Barnes and Noble announces upcoming eReader

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by dpierron

I'm not sure... eReader.com and Fictionwise.com are still separate sites, although the customer accounts are linked.
The best way to know is to ask the people who know : I've asked B&N about this, and here is their reply.

All that does is tell us the status quo. That doesn't mean it won't change.

BOb

[mgrunk]

Dream of dreams - I'd love to go to my local B&N and browse all the books, and then hook up my reader and buy and download there at the store. I love the browsing experiencing at brick and mortar book stores. I know, I could make a list and take it home and buy ... but it's not the same as impulse buying (my husband would love to cut my impulse buying to zero :-) And, then I could go sit in the cafe and eat a scone, drink some coffee and read my new book.

[khalleron]

Originally Posted by ficbot

I hope they don't merge. I am in Canada and can't use the B&N site. I think these ebook stores really need to start understanding that not everyone lives in the USA.

It's not the stores, it's the publishers that enforce the geographical restrictions. FW would LOVE to sell you books - but if the publishers won't allow it, then they can't.

[sassanik]

When B&N bought fictionwise didn't they get ebookwise and their reader? It would seem that a reader that they already own the rights to would be a good place to start. If they added eReader support for the EB1150 I think it might be much more marketable.


Amy

[lunged]

The news of them supporting ePub is very strange... but I am glad this is what they intend to do, as I am a big ePub supporter.
But the question on my mind is WHY launch an eBook store when it is less than half-baked? This store is a big deal, and they really botched the launch. The device won't be out until 2010 and they will transition their files from eReader to ePub over the next year? This doesn't make business sense any way you look at it.

[griffonwing]

Originally Posted by lunged

The news of them supporting ePub is very strange... but I am glad this is what they intend to do, as I am a big ePub supporter.
But the question on my mind is WHY launch an eBook store when it is less than half-baked? This store is a big deal, and they really botched the launch. The device won't be out until 2010 and they will transition their files from eReader to ePub over the next year? This doesn't make business sense any way you look at it.

Well, a sale is a sale. If they can sell epub files now, for reading on the PC/mac/other readers, and maybe charge a nominal fee for downloading the epub ones after the switch, so much the better. Even if they dont charge a nominal fee down the road, they still sell books, and a few sales are better than no sales at all.

[Daithi]

Originally Posted by lunged

The news of them supporting ePub is very strange... but I am glad this is what they intend to do, as I am a big ePub supporter.
But the question on my mind is WHY launch an eBook store when it is less than half-baked? This store is a big deal, and they really botched the launch. The device won't be out until 2010 and they will transition their files from eReader to ePub over the next year? This doesn't make business sense any way you look at it.

I tend to agree with lunged. My guess is that they have have executives that are experts in the publishing and bookselling arena, but don't neccessarily understand the differences between formats such as ePub, eReader, and PDF. Nor do they fully understand how DRM is implemented into their business plan. Executives tend to ask questions like "Can we get this thing to work the iPhone?" and when they are told "Yes, but..." they stop listening after the word "Yes" and make some bad decisions.

[MerLock]

I'm a little disappointed in the news that B&N has no immediate plans to make their ebooks compadable on the Sony Reader. I see them as a book store who would want to sell as many books as possible and thus providing formats that would support a variety of electronic readers. This would open up more options for people who want to purchase ebooks.

I have a question regarding their ebook services. Can I download a local copy to keep as a back-up on my computer or are books that I would purchase only kept on their servers? The reason I'm asking is because I like having a copy of the digital version for myself in case the servers were ever to go down or they decide to shut down the ebook library.

I don't own a Kindle but I believe Amazon uploads directly onto the device, ie. the Kindle or Ipod and there is no easy way to make backups of those files to your computer. Does B&N work the sameway?

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by MerLock

I have a question regarding their ebook services. Can you download a local copy to keep as back-up on my computer or are books that I would purchase only kept on their servers? The reason I'm asking is because I like having a copy of the digital version for myself in case the servers were ever to go down or they decide to shut down the ebook library.

The eReader DRM (encryption) is the most future proof and multi-device friendly of any of the major DRM schemes. It is based on your exact name and credit card number, but it is not locked into any particular devices (i.e. use on as many devices as you want). There are also more types of devices supported by eReader than any other single reader with DRM, and the list will soon be expanded to include Android phones and Linux desktops (and EInk devices).

You can save a copy of the file on your PC, and it will continue to work so long as you remember the name and CC number. These are typically kept in your account (e.g. at FictionWise), but you may want it somewhere else that is safe. Only the last 8 digits of the number are used, so you don't need to store the entire credit card number.

As others have mentioned, eReader looks very good on small screens but has fewer style/layout options and smaller images sizes than its competitors - which puts it at a disadvantage on large screens. See A Comparison of format limitations based on The Hobbit.

[SteveK]

The B&N ereader software is not compatible with my Palm TX. Hoping that the books were your standard pdb books, I purchased one title and tried to download it to my Palm, since I have both Mobipocket and ereader software on it. Unfortunately, the title I purchased didn't load and one of the free titles loaded but would not open. Thus, it appears that B&N uses a proprietary form of ereader, which only their software will read.

I've been thinking about buying the Ipod Touch as a backup reader and to have access to Kindle (and now B&N) titles, but I was hoping the B&N books would be usable on my Palm TX, but apparently no such luck.

Looks like I may need to buy that Ipod after all (or a refurbished Kindle 1 for a slightly lower price).

