600k ebooks in 5 days - Page 2

Donnageddon · 04-09-2010, 06:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scottjl

'cause it's going to make him rich(er)..

Correct! But actually it was a rhetorical question.

cmdahler · 04-09-2010, 06:47 PM

Imagine rhetoric in a literary forum...

But seriously, worst case is they are counting WTP. That still means they've had a solid few hundred thousand other books downloaded. That's just in a few days. How long did it take Amazon to hit numbers like that, I wonder? How many books has Sony sold to date through their store? The numbers associated with the iPad are just overwhelming; they likely won't keep this kind of pace up past another few months, but it is a foregone conclusion at this point that Apple is going to smother everyone else in the ebook market, just like they've done in the music industry. Even if they never make any improvements to their rather basic implementation of ePub, it won't matter a whit, since what they've got going now is "good enough" for the vast majority.

scottjl · 04-09-2010, 07:12 PM

actually, i don't think apple will smother everyone else in the book market. the reason they did in the music market was because they were pretty much the only game in town at the time. itunes was there, the ipod was out, apple got into the content. apple is a late-comer to the ebook game and they allow other players in their field (kindle, kobo, b&n, etc.) which is a good thing for consumers, imho.

i don't care for kindle because i don't like amazon's big-brother tactics with the whole 1984 fiasco and how they resolved it, but i could see them dominating the book market. they are the only player who can offer their ebooks on a multitude of platforms, including the ipad, and the iphone (which apple won't do for several more months), macs, pc's, their own hardware, etc. in addition to syncing across all devices. if anything, amazon should give up on the hardware business (can't imagine it makes a lot of money for them in the long run) and concentrate on their ebook store, offerings and software. ok. so apple can sell ebooks to XXX million iphone/ipad users. amazon can sell to them AND everyone else too.

the only thing i'd like to see amazon do is incorporate the best features of stanza into their kindle app, including importing drm-free epub documents, and i'd ditch ibooks in a heartbeat.

Drybonz · 04-10-2010, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scottjl

the only thing i'd like to see amazon do is incorporate the best features of stanza into their kindle app, including importing drm-free epub documents, and i'd ditch ibooks in a heartbeat.

Can't you send epubs to the Kindle app from Calibre, as you would with an actual Kindle? I haven't tried this yet... I need to look into it.

I prefer Kindle to iBooks right now because the book selection is a lot better. I like the in-app purchases with the iBooks, but I can't find a lot of titles and authors I'm looking for in their store.

jswinden · 04-10-2010, 07:39 PM

If they sold 300,000+ iPads, which is the number I read, then that is less than two books per iPad. Not all that impressive if you do the math.

tomsem · 04-10-2010, 07:43 PM

iBooks effectively has only about 30000 titles (excluding public domain). Amazon, B&N, Sony have roughly ten times that, and seem to be adding 30000 every month or two. In addition, so far, Apple is insisting on the 'agency' model, which some major publishers (Random House) are not agreeing to. I don't see them achieving parity on selection for quite awhile, if ever. Rather, it seems Apple is only interested in offering more high volume, mainstream/bestseller titles (like what you might find at Walmart CostCo etc), and will not pursue the 'long tail' that would attract the more adventurous and voracious readers who patronize Amazon and B&N.

It is also says something that iBooks doesn't come pre-loaded. It's more of a 'there's an app for that', checkbox thing than any major component of Apple's business strategy. They are just trying to carve out some additional profits with as little work as possible. If they can sell iPads to Amazon and B&N customers, so much the better, more eyeballs for iTunes store also, and locking people into the larger Apple ecosystem (if you have purchased hundreds of dollars in iPad apps, are you going to buy an Android or Windows tablet in the future?). In that light, iBooks is more proof-of-concept rather than 'Kindle killer'.

dmaul1114 · 04-10-2010, 08:11 PM

Apple isn't very interested in the e-book market. It's still a pretty small niche, and there's not much money to be made in selling them. Amazon and Sony make money on their hardware, not their books stores so much.

Apple does the same--make most of their money by selling iPods and iPads, not so much from the Apps store, iTunes music/video etc.

And they know (or think, per Jobs comments) that there's not that big of an e-book market so they're going to focus more on apps, games, video, internet etc. to sell the iPad vs. trying to make the iBook store any big selling point.

The strength of the iPad as reader will be the access to different stores and drm formats through apps. So in that sense it can sell itself to people who want e-books even if the iBook store sucks, so I'd be shocked to see them put much effort into the store.

searcher · 04-11-2010, 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scottjl

according to steve jobs, people downloaded 600k books in 5 days from the itunes book store. not too shabby.. about 250k were downloaded in the first day alone.

600k ebooks has been downloaded, but how many of them has been read on that glossy, LCD screen??

dmaul1114 · 04-11-2010, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by searcher

600k ebooks has been downloaded, but how many of them has been readed on that bad for eyes, glossy, LCD screen??

Have you read on it?

I hate reading on my laptop or monitor but really like reading on my Girlfriend's laptop. I probably even prefer it to my Kindle for my reading patterns--usually pretty dim lighting, seldom read for more than an hour at a time etc. Turn the brightness down and it doesn't bother my eyes--maybe it would others, especially those who read for several hours at a time.

But I find having a tablet form to hold it like I do my Kindle in terms of distance from eyes, adjusting brightness to the level appropriate for the ambient lighting etc. to be a great reading experience, and nothing like reading on my laptop or desktop screens.

volwrath · 04-11-2010, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by searcher

600k ebooks has been downloaded, but how many of them has been read on that glossy, LCD screen??

