iBook in trouble

[CrunchyPoodleMama]

Hmm, I have no problem being "bi"... iBooks is my reading app of choice, and I use Kindle for anything not available on iBooks. (Thinking about getting a Nook, not Kindle, for more extensive reading sessions.)

 

[Sonny Burnett]

At present the iBook Store is not a big selling point for the iPad. Initially it was but with all of the other uses that people have come up with for it, iBooks seems to be the last thing that is considered(if at all) when someone is purchasing their first iPad.

 

[IpadOne]

The editor scare Apple and don’t want to loose their monopoly, but sooner or later they will have to change … we are on the electronic era … Apple clearly state the future is in one central device (gaming, music, web experience, reading) … why all editor prefer Amazon mostly because the Kindle is locked on one thing so Amazon should follow them and they can fix the price … in the opposite side Apple want cheap public price like they do in Music field … the Pandora box is one yet … we just have to wait some independent editor jump in the game and publish their result … from the moment they will see this market escape to them they will turn their face to Apple (this is my guess)

 

[arshield]

The editor scare Apple and don’t want to loose their monopoly, but sooner or later they will have to change … we are on the electronic era … Apple clearly state the future is in one central device (gaming, music, web experience, reading) … why all editor prefer Amazon mostly because the Kindle is locked on one thing so Amazon should follow them and they can fix the price … in the opposite side Apple want cheap public price like they do in Music field … the Pandora box is one yet … we just have to wait some independent editor jump in the game and publish their result … from the moment they will see this market escape to them they will turn their face to Apple (this is my guess)

In this case you have the players wrong. Amazon has 80 to 90 percent of the sales in the ebook market and the publishers have been trying to use Apple to break Amazon's $9.99 top price standard. If you looked a year ago there were very few books in the kindle store above $9.99. Now it is about 10-15% of Amazon's books. And 5 of the 6 big publishers forced Amazon to allow them to directly price the books instead of Amazon pricing the books. In this case Apple is playing to the publishers and keeping the price higher. But it has not played out quite as the publishers hoped. Ibook sales have been lousy and Apple is not the player that the publishers had hoped for, and people are not buying books over $9.99 as much as what the publishers had hoped.

 

[Hasty]

iBooks was a gamble when the iPad was launched.
I suspect it was emphasized initially as a novel selling point to stress the versatility of the iPad, but now there is such a range of apps, it's importance has declined.
Of course if the iBooks store had really taken off like itunes I'm sure Mr Jobs would have been pleased and prepared to exploit it more fully.

That said 99% of my reading on the iPad is not in iBooks. For late night reading I prefer the iPod or the real thing.

In my defense I should add that I once worked in an antiquarian bookstore so I'm sadly infected.

 

[wrecklass]

A few years ago I would have described myself as "a migratory life form with a tropism for bookstores." Amazon weened me off of bookstores with books I could have delivered direct to my home. Then they broke me of the paper habit with their wonderful Kindle devices. They have the ebook market sewn up almost as tightly as Apple and the music market.

Sadly the truth is that less than 10% of the US population ever sets foot in a bookstore, and that was before Amazon. While I am sure Libraries account for a significant number of readers, the fact is very few adults read books. It will never be as big a market as music. While the same people who do read probably account for iPad sales, it will still be the smaller portion of the market.

So while Apple will probably be happy to keep the iBook store around as an option, they will be equally happy to have someone else providing the mainstream book sales.

 

[Berlichtingen]

iBook is my reader of choice. I gave my Kindle away about a week after getting my iPad. I tend to buy direct from the publisher (many smaller publishers don't waste money on DRM). If I can't find it elsewhere, I'll buy from Amazon and convert to ePub.

