A few months ago I signed up for alerts about the launch of Oyster, a Netflix-like reading service. It gives you access to an unlimited number of books for a monthly fee. Today I got an email announcing that the service is live for those with an invitation (those without can join the queue to receive one). You can access it at
https://www.oysterbooks.com and there is some information about the launch at
http://blog.oysterbooks.com/. It's an iPhone-only reading app for now, which is a bit of a curious choice.
Here's an overview of the service from GigaOm, which includes some interesting details:
http://gigaom.com/2013/09/05/oyster-netflix-for-ebooks/
- The service launches with 100,000 in-copyright ebooks (i.e., not free public domain stuff)
- Publishers participating — making at least a few titles available, not their whole catalogs by any means — include HarperCollins, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Workman, Algonquin, Melville House, Rodale, Open Road, RosettaBooks, F+W Media and self-publishing distributor Smashwords.
- Oyster wouldn’t get into details about how it’s compensating publishers and authors, and wouldn’t state whether newer, more well-known titles are getting better royalties than older ones.
- With Oyster, after you add a book to your reading list, you can access it offline. You only need an internet connection to download new titles.
- An iPad app is coming this fall
- Oyster currently has no “concrete plans” to launch on platforms beyond iOS.
I've taken some screenshots of the website for those without invitations. I haven't yet had time to look at the app.
EDIT: Seems like the app is only available in the US iTunes store for now. A tweet from the developers reads, "No announced plans for expansion outside the US yet but it's definitely something we want to do."