Just a point of clarification. If 450,000 iPads have been sold, and all 450,000 downloaded iBooks it stands to reason that 450,000 out of 600,000 were winnie the poo

Donnageddon · 04-11-2010, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by searcher

600k ebooks has been downloaded, but how many of them has been read on that glossy, LCD screen??

I haven't downloaded anything but the free pooh, but I have read a couple of novels on that "glossy LCD screen". It is extremely comfortable, clear and easy on my eyes. The iPad is my favorite reader now. I will keep my 505 for portability, and for that moment that has never happened when I want to read on the beach.

scottjl · 04-11-2010, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by searcher

600k ebooks has been downloaded, but how many of them has been read on that glossy, LCD screen??

yes. 3 books so far and it was nice easy reading, even in the dark.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
away for a few days	zelda_pinwheel	Lounge	68	03-17-2010 10:20 AM
Days of Christmas	AprilHare	Lounge	9	12-22-2009 02:13 AM
Ebooks 50% off of Textbook version, but expire in 180 days.	primbs	News	0	05-18-2009 12:02 AM

04-09-2010, 06:47 PM	#17
cmdahler Addict Posts: 292 Karma: 24688 Join Date: Aug 2009 Device: Sony PRS-505, iPad	Imagine rhetoric in a literary forum... But seriously, worst case is they are counting WTP. That still means they've had a solid few hundred thousand other books downloaded. That's just in a few days. How long did it take Amazon to hit numbers like that, I wonder? How many books has Sony sold to date through their store? The numbers associated with the iPad are just overwhelming; they likely won't keep this kind of pace up past another few months, but it is a foregone conclusion at this point that Apple is going to smother everyone else in the ebook market, just like they've done in the music industry. Even if they never make any improvements to their rather basic implementation of ePub, it won't matter a whit, since what they've got going now is "good enough" for the vast majority.

04-09-2010, 07:12 PM	#18
scottjl Reader of Books Posts: 1,632 Karma: 2697 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: none	actually, i don't think apple will smother everyone else in the book market. the reason they did in the music market was because they were pretty much the only game in town at the time. itunes was there, the ipod was out, apple got into the content. apple is a late-comer to the ebook game and they allow other players in their field (kindle, kobo, b&n, etc.) which is a good thing for consumers, imho. i don't care for kindle because i don't like amazon's big-brother tactics with the whole 1984 fiasco and how they resolved it, but i could see them dominating the book market. they are the only player who can offer their ebooks on a multitude of platforms, including the ipad, and the iphone (which apple won't do for several more months), macs, pc's, their own hardware, etc. in addition to syncing across all devices. if anything, amazon should give up on the hardware business (can't imagine it makes a lot of money for them in the long run) and concentrate on their ebook store, offerings and software. ok. so apple can sell ebooks to XXX million iphone/ipad users. amazon can sell to them AND everyone else too. the only thing i'd like to see amazon do is incorporate the best features of stanza into their kindle app, including importing drm-free epub documents, and i'd ditch ibooks in a heartbeat.

04-10-2010, 07:39 PM	#20
jswinden Nameless Being	If they sold 300,000+ iPads, which is the number I read, then that is less than two books per iPad. Not all that impressive if you do the math.

04-10-2010, 07:43 PM	#21
tomsem Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,939 Karma: 27060151 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: USA Device: iPhone 15PM, Kindle Scribe, iPad mini 6, PocketBook InkPad Color 3	iBooks effectively has only about 30000 titles (excluding public domain). Amazon, B&N, Sony have roughly ten times that, and seem to be adding 30000 every month or two. In addition, so far, Apple is insisting on the 'agency' model, which some major publishers (Random House) are not agreeing to. I don't see them achieving parity on selection for quite awhile, if ever. Rather, it seems Apple is only interested in offering more high volume, mainstream/bestseller titles (like what you might find at Walmart CostCo etc), and will not pursue the 'long tail' that would attract the more adventurous and voracious readers who patronize Amazon and B&N. It is also says something that iBooks doesn't come pre-loaded. It's more of a 'there's an app for that', checkbox thing than any major component of Apple's business strategy. They are just trying to carve out some additional profits with as little work as possible. If they can sell iPads to Amazon and B&N customers, so much the better, more eyeballs for iTunes store also, and locking people into the larger Apple ecosystem (if you have purchased hundreds of dollars in iPad apps, are you going to buy an Android or Windows tablet in the future?). In that light, iBooks is more proof-of-concept rather than 'Kindle killer'.

04-10-2010, 08:11 PM	#22
dmaul1114 Wizard Posts: 2,300 Karma: 1121709 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Amazon Kindle 1	Apple isn't very interested in the e-book market. It's still a pretty small niche, and there's not much money to be made in selling them. Amazon and Sony make money on their hardware, not their books stores so much. Apple does the same--make most of their money by selling iPods and iPads, not so much from the Apps store, iTunes music/video etc. And they know (or think, per Jobs comments) that there's not that big of an e-book market so they're going to focus more on apps, games, video, internet etc. to sell the iPad vs. trying to make the iBook store any big selling point. The strength of the iPad as reader will be the access to different stores and drm formats through apps. So in that sense it can sell itself to people who want e-books even if the iBook store sucks, so I'd be shocked to see them put much effort into the store.