 

[TimTheos]

The Kindle app is my choice. I purchase and download from Amazon, and read on my iPad, my Kindle or my iPhone. I tried the iBooks and was hopeful that it would replace my Kindle use, but there are not enough titles and choices for me. I love to read and so far have consumed over 300 eBooks since I got my Kindle in March and my iPad shortly after. I also have tried the Nook and Stanza, but the portability of the Kindle across multiple platforms and the ability to automatically sync the reading location is a top feature for me.

 

[dltang]

The Kindle app is my choice. I purchase and download from Amazon, and read on my iPad, my Kindle or my iPhone. I tried the iBooks and was hopeful that it would replace my Kindle use, but there are not enough titles and choices for me. I love to read and so far have consumed over 300 eBooks since I got my Kindle in March and my iPad shortly after. I also have tried the Nook and Stanza, but the portability of the Kindle across multiple platforms and the ability to automatically sync the reading location is a top feature for me.

I agree, I have the free Kindle app on my iPad and my iPhone and my Macbook. I can read from any of these 3 devices and bookmark and pick up where I left off on one of the other devices. The selection at Amazon is hard to beat and since the app was free, it makes it very easy and convenient to use.

 

[firmament]

Lol, I thought this was about the iBook laptop that Apple used to make...

 

[DaveSt]

I think the iBooks experiment is fairly fascinating. This is one case where Apple has gone somewhat outside of their typical comfort zone. Rather than being an innovator and bringing something new and fresh to the market, Apple is trying to play catch-up. The problem here however is that Apple is going head to head with another much beloved consumer brand in Amazon.

I believe that the more players there are in the market can only benefit the consumer, but Apple has a considerable task in front of them in trying to compete with an established player the size of Amazon, especially considering the fact that Amazon's content is also available on the same devices. I have been on the e-reading bandwagon since I owned a crappy Palm Pilot. I have been burned by too many formats dying out to trust another player at this point (Palm docs, Rocket Ebook, .lit formatted books for PocketPC, etc.). Once I am convinced this is more than just an experiment for Apple perhaps I will change my mind, but until then Amazon will be getting my money for ebooks because they have gone "all in" and I feel Apple is just testing the waters.

 

[arshield]

I think the iBooks experiment is fairly fascinating. This is one case where Apple has gone somewhat outside of their typical comfort zone. Rather than being an innovator and bringing something new and fresh to the market, Apple is trying to play catch-up. The problem here however is that Apple is going head to head with another much beloved consumer brand in Amazon.

I believe that the more players there are in the market can only benefit the consumer, but Apple has a considerable task in front of them in trying to compete with an established player the size of Amazon, especially considering the fact that Amazon's content is also available on the same devices. I have been on the e-reading bandwagon since I owned a crappy Palm Pilot. I have been burned by too many formats dying out to trust another player at this point (Palm docs, Rocket Ebook, .lit formatted books for PocketPC, etc.). Once I am convinced this is more than just an experiment for Apple perhaps I will change my mind, but until then Amazon will be getting my money for ebooks because they have gone "all in" and I feel Apple is just testing the waters.

I think I am already too far in with Amazon to even think about Apple at this point. I have a library of over 400 books. I share an Amazon Kindle account with 10 people so we all can share books. I own a regular kindle, as does my wife, mom, brother and several friends.

As far as I am concerned, ibooks doesn't add anything, has higher prices and lower availability. It is like comparing the Zune and Ipod at this point. Does the Zune work. Sure, but if it is more expensive and not as compatible or doesn't have the same library, there is no reason for anyone to change.

(by the way I own and like my zune)

 

[leonlei]

I tried the iBooks and was hopeful that it would replace my Kindle use, but there are not enough titles and choices for me. I love to read and so far have consumed over 300 eBooks since I got my Kindle in March and my iPad shortly after. I also have tried the Nook and Stanza, but the portability of the Kindle across multiple platforms and the ability to automatically sync the reading location is a top feature for me.

ibooks do has a great experiment. but not enough titles and choice is a big problem for us , maybe we could download good ebooks from other place and read it on ipad .