Would you buy a book as an app?

[ShortNCuddlyAm]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

Would you buy a book as an app?

I've bought one book as an app, not sure if I'd bother again unless I specifically wanted to group it with other apps rather than books

[bjones6416]

Originally Posted by avantman42

When I told a friend that I was buying a Kindle, he was rather sceptical of e-books. He showed me this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gew68Qj5kxw

His opinion is that this is where e-books could be good - having that sort of extra content. My response was that it's not a book - it's an app based on a book. I'd have no interest in it, but then I've never read Alice in Wonderland. I dare say fans of the book would love it.


Why not use any of the many communication options we already have to talk about the book? Phones (land-line and mobile), instant messaging, IRC, Skype, e-mail, forums. I already have all of these, I don't see any reason to add a book-specific one.

Hmmm... that Alice book app looks very cute. I'll bet, though, that an adult purchasing that app would spend more time showing it off to friends than he would playing with it. It might hold the interest of a young child for a little bit longer, but most young children are only going to play with the ipad under supervision so they probably wouldn't get full use out of it either.

I say buy a great pop-up book for a child (or adult) that enjoys additional stimulation with books, and stick to straight reading for e-books.

[avantman42]

Originally Posted by bjones6416

Hmmm... that Alice book app looks very cute. I'll bet, though, that an adult purchasing that app would spend more time showing it off to friends than he would playing with it.

I suspect you're right. It's impressive, but I'm not sure I'd spend much time actually playing with it. If I wanted to read Alice in Wonderland I'd certainly not buy it - I'd just get irritated at the flashy stuff getting in the way.

[Penforhire]

Absolutely not. I want my reading application to have a consistent interface and organize multiple titles, library-like. There is no reason a regular e-book can't have notes and hyper-links to expand its content without "being" an app unto itself.

[JSWolf]

Nope, a book is a book, not an app. But then, I won't ever buy any eBooks via iBooks since it's Apple's fault we have the Agency 5.