The app is great, the problem is that the books are tied to it. I'm happy with my iDevice world at the moment, but I can't give that guarantee for 5 or 10 years in the future.
So the problem with iBooks is that you don't know what you're talking about?
You can use ePub books just fine with iBooks. No need for them to be tied to the app.
Besides, you said previously that the app was crap. How does your perception that it uses DRM make the app crap?
So the problem with iBooks is that you don't know what you're talking about?
You can use ePub books just fine with iBooks. No need for them to be tied to the app.
Besides, you said previously that the app was crap. How does your perception that it uses DRM make the app crap?
Wait up... so books purchased through iBooks can actually be transfered to any device supporting ePub?
If that's the case I've got a lot of back-tracking to do!
I've recommended to a bunch of people to use Kindle instead of iBooks because I thought eBooks purchased through iBooks were locked to the Apple ecosystem which is a crap position to be in. If purchases can be transfered out of iBooks then it's actually a better app to use moving forward than Kindle!
All I read in that was "wah wah wah"... what was your point?
Sorry, I didn't realize that your ability to understand what you're reading was so limited. I'll "dumb it down" for you .... you're an idiot .... better?
Sorry, I didn't realize that your ability to understand what you're reading was so limited. I'll "dumb it down" for you .... you're an idiot .... better?
Taking the time out of your day to abuse someone on the interwebs... classy! What a fascinating life you must lead!!!
The brilliant thing about this board is that (just like real life) trolls, fools and abusive tools, those who aren't bright enough to actually make a comment and those who just lack the social skills to interact can simply be... ignored.
Wait up... so books purchased through iBooks can actually be transfered to any device supporting ePub?
...
I've recommended to a bunch of people to use Kindle instead of iBooks because I thought eBooks purchased through iBooks were locked to the Apple ecosystem which is a crap position to be in. If purchases can be transfered out of iBooks then it's actually a better app to use moving forward than Kindle!
Paid books bought through the iBookstore are DRMed just like Kindle books. Free public domain books are not DRMed. You can, however, add any DRM free ePub book to your iBooks library. I think the main difference here is that you add your own content directly, yourself, through iTunes to your iBooks library but for Kindle you have to hand it over to Amazon to get it into your reader(s). (Or so I've been told by people with Kindles.)
No doubt, but how does that benefit Apple... or rather, how does that benefit Apple as compared to having some kind of exclusivity deal with Amazon when the flood of $99 Android eReader\\iPad clones starts hitting the market?
If Apple want iBooks to be a competitor they should make it a competitor. At the moment it's crap. Only the most foolish of people will start building their eBooks collection in it when the Kindle app is there as an alternative.
For the same reason Apple generally doesn't make those sort of deals. For the same reason they don't want Flash on their iOS devices. Obviously, they expect ebook reading to be a major use for the iOS platform and they want to make sure that someone else can't throw up barriers to adoption for that purpose, or control the supply of reading material, or generally control the experience of reading ebooks on iOS devices. Apple has absolutely nothing to gain by partnering with Amazon, and much to lose.
(EDIT: Not to mention that any sort of exclusivity deal between Apple and Amazon on e-books and/or e-readers would invite way too much attention from regulators, and probably rightfully so.)
How long has Amazon been working on it's Kindle software vs. the amount of time Apple has been working on iBooks? (Why do people make these arguments that assume things will remain static, or that one of two things will remain static. Not just in this case, but constantly.) Apple has already added significant functionality in v1.1 of iBooks -- the ability to sync bookmarks and place across all your iOS devices -- as well as some minor enhancements. I think it's pretty clear that this will be an important piece of software for them (or they wouldn't have opened the iBooksore) so it's also pretty obvious that iBooks will be gaining functionality/usability, and possibly platform support (I wouldn't be surprised to see it come to Mac and Windows, but Android, not), rapidly in the future.
