iPad What will iPad do for e-books?

[delphidb96]

Originally Posted by dmaul1114

As I said in the other thread, really need stylus support for that, to allow highlighting, note taking, writing answers etc.

Not sure I disagree, but also not so sure I agree. I've got to see how multi-touch works on the iPad. Could be that many people will find the iPad works fine for note-taking with finger multi-touch. Besides, *MY*handwriting is atrocious and even a touch-keyboard works better for me.

Derek

[dmaul1114]

Originally Posted by delphidb96

Not sure I disagree, but also not so sure I agree. I've got to see how multi-touch works on the iPad. Could be that many people will find the iPad works fine for note-taking with finger multi-touch. Besides, *MY*handwriting is atrocious and even a touch-keyboard works better for me.

Derek

Mine's bad too. But times at a premium and I find it quicker to highlight with highlighter and jot notes in the margins with a pen.

And I jot a lot of notes as my goal is to never have to thoroughly read a scholarly article a second time, but be able to skim and look at my notes and highlights.

Same thing when I was a student and marking up books like crazy to study.

Some could certainly get by with finger touch probably. But I'd think stylus support would be preferred by most, given how much highlighting and note taking in the margins I see in my student's text books when they stop by with them to ask a question about something in the readings!

[Yoshi 1080]

Originally Posted by Moejoe

Third, the 'amateur' publishing industry will be crushed as Apple will more than likely have a strict 'vetting' policy in place like it does for the app store - and I'm betting that's how they got the publishers on board in the first place. If you're an independent writer, be prepared to have your work scrutinized and rejected like so many app developers in the past, before it even gets near the iBook level.

I don't think so. Apple uses standard EPUB with its custom FairPlay DRM, so any open EPUB files should work fine. I have been buying indie music without DRM on eMusic for years and it naturally works fine on my Apple devices. As long as the amateur publishing industry stays out of DRM, and that's what I'm assuming, they have nothing to worry about but rather a mayor opportunity.

Apart from that, I agree with you.

Personally, I think that eBooks will only then become really mainstream when they can be read on multiple purpose devices. I wouldn't buy a device for several hundred Euro that can do nothing else but display books (yes, I'm a casual reader). So I think the iPad is the ideal eBook reader for the casual reader, no matter the backlit display. I've been using my iPhone for reading before, but that was a bit too small.

Plus, and that's a really BIG plus for me, the iPad can not only display books, but also magazines and newspapers in a more sophisticated fashion than the Kindle. Has anyone seen the Times applications? It looks AWESOME. Like the paper version, but with interactivity. Really cool!

I think that the Kindle is really good for novels only. It might be the best for them, but that's not the only thing I want to read. Everything else, from academic books / specialist books to magazines to newspapers, is superior on the iPad. AND I have my complete multimedia collection and PDA programs on it as well!

I'm sure that the iPad will have a big influence on the eBook industry and will finally push it into mainstream. I guess Amazon agrees on that, since it changed its revenue model from 70/30 to 30/70 just recently.

[kjk]

Amazon's stock didn't seem to mind the announcement. I'm guessing maybe its more a validation than a threat, at this stage.

But B&N's stock took a dive for some reason.

[calvin-c]

Originally Posted by Moejoe

Third, the 'amateur' publishing industry will be crushed as Apple will more than likely have a strict 'vetting' policy in place like it does for the app store - and I'm betting that's how they got the publishers on board in the first place. If you're an independent writer, be prepared to have your work scrutinized and rejected like so many app developers in the past, before it even gets near the iBook level.

If this vetting is basically to ensure proper formatting, spelling, etc. then I think I'd approve of it-but I'm not so sure Apple's vetting of apps is as much about improving the quality as it is about maintaining control.

Assuming Apple does become dominant in the ebook field (a questionable assumption IMO) then I suspect they'll focus more on what they allow to be published than they do on how it looks. Hopefully not, but I'm more hopeful that it won't become dominant.

[LDBoblo]

I was hoping the entrance of a higher quality screen and popular acceptance might encourage a gradual increase in ebook (file) quality, especially if complex layout magazines and other kinds of digital reading can raise the public's aesthetic standards.

It may still do that, but I have my doubts.

[Dylrob]

Originally Posted by Moejoe

Apple have basically cornered the mobile and possibly home multimedia market outright - games, movies, music, and now books. If they offered an x86/64 version of their OS then I'd bet they'd take the lion's share of the PC market also.

Games? Err, despite any absurd comments Jobs might make to the contrary, the 'Touch doesn't hold a candle to the DS. Operating System? Most users are far too rooted in Windows to ever even consider making such a switch (it's hard enough getting your average Joe away from "Internet Explorer").

[Estuche]

Hopefully with its aggressive pricing it will put pressure on e-ink reader makers to lower their reading-only devices

[Mr. Dalliard]

As expected, it is an oversized iPod Touch...

I'm not at all tired, yet I'm yawning.

[Dusty]

It's a nice toy but...
I have killed two Palm Pilots by reading for hours on end. It's all about battery life and how many times you can recharge it. After a few months battery life will shrink to a few hours at most.
Not saying I won't get one eventually but I will let others do the testing for me.

