Well, the iPad is out in various countries across the world today. In the UK it’s running into a few initial problems (courtesy The Bookseller) -
- The only UK Publishers selling books in iBooks are Hachette UK, Harper Collins, and Pan Macmillan. They account for 36% of the UK market so it’s a decent number but not ideal.
- The Bookseller says pricing for books is still cheaper in the Kindle Store despite the supposed Agency Model.
This is actually much better than a few days earlier when there were only free public domain books available via iBooks in the UK.
iBooks sans Books, Agency Model
Penguin and Random House are amongst the Publishers missing -
Penguin declined to comment, having discussed the device at length during its US launch nearly two months ago.
No firm had previously confirmed whether books would be accessible from today, although Random House had confirmed it would not be. When the iBookstore went live on Wednesday, only free books were available to download.
The interesting bit seems to be that Apple haven’t managed to get an Agency Model going in the UK -
Unlike in the US the switch-over does not appear to have caused disruption to how other e-book vendors sell e-books, with digital prices so far remaining variable despite Apple’s insistence on a “most favoured nation clause” that has put off at least one sizeable British publisher spoken to by The Bookseller this week.
That’s certainly good news.
iBooks’ two main weaknesses seem to be a lack of range and high prices. At Engadget there are a lot of readers complaining about high book prices. A couple even quote Kindle Store prices as being better.
This is when having Kobo and B&N eReader and Kindle for iPad saves the iPad (as far as people who want to read on the iPad are concerned).
Kindle for iPad and Kobo available in all iPad countries
Kobo and Amazon are making the most of the iPad’s initial hiccups as both have their iPad apps out with a fuller complement of books than iBooks. Kobo is getting a lot of press including Charlie Sorrel pushing it as the ideal reading app to fill the gap left by iBooks’ lack of books.
Amazon says it has 350,000 books available on Kindle for iPad in the UK. It’s doing pretty well in terms of buzz too as Tech Radar lists it as the #1 best iPad app -
Why list a free e-book reader as the top pick when Apple’s own iBook is included? Ask anyone who owns a Kindle – with this free app, you can download every book and magazine you have ever purchased for free and read them on the iPad.
The Kindle reader doesn’t have the annoying grayscale book spine of the iBook reader, and books through Amazon are cheaper. There’s also a much wider selection.
Funny to think that in the process of beating out iBooks the main thing Kindle for iPad is doing is selling more iPads. Even when Apple loses it wins. That’s the beauty of owning a Platform (or an app store).
Black Kindle DX 2 sighted
CrunchGear have a photo of a supposed all-black Kindle DX. Here’s what they have to say -
A mystery unit, described by our tipster as “exactly like a Kindle DX but black,” was being photographed at a Seattle coffee shop (with a 5D mk II, he or she notes) and Mr/Mrs Tipster had the presence of mind to snap a picture before they put it away.
That Amazon is photographing the unit now suggests a final design and an imminent launch. In the next month, even?
Perhaps it’s just me but that looks awfully similar to a Kindle DX with a black skin on it. Given my accuracy rate on predictions my thinking it’s not the Kindle DX 2 probably means a release in a few weeks.
Canada suddenly gets lots of Actual Free Books
The iPad launches in Canada and magically all those free books which were not free in Canada (usually $2) are now all free. Nearly 50 of them – the joys of competition.
There’s a sharp jump from $0 to $2.01 so it’s definitely focused on free books and definitely something to do with the launch of the iPad – Perhaps it’s a way to get people to choose Kindle for iPad on their iPads. You know what – that makes a ton of sense.
Kindle owners in Europe are finding free books too as this Kindle forum thread shows.
Penguin has a $27.99 book in the Kindle Store
Penguin’s Atlas Shrugged (Centennial Edition HC) is in the top 100 and it’s at $27.99. No wonder Amazon weren’t letting them in.
It’s still hard to get a hold of how many new Penguin books are being added and at what prices – could find just 12 additions for the last 30 days and half were children’s books. Penguin has these new titles at $9.99, $11.99, $12.99, and $14.99.
Stephen Davison breaks into the Top 100
Kill & Cure by Stephen Davison is just $1, rated 4.5 stars on 16 reviews, and at #72. It’s a Mystery/Thriller that sounds quite promising -
David Stichell, a London Chiropractor, is an ordinary man plucked from the normality of his existence and thrown into hell.
As a helpless witness to the brutal shooting of his fiancee he escapes her killer and alerts the police. They arrive expecting a murder scene but the place is clean and his fiancee has vanished… Kill & Cure is fast, furious and incredibly well plotted..Reading Matters
The Top 100 Paid books list seems to have a higher than before number of books over $10. Perhaps it’s just shock from seeing the $28 Ayn Rand book on there.
On a totally unrelated note whoever wrote the WordPress spell-check and decided that fiancee needs to always be replaced by fiancée should be shot.
Filed under: news Tagged: | amazon kindle news, ereader news
It is incredibly depressing to me that Ayn Rand, of all people, could drive enough sales of an ebook that expensive to make a bestseller list.