at Gutenberg and other sites) can get public domain books for FREE for their ebook readers??

I could see it being a big deal if they had the current best sellers on Apple for 99 cents. Now that would be a deal compared to Amazon's $9.99. Even purchased at Amazon (as you have noted) public domain books are available for as low as 25 cents. So, again, why would it be a "deal" to get them for 99 cents from Apple??

Certainly I think there is value in the work that volunteers do. I am amazed that you all are able to do as many books as you do. But, if you expect monetary recognition for your work, then you should not be doing it as a volunteer.

I'm sure Apple will make a nice profit off of 99 cent public domain books ... from those people who read an article like that and think that 99 cents for a book they could get for free elsewhere is a "deal." Me .... not so much.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by RickyMaveety

why would anyone write in an article that reading on an iPhone is a great thing because they can get public domain books for 99 cents ....

Here's my Letterman style top 5 reasons:

5. They don't know that you can download PD books for free.

4. The don't know that public domain means 100 years old.

3. They felt $.99 is a good value for the books.

2. They want people under 30 to real Tolstoy, Shakespeare, Stevenson, Szu, etc.

1. The person that wrote the article works for AppEngines, LLC and wants to sell public domain books to make some money.

[BTW: This isn't Apple.... yes Apple takes 30% of any app store sale]

BOb

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Here's my Letterman style top 5 reasons:

5. They don't know that you can download PD books for free.

4. The don't know that public domain means 100 years old.

3. They felt $.99 is a good value for the books.

2. They want people under 30 to real Tolstoy, Shakespeare, Stevenson, Szu, etc.

1. The person that wrote the article works for AppEngines, LLC and wants to sell public domain books to make some money.

[BTW: This isn't Apple.... yes Apple takes 30% of any app store sale]

BOb

How many public domain eBooks are formatted specifically for the iPhone? That is a value add in my mind. Reading PG text is not fun on any small device.

Dale