Ubibooks - new multilingual e-book store

Alexander Turcic · 03-03-2005, 03:59 PM

From Teleread.org: Bookeen, maker of the Cybook, has opened up Ubibooks. The new e-book store is starting out with several thousand books with texts available in five languages (English, French, German, Spanish and Italian).

And here is my take why this e-book store is going to fail:
1. E-books are offered only in one format, Mobipocket, which is one of the most-restrictive (e-books only run on the device you bought it for) and unusable (incompatible with any other e-book software reader).
2. So-called "best 100 promotions" lure you into buying DRM-infested books that are publicly and freely available DRM-free at Gutenberg.

Pride Of Lions · 03-03-2005, 05:22 PM

I hope that, if they do fail, people analyze and realize WHY it failed and not jump to doom the entire format based on these companies' idiotic business decisions.

I don't read enough current releases to seek to buy them as eBooks. I'm entirely content to read my public domain e-texts from Gutenberg et. al.
POL9A

BasilC · 03-03-2005, 07:17 PM

I think you're maybe being a bit unfair. From a quick look at the site, it seems to have a good selection and reasonable prices. As for Mobipocket, well it's certainly better than Adobe in terms of usability and maybe a bit less problematical as far as the DRM is concerned. Of all the readers, I guess eBookReader has the easiest DRM functionality.

Colin Dunstan · 03-03-2005, 07:17 PM

Ok,
let's try to be fair here for a second. I think the main reason why e-book stores like eReader.com and now also Ubibooks try to sell public domain books as "promotions" is because they usually don't have any other options. It is the publishers who have to OPEN THEIR EYES and who have to work hand-in-hand with e-book stores to attract new customers. We have a typical catch-22 situation here.

BasilC · 03-03-2005, 07:31 PM

Another thing to bear in mind is that there are many users of PDAs who don't want to have to assemble their own ebook from a Gutenburg text. They're willing to pay a little bit of money (and it's usually not that much) to have a ready-made book. Anything that helps these firms be profitable must be a good thing, or they'll go out of business. Myself, if a book's out of copyright I always go to Gutenburg and convert to iSilo - by far the best reading experience.

Francesco · 03-04-2005, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BasilC

Another thing to bear in mind ...

BasilC said bear (snort).

OK, about Ubibooks. Well, not long ago we were discussing about the NY Public Library using the Mobipocket format to lend eBooks. Craig said that "... Mobipocket does appear to be the platform of choice for all the libraries [he had] checked out yet."
So maybe if the Mobipocket format is thriving, the guys at eReader are really the ones to blame.

Alexander Turcic · 03-05-2005, 08:58 AM

Here is the official press release of Bookeen opening Ubibooks:

Ubibooks proposes 20,000 titles in five languages and in more than 50 categories, from science-fiction to classical literature. All ebooks are downloadable 7 days a week and 24 hours a day.

Thanks to “Mobipocket Reader”, ebooks available from Ubibooks can be read on the largest variety of platforms: PocketPC, Palm, Smartphone, PC or Cybook.

“On Ubibooks, you will find publishers as prestigious as Random House or Simon & Schuster and authors of best-sellers such as Dan Brown or Stephen King. Available at any time of the day or night, Ubibooks catalogue allows avid but also occasional readers to discover new writers and new titles at the best price,” explains Michaël Dahan, cofounder of Bookeen.

More:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/3/prweb214708.htm

03-03-2005, 03:59 PM	#1
Alexander Turcic Fully Converged Posts: 18,163 Karma: 14021202 Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Switzerland Device: Too many to count here.	Ubibooks - new multilingual e-book store From Teleread.org: Bookeen, maker of the Cybook, has opened up Ubibooks. The new e-book store is starting out with several thousand books with texts available in five languages (English, French, German, Spanish and Italian). And here is my take why this e-book store is going to fail: 1. E-books are offered only in one format, Mobipocket, which is one of the most-restrictive (e-books only run on the device you bought it for) and unusable (incompatible with any other e-book software reader). 2. So-called "best 100 promotions" lure you into buying DRM-infested books that are publicly and freely available DRM-free at Gutenberg.

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03-03-2005, 05:22 PM	#2
Pride Of Lions just kinda geeky Posts: 381 Karma: 30 Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Oakland, California Device: iPhone	I hope that, if they do fail, people analyze and realize WHY it failed and not jump to doom the entire format based on these companies' idiotic business decisions. I don't read enough current releases to seek to buy them as eBooks. I'm entirely content to read my public domain e-texts from Gutenberg et. al. POL9A

03-03-2005, 07:17 PM	#3
BasilC Zealot Posts: 129 Karma: 60 Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: London England Device: Palm Tungsten T3	I think you're maybe being a bit unfair. From a quick look at the site, it seems to have a good selection and reasonable prices. As for Mobipocket, well it's certainly better than Adobe in terms of usability and maybe a bit less problematical as far as the DRM is concerned. Of all the readers, I guess eBookReader has the easiest DRM functionality.

03-03-2005, 07:17 PM	#4
Colin Dunstan Is papyrophobic! Posts: 1,926 Karma: 1009999 Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: USA Device: Dell Axim	Ok, let's try to be fair here for a second. I think the main reason why e-book stores like eReader.com and now also Ubibooks try to sell public domain books as "promotions" is because they usually don't have any other options. It is the publishers who have to OPEN THEIR EYES and who have to work hand-in-hand with e-book stores to attract new customers. We have a typical catch-22 situation here.

03-03-2005, 07:31 PM	#5
BasilC Zealot Posts: 129 Karma: 60 Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: London England Device: Palm Tungsten T3	Another thing to bear in mind is that there are many users of PDAs who don't want to have to assemble their own ebook from a Gutenburg text. They're willing to pay a little bit of money (and it's usually not that much) to have a ready-made book. Anything that helps these firms be profitable must be a good thing, or they'll go out of business. Myself, if a book's out of copyright I always go to Gutenburg and convert to iSilo - by far the best reading experience.

03-05-2005, 08:58 AM	#7
Alexander Turcic Fully Converged Posts: 18,163 Karma: 14021202 Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Switzerland Device: Too many to count here.	Here is the official press release of Bookeen opening Ubibooks: Ubibooks proposes 20,000 titles in five languages and in more than 50 categories, from science-fiction to classical literature. All ebooks are downloadable 7 days a week and 24 hours a day. Thanks to “Mobipocket Reader”, ebooks available from Ubibooks can be read on the largest variety of platforms: PocketPC, Palm, Smartphone, PC or Cybook. “On Ubibooks, you will find publishers as prestigious as Random House or Simon & Schuster and authors of best-sellers such as Dan Brown or Stephen King. Available at any time of the day or night, Ubibooks catalogue allows avid but also occasional readers to discover new writers and new titles at the best price,” explains Michaël Dahan, cofounder of Bookeen. More: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/3/prweb214708.htm

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