iPad Oyster is now on the iPad, offering 30-days free, credit card required, invite-free

Jessica Lares · 10-16-2013, 02:48 PM

Oyster has now opened up their paid Netflix-like book service to the iPad. You need a credit card though. I'm enjoying it so far, it's really nice. The recommendation sections are so great, on the main page, and then on the related books.

It's a little glitchy at the moment, but I think that's because so many people have jumped on the free access today.

Larla · 10-17-2013, 07:02 AM

It sounded interesting but the real problem that I saw is that you have to use their reading app. That means I can't use Marvin!!

Is that really true or did I misunderstand? Just how good is their app?

Faterson · 10-17-2013, 09:28 AM

Great thing as a concept. I believe this is the future of e-books: read any number of books for a fixed monthly price. $10 per month is fine.

They would need to expand their coverage, though, to make it fully international. Every language should be represented as extensively in scope as English-language books.

And I agree we should be allowed to read books in any app we prefer, which for me would be Marvin as well. Or, they'd need to improve their app to Marvin's level, which seems unlikely, given that even a mega-corporation like Amazon is unable/unwilling to do so with Kindle.

Faterson · 10-17-2013, 09:39 AM

Not to mention this bit:

Quote:

Oyster is currently available in the United States and for US-based credit cards. We are working hard to expand to new markets in the future.

... so I can't currently even try it.

The "we're working on..." line is used so frequently it has zero practical meaning. It could well mean that Oyster will never be available outside the US, or only in 25 years from today.

Jessica Lares · 10-17-2013, 05:08 PM

If I'm honest, I'd bet they'll be out of the game in two years time.

I could see them being eaten by Amazon. Especially as most startups these days just make these apps in order to be gobbled up.

Kinda like Catch Notes, which closed up shop recently not because of money/userbase issues, but the fact that Google, Apple, Microsoft, Evernote, and the others turned a blind eye and didn't want to buy them out.

It doesn't have margin controls, and to get to the next page, you have to swipe like you're reading a webpage.

But again, I like the recommendations, and the app itself looks very nice. I enjoy it even without the customization that Marvin, Freda+ (on my Windows Phone) have. It's still superior to the Kindle app in that sense.

For one thing, you can actually COPY & PASTE. I find that weird, being that this is a DRM'd service.

Faterson · 10-17-2013, 06:06 PM

Nothing weird about that. Not just weird, but unacceptable is disabling copy/paste. The traditional Kindle devices have always supported a sort of copy/paste equivalent, in the snippets file.

Until an electronic library allows us to use an app of our choice to read the books, or until they produce a truly superior reading app, instead of the utter mediocrity of Kindle/iBooks, that type of e-library subscription service will be of very limited usefulness.

I quite like the idea of "social DRM". But that might not be enough for publishers. Yet if they insist on draconic DRM impacting the reading experience, piracy will prevail.

10-16-2013, 02:48 PM	#1
Jessica Lares Wizard Posts: 2,240 Karma: 5759170 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Near Dallas, Texas, USA Device: iPad Mini, iPod Touch (5th gen)	Oyster is now on the iPad, offering 30-days free, credit card required, invite-free Oyster has now opened up their paid Netflix-like book service to the iPad. You need a credit card though. I'm enjoying it so far, it's really nice. The recommendation sections are so great, on the main page, and then on the related books. It's a little glitchy at the moment, but I think that's because so many people have jumped on the free access today.

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10-17-2013, 07:02 AM	#2
Larla Addict Posts: 281 Karma: 5262189 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Katy, TX Device: Samsung Tab S5E 12" Tablet	It sounded interesting but the real problem that I saw is that you have to use their reading app. That means I can't use Marvin!! Is that really true or did I misunderstand? Just how good is their app?

10-17-2013, 09:28 AM	#3
Faterson pokrývač škridiel Posts: 1,525 Karma: 3300000 Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Bratislava, Slovakia Device: 3iPad, SamsungNote & Tabs, 2OnyxBoox, Huawei 8″, PocketBook	Great thing as a concept. I believe this is the future of e-books: read any number of books for a fixed monthly price. $10 per month is fine. They would need to expand their coverage, though, to make it fully international. Every language should be represented as extensively in scope as English-language books. And I agree we should be allowed to read books in any app we prefer, which for me would be Marvin as well. Or, they'd need to improve their app to Marvin's level, which seems unlikely, given that even a mega-corporation like Amazon is unable/unwilling to do so with Kindle.

10-17-2013, 05:08 PM	#5
Jessica Lares Wizard Posts: 2,240 Karma: 5759170 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Near Dallas, Texas, USA Device: iPad Mini, iPod Touch (5th gen)	If I'm honest, I'd bet they'll be out of the game in two years time. I could see them being eaten by Amazon. Especially as most startups these days just make these apps in order to be gobbled up. Kinda like Catch Notes, which closed up shop recently not because of money/userbase issues, but the fact that Google, Apple, Microsoft, Evernote, and the others turned a blind eye and didn't want to buy them out. It doesn't have margin controls, and to get to the next page, you have to swipe like you're reading a webpage. But again, I like the recommendations, and the app itself looks very nice. I enjoy it even without the customization that Marvin, Freda+ (on my Windows Phone) have. It's still superior to the Kindle app in that sense. For one thing, you can actually COPY & PASTE. I find that weird, being that this is a DRM'd service.

10-17-2013, 06:06 PM	#6
Faterson pokrývač škridiel Posts: 1,525 Karma: 3300000 Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Bratislava, Slovakia Device: 3iPad, SamsungNote & Tabs, 2OnyxBoox, Huawei 8″, PocketBook	Nothing weird about that. Not just weird, but unacceptable is disabling copy/paste. The traditional Kindle devices have always supported a sort of copy/paste equivalent, in the snippets file. Until an electronic library allows us to use an app of our choice to read the books, or until they produce a truly superior reading app, instead of the utter mediocrity of Kindle/iBooks, that type of e-library subscription service will be of very limited usefulness. I quite like the idea of "social DRM". But that might not be enough for publishers. Yet if they insist on draconic DRM impacting the reading experience, piracy will prevail.

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