Yet more proof that Steve Jobs is, in fact, the Devil...
So, I dunno how many of you out there are ebook readers but I'm a proud Kindle owner & I'm more than a little irked at the voodoo being worked on the ebook industry by Steve Jobs. I've never been a fan of Apple in general because they make it so hard for independent sortware developers to make applications for their products. Their domination of the digital music market through the iPod left me even more irritated by them and now, they've decided to wade into the ebook markets with the iPad and fuck over consumers in the process.
Yes, I know that technically it was McMillian publishing that decided to jack up the publishing price of their ebooks but it's pretty curious that they had been happy to sell them through Amazon at 9.99 until Jobs unvieled the iPad and now suddenly Apple is agreeing to sell ebooks through it's ibookstore for $12.99-14.99 so MM publishing is demanding that Amazon do the same.
What arrogance! He's going to come into the ebook game late and then agree to sell ebooks for his new product at a higher price than his competition and doesn't think that the publishers might then demand the higher price from said competition? Seems unlikely.
If the iPad is such a great product, then consumers will buy it and their books from the ibookstore and the market will work it out. But, that's not what is being allowed to happen. Rather than listing their own ebooks at the same (or cheaper ) prices of their competitors, in order to win customers they are trying to make their competition raise their prices so that consumers won't realize that if they buy from Apple they will have to pay more. If they can get the publishers to bully Amazon (and Barnes & Noble eventually)into raising their prices apple wil look competative in comparison.
Of course like most apple technology the nw apple ebooks will be readable only on apple software and it's a toss up as to whether ebooks in formats other than the apple one will be readable on the ipad. Even though apple claims it will be supporting the EPUB format for it's reader it will be adding it's own apple copyright protection technology to the books and other ebook formats that don't have it may not be compatible. Typical!
So, I will continue to be a Kindle reader and I will continue to not buy apple products (including ipods...non-apple MP3 players only in my house) because I can't get behind supporting a corporation that thinks so little of consumers.
Yes, I know that technically it was McMillian publishing that decided to jack up the publishing price of their ebooks but it's pretty curious that they had been happy to sell them through Amazon at 9.99 until Jobs unvieled the iPad and now suddenly Apple is agreeing to sell ebooks through it's ibookstore for $12.99-14.99 so MM publishing is demanding that Amazon do the same.
What arrogance! He's going to come into the ebook game late and then agree to sell ebooks for his new product at a higher price than his competition and doesn't think that the publishers might then demand the higher price from said competition? Seems unlikely.
If the iPad is such a great product, then consumers will buy it and their books from the ibookstore and the market will work it out. But, that's not what is being allowed to happen. Rather than listing their own ebooks at the same (or cheaper ) prices of their competitors, in order to win customers they are trying to make their competition raise their prices so that consumers won't realize that if they buy from Apple they will have to pay more. If they can get the publishers to bully Amazon (and Barnes & Noble eventually)into raising their prices apple wil look competative in comparison.
Of course like most apple technology the nw apple ebooks will be readable only on apple software and it's a toss up as to whether ebooks in formats other than the apple one will be readable on the ipad. Even though apple claims it will be supporting the EPUB format for it's reader it will be adding it's own apple copyright protection technology to the books and other ebook formats that don't have it may not be compatible. Typical!
So, I will continue to be a Kindle reader and I will continue to not buy apple products (including ipods...non-apple MP3 players only in my house) because I can't get behind supporting a corporation that thinks so little of consumers.