[BWhite]

I think the iPad will increase consumption of eBooks by casual readers (casual meaning 'not that many books a year'). I happen to feel that this will be a good thing.

I don't know that the iPad will sell "great guns", but it will sell.

I don't know why no one has yet mentioned on this thread that the iPad runs iPhone apps (maybe I missed it), and stores like Barnes and Noble have iPhone apps at the app store. Source:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ebooks...&cds2Pid=28709

This house uses Windows machines exclusively, has zero Apple products, and considers the iPad a Definite Purchase in 2010.

Why 'definite purchase'? Because we happen to believe that e-ink is good technology but will not be around come 2015. Ten hour battery life is sufficient life for our needs - the claim is iPad has much more life in its battery on standby. So basically you are only in a jam if you want to read eleven hours on a single device, and for some reason do not want to recharge.

I am going to play some games with American English here, because English is fun to use that way. I am already seeing posts on these Forums that the iPad is not an eReader, well I am going to claim that all those e-ink readers out there are not eReaders, but the iPad is!

See what I did there? Fun with English! In this household we realized that we do as much reading on the web as with books, so in 2010 we want an eReader Device that includes a decent Web Browser. To me an eBook can be in HTML embedded on a web page on an HTML server as well as any other format.

So basically in 2010 Americans get their first decent ('decent' as defined to this household) eReader with the iPad - and also those other eReaders scheduled to come out (I think ASUS has announced such) - which include web browsers (we can live without Adobe Flash).

Current Plan: Purchase an iPad, install Barnes and Noble book app, read books and web pages on the web, purchase eBooks from Barnes and Noble, read more eBooks in 2010.

The improvement in technologies that make this possible with the iPad:
o fast, low-power consumption, processor
o improvements in high density memory (64 gigs is nice)
o improvements in battery life
o nice screen size (iPod Touch is just too small)

I got into eBooks with the advent of the Microsoft Reader in 2000 and remember thinking, "boy, they have a long way to go to make this work." Well now, a decade later, I feel I can trust my eBook library to Barnes and Noble and I have a decent (though not guaranteed) possibility of my still being able to access that library 20 years from now on some device which has not yet been invented.

There is my reasoning; your own mileage may vary.

Really happy that in 2010 I have the chance to purchase a device with specifications as announced today for the iPad.

[kjk]

Originally Posted by BWhite

I don't know why no one has yet mentioned on this thread that the iPad runs iPhone apps (maybe I missed it), and stores like Barnes and Noble have iPhone apps at the app store. Source:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ebooks...&cds2Pid=28709

B&N, Kobo, Amazon, Fictionwise (thru Stanza) all have a presence on the iPhone/iPod Touch.

The real question is, will they still be there for the iPad.

If they are, the iPad will have a pretty major presence in the eBook market-iPad users will have access to iBook, Amazon, B&N, Fictionwise, Kobo, and anyone else who wants to sell/distribute eBooks online.

If they are closing down everything except iBook...that would be sad.

[eGeezer]

Originally Posted by Shaggy

I'm not so sure about that. Most people who are in the market for an epaper device specifically aren't interested in LCD. There are already notebook/laptop alternatives to a larger eReader. They chose the eReader because of the display technology. The iPad doesn't change any of that.

Exactly.

If it glows, it blows.

But I also agree that it will increase ereading awareness in many who haven't even been aware of e-inkers.

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by charleski

A lot will depend on how the DRM works on Apple iBooks store. If you can buy epubs at other stores and use them on the iPad, and buy books from Apple's store to read on a Sony, then we're getting a lot closer to the sort of universality we want. If the iPad uses ePub but with a custom form of DRM, then it's just another fracturing of the market.

Of course you have access to other stores, just as you do on iPhone (Amazon Kindle for Iphone etc.). The reader apps will need to be re-designed for iTab, but they have at least a couple of months to do that.

I doubt very much Apple will disallow iTab applications that offer access to other bookstores. iBooks app doesn't even come with the device AFAICT.

[charleski]

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

I was hoping the entrance of a higher quality screen and popular acceptance might encourage a gradual increase in ebook (file) quality, especially if complex layout magazines and other kinds of digital reading can raise the public's aesthetic standards.

At 132dpi?????
That was never going to happen.

Worrying about the niceties of typographic colour seems irrelevant when you only have 14.6 pixels to display 8pt text.

Originally Posted by tomsem

Of course you have access to other stores, just as you do on iPhone (Amazon Kindle for Iphone etc.). The reader apps will need to be re-designed for iTab, but they have at least a couple of months to do that.

I doubt very much Apple will disallow iTab applications that offer access to other bookstores. iBooks app doesn't even come with the device AFAICT.

But if iBooks' offerings are incompatible with other ePub readers then it just represents another annoying and unnecessary splintering of the market. Since Apple and Adobe are not exactly best of friends I suspect this will be the case, but would love to be proved wrong.

Having to use different apps to read books purchased from different stores is an absurd state of affairs.