Kindle vs Apple iPad is coming along nicely and there are two new angles that are making news. You could also jump to the bottom of the post for the list of cheap kindle books.
Does Apple’s iBooks Store have a big advantage over Kindle for iPhone?
Jay Yarow at Business Insider talks about the advantage iPad’s own eBook store, iBooks, has over Kindle for iPhone and other competitors -
the iBookstore will let you seamlessly buy books from within the iBooks reader app, with the iTunes account it’s already aware of
rivals like the Kindle app … will require you to boot up their apps, then click a button to boot up the iPad’s Web browser, shop for e-books in a Web store, sign in and pay with a non-iTunes account, relaunch the e-reader app, and sync up your new e-book. Not as elegant.
While he is exaggerating the difference a bit there are two main advantages for iBooks over Kindle for iPhone -
- With iBooks you won’t have to leave the app and go to the browser to buy a book.
- You can use your iTunes account to pay for purchases.
Lots of people have Amazon accounts so the second advantage isn’t as significant as Mr. Yarow makes it seem.
That leaves us with the solitary, significant advantage - Not having to switch to the browser to buy books.
It’s quite significant and it does give iBooks a big advantage over Kindle for iPhone which will have to figure out a way to compensate – perhaps by adding some cool features.
Is Apple going to snooker Amazon Kindle on eBook Prices?
The Bits Blog of the New York Times covers Amazon’s attempts to ensure they don’t get out-priced by Apple -
Since December, Amazon has been pushing publishers to sign a new round of legal agreements that would guarantee that the Kindle price for their content is always the same or lower than the price on other electronic reading devices, such as the iPad or the Sony Reader.
As an incentive, Amazon is offering some publishers a bigger cut of revenue …
One interesting twist is that (supposedly) a lot of Amazon’s contracts with Publishers are month to month which, along with the upcoming release of the Apple iPad, gives Publishers a lot of leverage.
The article brings up a good point about this being just the beginning of a long-drawn out and interesting war -
As one publishing executive put it to me, in the digital realm, it feels like we’re at the beginning of a multiyear war over pricing and product features.
It’s interesting to think that Apple are attacking Amazon on price and convenience – arguably the two biggest advantages the Kindle has had. It’s absolutely amazing that they’d think of doing it and we’ll have to see whether they manage to pull it off.
Cheap Kindle Books
Here are some good, cheap kindle books -
- Amsterdam 2012 by Ruth Francisco is just $1. It’s rated 5 stars on 20 reviews and is about a World War III centered around Christianity Vs Islam.
- Kept by Carolyn Faulkner – a romance novel at $1.
- Eye of the Beholder by Ruth Ann Nordin is $1 and a romance that’s rated 4.5 stars on 7 reviews.
- Horns of September is a free horror/conspiracy thriller available at Smashwords. Use Coupon Code: RU44P – valid till February 28, 2010.
We should see a bunch of free books as we transition into March 2010.
Filed under: iSlate Apple Slate Tagged: | path of least resistance, kindle vs apple
Apple seems to be taking taking a page from the democrat’s playbook. Use the media to blame the other side when they are to blame. In this case, Apple believes that there are enough ignorant people to believe they are ‘cheaper’ and ‘superior’ to the Amazon chain.
It’s unfortunate that you Republican lovers always see something sinister and “democratic” in everything to occurs in the world. Get an educated opinion, instead of letting the right wing tell you what to think. Pityful.