Comments
The app is great, the problem is that the books are tied to it. I'm happy with my iDevice world at the moment, but I can't give that guarantee for 5 or 10 years in the future.
So the problem with iBooks is that you don't know what you're talking about?
You can use ePub books just fine with iBooks. No need for them to be tied to the app.
Besides, you said previously that the app was crap. How does your perception that it uses DRM make the app crap?
So the problem with iBooks is that you don't know what you're talking about?
You can use ePub books just fine with iBooks. No need for them to be tied to the app.
Besides, you said previously that the app was crap. How does your perception that it uses DRM make the app crap?
Wait up... so books purchased through iBooks can actually be transfered to any device supporting ePub?
If that's the case I've got a lot of back-tracking to do!
I've recommended to a bunch of people to use Kindle instead of iBooks because I thought eBooks purchased through iBooks were locked to the Apple ecosystem which is a crap position to be in. If purchases can be transfered out of iBooks then it's actually a better app to use moving forward than Kindle!
All I read in that was "wah wah wah"... what was your point?
Sorry, I didn't realize that your ability to understand what you're reading was so limited. I'll "dumb it down" for you .... you're an idiot .... better?
Sorry, I didn't realize that your ability to understand what you're reading was so limited. I'll "dumb it down" for you .... you're an idiot .... better?
Taking the time out of your day to abuse someone on the interwebs... classy! What a fascinating life you must lead!!!
The brilliant thing about this board is that (just like real life) trolls, fools and abusive tools, those who aren't bright enough to actually make a comment and those who just lack the social skills to interact can simply be... ignored.
Ignore list, meet newbee. Newbee, meet ignore list.
Wait up... so books purchased through iBooks can actually be transfered to any device supporting ePub?
...
I've recommended to a bunch of people to use Kindle instead of iBooks because I thought eBooks purchased through iBooks were locked to the Apple ecosystem which is a crap position to be in. If purchases can be transfered out of iBooks then it's actually a better app to use moving forward than Kindle!
Paid books bought through the iBookstore are DRMed just like Kindle books. Free public domain books are not DRMed. You can, however, add any DRM free ePub book to your iBooks library. I think the main difference here is that you add your own content directly, yourself, through iTunes to your iBooks library but for Kindle you have to hand it over to Amazon to get it into your reader(s). (Or so I've been told by people with Kindles.)
No doubt, but how does that benefit Apple... or rather, how does that benefit Apple as compared to having some kind of exclusivity deal with Amazon when the flood of $99 Android eReader\\iPad clones starts hitting the market?
If Apple want iBooks to be a competitor they should make it a competitor. At the moment it's crap. Only the most foolish of people will start building their eBooks collection in it when the Kindle app is there as an alternative.
For the same reason Apple generally doesn't make those sort of deals. For the same reason they don't want Flash on their iOS devices. Obviously, they expect ebook reading to be a major use for the iOS platform and they want to make sure that someone else can't throw up barriers to adoption for that purpose, or control the supply of reading material, or generally control the experience of reading ebooks on iOS devices. Apple has absolutely nothing to gain by partnering with Amazon, and much to lose.
(EDIT: Not to mention that any sort of exclusivity deal between Apple and Amazon on e-books and/or e-readers would invite way too much attention from regulators, and probably rightfully so.)
How long has Amazon been working on it's Kindle software vs. the amount of time Apple has been working on iBooks? (Why do people make these arguments that assume things will remain static, or that one of two things will remain static. Not just in this case, but constantly.) Apple has already added significant functionality in v1.1 of iBooks -- the ability to sync bookmarks and place across all your iOS devices -- as well as some minor enhancements. I think it's pretty clear that this will be an important piece of software for them (or they wouldn't have opened the iBooksore) so it's also pretty obvious that iBooks will be gaining functionality/usability, and possibly platform support (I wouldn't be surprised to see it come to Mac and Windows, but Android, not), rapidly in the future.