Apple has released a version of its iBooks app for iPhone and iPod touch models running iOS 4. Up until now, iBooks was only available for the iPad.
The eBook store and reader joins a crowded field of eBook apps for the iPhone. Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo (Borders) already offer apps for the iPhone and iPod touch. And there are a number of other free eBook apps that let you download free and paid books from the internet.
There is one killer feature that iBooks has that others don’t, though: integration with iTunes. That means you can pay for books using the same iTunes account that you use to pay for music, movie, and app purchases. It also means that you can browse and purchase content without leaving the iBooks app. (Take that, Kindle app.)
I don’t think you’ll ever see other book reader/store apps have in app purchasing due to the cut of the sale that would go to Apple.
But there needs to be a standard that everyone uses for DRMed books. I guess ePub and Mobi are the big two but IIRC Amazon still uses AMZ and Sony LRF. I haven’t followed what Borders and BandN do, and I don’t think most consumers have. I suppose that is why book store branded physical eReaders have done the best (and yes I do count Amazon as a book store since they were at their roots). What DRM book format is Apple using?
“But there needs to be a standard that everyone uses for DRMed books.”
Right. Because DRM always allows for usage over multiple platforms, be it book, audio, or video DRM.
I’m sure your need will be met any day now. Also, the check is in the mail…
(Back in the real world, if you purchase a DRM book, the format is meaningless, while the vendor is meaningful. A DRM’ed ePub book purchased from store A will not be readable on the platform of store B, even if store B also uses ePub. DRM media is locked into the vendor’s platform. The format used is meaningless to the topic you are discussing. Format interoperability is only meaningful with non-DRM’ed media.)
But for the ipad though you can’t use two programs together like listening to itunes while you read your ibooks