iBooks for UK iPad users..is it me or...

Joined
Nov 9, 2009
Messages
150
Reaction score
3
Points
18
Is it me or is the iBBook store for the Uk nothing short of utter rubbish? I got an iPad on the premise that there would be a huge choice of books...perhaps it's huge in the States, but I think that the UK selection is embarrassingly pitiful and the price of the book is in some instances MORE than that for a 'real' book...i know apple repeatedlyy make excuses for over priced hardware...how do they explain this?!!

I do have the kindle app, but want my books on one central app...and there is no way to transfer books from one app to the other :-(
 
C

chas_m

Guest
1. Apple doesn't choose what books are made available. Publishers do.

2. Apple doesn't set the price of books. Publishers do.

3. iBooks -- in any country -- does not yet have every book anyone might ever want. Check back in a week, there will be more. Check back in another week and there will be more again.

4. The reason your Kindle books won't transfer to iBooks is because the Kindle uses a proprietary format. Take this up with Amazon and stop blaming Apple for things Apple isn't at fault for.
 
Joined
Apr 7, 2010
Messages
56
Reaction score
4
Points
8
Location
Ireland & UK
Your Mac's Specs
MBP 15" 2.4GHz i5 4GB... iPad 64GB WiFi + 3G
1. Apple doesn't choose what books are made available. Publishers do.

2. Apple doesn't set the price of books. Publishers do.

3. iBooks -- in any country -- does not yet have every book anyone might ever want. Check back in a week, there will be more. Check back in another week and there will be more again.

4. The reason your Kindle books won't transfer to iBooks is because the Kindle uses a proprietary format. Take this up with Amazon and stop blaming Apple for things Apple isn't at fault for.

Slightly harshly put...

But very true :D
 
Joined
Jun 17, 2010
Messages
343
Reaction score
11
Points
18
Location
Missouri
Your Mac's Specs
2 iPod Touches and iPad
I do have the kindle app, but want my books on one central app...and there is no way to transfer books from one app to the other :-(
Well at least you can have all your reading material on one device even if they are not all contained within the same app.

Life isn't fair. Fair is a weather report.
 
Joined
Jul 14, 2008
Messages
1,227
Reaction score
8
Points
38
Location
UK
Your Mac's Specs
iMac 2.66 GHz 20", iPad Mini2 32GB, iPhone6 64GB, Watch Sport 42mm Black, iPad Air 2 128GB
I use the Kindle app almost exclusively. I hardly ever bother with the iBooks one.

I also have Stanza and eReader, but don't use those much either. I don't like the way eReader refuse to let me re-download books I have already bought - just because UK readers are no longer thought worthy of such books. They were happy to take my money before they thought of making books location specific. This is worse than region coding DVDs. They actually sold me these books and years later they changed their minds.

Sorry, going off track there a little. It's a sore point :)
 
Joined
Jun 17, 2010
Messages
343
Reaction score
11
Points
18
Location
Missouri
Your Mac's Specs
2 iPod Touches and iPad
I use the Kindle app almost exclusively. I hardly ever bother with the iBooks one.
Amen brother! I started with the Kindle app on my iPod Touch and its still the best one out there. As a matter of fact, the primary reason I "graduated" from the iPod to an iPad was for reading stuff.

I guess that is the difference between an app written by a company that is primarily in the business of selling reading material (at least that's the way they started) and an app written by a company that primarily sells electronic hardware.
 

bobtomay

,
Retired Staff
Joined
Dec 22, 2006
Messages
26,561
Reaction score
677
Points
113
Location
Texas, where else?
Your Mac's Specs
15" MBP '06 2.33 C2D 4GB 10.7; 13" MBA '14 1.8 i7 8GB 10.11; 21" iMac '13 2.9 i5 8GB 10.11; 6S
I have books in iBooks, Kindle, B&N, Stanza and sitting on my real bookshelves. Don't have a clue how many.

I also have TV Shows and movies in iTunes, Amazon's Unbox, sitting on my Media Server and hard copies sitting on shelves. Guessing I'm somewhere around 1,000 titles on my shelves on those little round discs.

Enter Delicious Library or your favorite cataloging software to keep track not only of what you have, but where.

The problem stems from the publishers and media houses being behind the game and not working together on a way to distribute all their collective works electronically. They have left this to 3rd parties. Once a 3rd party has worked out an encryption and distribution method with the media publishers, they're not going to give away that work to someone else just so they can enter into competition with them. This is not likely to change now that they have new distribution methods without having to do a thing.
 
C

chas_m

Guest
I apologise for any perceived harshness. Sometimes I am content to offer a brief answer rather than type out a mini-novel as I have been known to do, and the shorter answers get interpreted as/come across as brusque.

I should have added to my above post that there is a Kindle app for the iPhone that DOES transfer your Kindle purchases to it. So no, you can't have all your eBook in a single app -- but you can have 90% of them across two apps, which isn't so bad.
 
Joined
Jun 17, 2010
Messages
343
Reaction score
11
Points
18
Location
Missouri
Your Mac's Specs
2 iPod Touches and iPad
The problem stems from the publishers and media houses being behind the game and not working together on a way to distribute all their collective works electronically. They have left this to 3rd parties. Once a 3rd party has worked out an encryption and distribution method with the media publishers, they're not going to give away that work to someone else just so they can enter into competition with them. This is not likely to change now that they have new distribution methods without having to do a thing.
I can go to the brick & mortar Barnes & Noble or Borders or other "real" book sellers and buy the exact same book. It is up to the vendor to market themselves and give me a reason to buy from them instead of someplace else. By having an eReader from each vendor, it gives me, the consumer, a portal into their revenue stream and they like it that way so I don't see any of them busting their hind quarters to develop a "universal" encryption format.

Of course Amazon is the incumbent and all of the other eReaders out there are playing catch-up.
 
Joined
Oct 5, 2007
Messages
94
Reaction score
0
Points
6
Location
UK
Your Mac's Specs
Mac mini 2.4, wife: iPad 16gb & iphone 3Gs, me: Macbook 2.6 & iphone 3Gs
I have enjoyed using ebooks since the days of my old palm (circa 2000), since then I have always had ebooks on hand in various format

I dont even bother with the book stores, I strenuously object to paying more for an electronic copy than I would for a hardback (and almost twice that of a paperback)

Thankfully I am not the only one, and there are enough places out there to get pdf's etc that can be converted to epub.
I have built up a good sized collection over the years, and shall continue to add to it, I think that in the same way as itunes have slowly brought their pricing down to slightly cheaper than a physical copy they will eventually do it for ebooks too.
 

bobtomay

,
Retired Staff
Joined
Dec 22, 2006
Messages
26,561
Reaction score
677
Points
113
Location
Texas, where else?
Your Mac's Specs
15" MBP '06 2.33 C2D 4GB 10.7; 13" MBA '14 1.8 i7 8GB 10.11; 21" iMac '13 2.9 i5 8GB 10.11; 6S
I have yet to see any ebook priced even remotely close to the hardback version of the books I'm interested in. Unless maybe you're talking about the unsold copies now sitting on the shelves for $5 instead of the original $25-$35. All the current releases I've looked into buying have been 50-60% below the hardback price.

As for paperbacks, it seems the ebook price is not lowered immediately upon the release of the paperback version by the ebook sellers. But, it seems it doesn't take that long for it to be lowered to match and often times $1-$2 cheaper.

So, my question... Is the pricing that much different outside the U.S.? Because I'm just not seeing this repeated comment that ebooks are more expensive than purchasing the book itself.

Or does everybody else wait until a book has been out for a year or so and it's at Half Price Books now.
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top