According to the Apple site(s), iBooks will only be avaliable in the US at launch, which annoys me because one of the main reasons I want one is to use it for ebooks (or iBooks as they're iCalled on the iPad).

Is there any word on the iBookstore release outside of the US?

My guess is they are working on distribution rights with the UK firm right now. However, you might be able to use a "US" proxy and buy US versions as well.

Would I be able to put ePub files I download from other book stores onto the iPad? That'd be OK until the iBookstore hits the UK.

Yes, it will require an external app from the App store but yes there are Apps for that.

Originally Posted by JohnnyApple

Yes, it will require an external app from the App store but yes there are Apps for that.

Do we know that iBooks will only work with Apple purchased books? iTunes was a jukebox first, music store second, so the precedent isn't clear. However, given we know Apple have said they are using ePub, and we know that Apple purchased books are likely to be DRM locked with Fair Play - is the conclusion the iBooks will happily eat your DRM free ePubs? If not, even mentioning ePub seems a waste of time - they could encode the books anyway they like if they are forever bound to the Apple platforms.

Just a thought!

amjb