SteveK

[=X=]

Originally Posted by Daithi

I tend to agree with lunged. My guess is that they have have executives that are experts in the publishing and bookselling arena, but don't neccessarily understand the differences between formats such as ePub, eReader, and PDF. Nor do they fully understand how DRM is implemented into their business plan. Executives tend to ask questions like "Can we get this thing to work the iPhone?" and when they are told "Yes, but..." they stop listening after the word "Yes" and make some bad decisions.

Actually what B&N is very smart. They have entered the eBook market and that is most important. Not only that but they have one of the larger client base than Amazon and Sony put together, the support BlackBerry/iPhone/PC/Mac. Now they have leverage.

As for the eReader vs ePUB, the biggest comparability issue is not the format but the DRM. Since they will keep the same DRM scheme changing from eReader to ePUB will be transparent, all they have to do is push an update and you have instant support to ePUB books and the process is hidden from the user.

Originally Posted by wallcraft

The eReader DRM (encryption) is the most future proof ... You can save a copy of the file on your PC, and it will continue to work so long as you remember the name and CC number.

Some good points wallcraft, also if you forget your CC you can always update the store you bought from with a new CC and redownload the book.

Originally Posted by SteveK

...Thus, it appears that B&N uses a proprietary form of ereader, which only their software will read.

B&N does not use a proprietary eReader format, I know myself and another user on this forum have successfully tested Fictionwise eReader format with B&N.

=X=

[junkyardwillie]

Originally Posted by =X=

Actually what B&N is very smart. They have entered the eBook market and that is most important. Not only that but they have one of the larger client base than Amazon and Sony put together, the support BlackBerry/iPhone/PC/Mac. Now they have leverage.

As for the eReader vs ePUB, the biggest comparability issue is not the format but the DRM. Since they will keep the same DRM scheme changing from eReader to ePUB will be transparent, all they have to do is push an update and you have instant support to ePUB books and the process is hidden from the user.



Some good points wallcraft, also if you forget your CC you can always update the store you bought from with a new CC and redownload the book.


B&N does not use a proprietary eReader format, I know myself and another user on this forum have successfully tested Fictionwise eReader format with B&N.

=X=

Doesnt the iPhone have a kindle app? How do they have the largest client base for a device that isn't even out yet? If everyone decided to buy their books from B&N then they would have the largest base as of now I really doubt they do and a lot of people don't like their pricing so will stick to buying through other non-Amazon sites, its a big jump to say they have the largest client base.

[djgreedo]

I'm not American so I probably couldn't buy from Barnes and Noble if I wanted to, but the way these companies treat customers is really annoying me.

Technology makes it possible for anybody with access to the Internet to pay and download any book ever written (within reason) yet these companies cripple that technology to limit what can and can't be used on any given device. It's stupid.

The choice of books is limited to what device you want to read it on (and is affected by 'exclusives' and format limitations). This is really sad. Imagine if only DVDs from a certain film studio would work on your TV or if only CDs from certain artists worked in your CD player.

It's also stupid that I can buy a book off Amazon and have it shipped to Australia (at quite an extra cost to me) but I can't go on the Amazon ebook store (or Sony store) and buy the same book in electronic format and have it on my reader within minutes (and without an extra $10 for shipping) even though the technology is there.

On the bright side I've probably saved $100 this year so far on books I couldn't buy due to availability/format restrictions and Cory Doctorow has a new fan willing to pay for his books in future after having read some of his DRM-free stuff for free.

[junkyardwillie]

Originally Posted by djgreedo

I'm not American so I probably couldn't buy from Barnes and Noble if I wanted to, but the way these companies treat customers is really annoying me.

Technology makes it possible for anybody with access to the Internet to pay and download any book ever written (within reason) yet these companies cripple that technology to limit what can and can't be used on any given device. It's stupid.

The choice of books is limited to what device you want to read it on (and is affected by 'exclusives' and format limitations). This is really sad. Imagine if only DVDs from a certain film studio would work on your TV or if only CDs from certain artists worked in your CD player.

It's also stupid that I can buy a book off Amazon and have it shipped to Australia (at quite an extra cost to me) but I can't go on the Amazon ebook store (or Sony store) and buy the same book in electronic format and have it on my reader within minutes (and without an extra $10 for shipping) even though the technology is there.

On the bright side I've probably saved $100 this year so far on books I couldn't buy due to availability/format restrictions and Cory Doctorow has a new fan willing to pay for his books in future after having read some of his DRM-free stuff for free.

They all want to try to make themselves the main hub by blocking out their competitors but if they were smart they would let everyone no matter what device you use download and read the books no matter if you want to read it on your phone, pc, Mac, eReader device or whatever. They purposefully limit their market which is just dumb. I understand there may be issues with publishers to sell internationally but to announce that you are not going to support certain competitive devices is just stupid, they should be trying to figure out a way to get their books to be read on the other devices so they aren't waiting for people to buy the new eReader to get some revenue. It amazes me how poorly these companies seem to be run in their eBook divisions.

[ficbot]

Originally Posted by khalleron

It's not the stores, it's the publishers that enforce the geographical restrictions. FW would LOVE to sell you books - but if the publishers won't allow it, then they can't.

Fictionwise has no problem selling me the books. That's why I want them to stay separate from Barnes & Noble. Canada and the USA are in the same publishing 'zone' so it baffles me that Amazon Kindle and B&N seem to be excluding Canadian customers. This whole zone thing needs to be done away with ASAP anyway, but the Canada/US thing is especially baffling because we are considered the same publishing region in the print world. This is totally a case of the companies making complications where none need exist.

So Fictionwise had better stay Fictionwise and not merge with B&N! If they do, it will be a slap in the face to all their non-American existing customers.