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t1mc · 09-15-2009, 10:45 AM

Hope this isn't too long

I sent the email below to Random House. Yes we do get ripped off outside the US and it IS the greedy publishers over here. I tried Fictionwise and Shortcovers.com and the UK region cannot be supplied.

"Hi, I have scoured the internet for Dan Brown’s ‘The Lost Symbol’ in an ebook format that I prefer, Mobipocket, and it is not there.

I contemplated buying the Kindle version…I don’t own a kindle,, nor do I wish to own one, I have a perfectly good mobile phone that is a better form factor for my needs, ie it’s easy to carry around. I cannot purchase the Kindle version even though, according to many forums, the format is actually mobipocket….also owned by Amazon!

I then contemplated buying the epub version but it doesn’t appear until a day later. For some reason the ereader version and Kindle versions are available the same day as the book launch, yet the epub version is not available until 16th September.

Why would I buy the epub version? Because I can convert it to run on my phone’s mobipocket…you get my money, I get my book...I clearly break any DRM on the book but at least I get to read it on the train to work.

I could just buy the book….I will as my family want to read it…..but I don’t want to read the physical book when I have a perfectly good machine that serves me well for other Dan Brown books as well as many others….therefore maybe I will also download a dodgy copy as well, after all I’ve paid for the book which I would read if I had to, but don’t want to.

On the other hand if, as it looks like I’m forced to buy the physical book, maybe I should go to the library, no DRM, or even borrow it off a friend…..is this peer to peer?

Yours in absolute frustration.

Tim, proud owner of a Sony Ericsson P1i smartphone with Mobipocket

PS. Just as a suggestion, I would happily pay a bit more for an instant electronic copy (in all formats) with a copy of the book to be sent to my home address at your leisure (or a downloadable voucher to use at a retail outlet)…..after all the ebook costs little to distribute, and costs nothing in stock holding."

09-15-2009, 10:45 AM	#11
t1mc Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: Sony Ericsson P1i	I writ a letter to the publisher lol! Hope this isn't too long I sent the email below to Random House. Yes we do get ripped off outside the US and it IS the greedy publishers over here. I tried Fictionwise and Shortcovers.com and the UK region cannot be supplied. "Hi, I have scoured the internet for Dan Brown’s ‘The Lost Symbol’ in an ebook format that I prefer, Mobipocket, and it is not there. I contemplated buying the Kindle version…I don’t own a kindle,, nor do I wish to own one, I have a perfectly good mobile phone that is a better form factor for my needs, ie it’s easy to carry around. I cannot purchase the Kindle version even though, according to many forums, the format is actually mobipocket….also owned by Amazon! I then contemplated buying the epub version but it doesn’t appear until a day later. For some reason the ereader version and Kindle versions are available the same day as the book launch, yet the epub version is not available until 16th September. Why would I buy the epub version? Because I can convert it to run on my phone’s mobipocket…you get my money, I get my book...I clearly break any DRM on the book but at least I get to read it on the train to work. I could just buy the book….I will as my family want to read it…..but I don’t want to read the physical book when I have a perfectly good machine that serves me well for other Dan Brown books as well as many others….therefore maybe I will also download a dodgy copy as well, after all I’ve paid for the book which I would read if I had to, but don’t want to. On the other hand if, as it looks like I’m forced to buy the physical book, maybe I should go to the library, no DRM, or even borrow it off a friend…..is this peer to peer? Yours in absolute frustration. Tim, proud owner of a Sony Ericsson P1i smartphone with Mobipocket PS. Just as a suggestion, I would happily pay a bit more for an instant electronic copy (in all formats) with a copy of the book to be sent to my home address at your leisure (or a downloadable voucher to use at a retail outlet)…..after all the ebook costs little to distribute, and costs nothing in stock holding."