eBooks outnumber games in the App Store
The number of eBooks in the App Store has surpassed the number of games for the first time, and the spread is widening. Mobclix, a mobile device advertising agency, reports that as of last month, there were over 27,000 eBook apps while games were relegated to the runner-up position of 25,400 apps. Over the last reported month, new introductions of eBook apps more than doubled that of games (158 eBook versus 71 game apps).
There are a number of reasons being kicked around to explain this phenomenon. It's easier to churn out an eBook than a game app. There are more free eBook than gaming apps, since many of the eBooks are out-of-copyright classics or collections of free content; this lowers the cost of development. Once an eBook engine is built it's fairly trivial to use the framework for another book.Currently there are over 10 times more free eBook apps than paid ones. It's different in gaming where paid apps outstrip free ones by over 2 to 1.
Note: One source contradicts another on the above point, so consider it removed.
These eBook apps will, of course, work on an iPad, but the Apple idea is to have you use one eBook reader and that would be iBooks. Jason Kincaid of Techcrunch, admittedly with no background evidence, posits that there may be an eBook purge coming. It would be very un-Apple to have an iPad owner searching for a copy of Treasure Island, and letting them find over 25 apps with differing interfaces and many of them free.
This could be confusing for new iPad owners, and more to the point, Apple can't monetize it. It doesn't sound unreasonable that Apple will do whatever it takes to make iBooks the eReader of choice at the expense of the plethora of current eBook apps. They will be doing it in the name of providing a simpler and more enjoyable user experience, but of course you can't pocket what you can't sell.
It will be fascinating to watch the eBook market about two months from now, after the first iPads have been delivered, and to see what Apple has planned.
[via The Guardian]
There are a number of reasons being kicked around to explain this phenomenon. It's easier to churn out an eBook than a game app. There are more free eBook than gaming apps, since many of the eBooks are out-of-copyright classics or collections of free content; this lowers the cost of development. Once an eBook engine is built it's fairly trivial to use the framework for another book.
These eBook apps will, of course, work on an iPad, but the Apple idea is to have you use one eBook reader and that would be iBooks. Jason Kincaid of Techcrunch, admittedly with no background evidence, posits that there may be an eBook purge coming. It would be very un-Apple to have an iPad owner searching for a copy of Treasure Island, and letting them find over 25 apps with differing interfaces and many of them free.
This could be confusing for new iPad owners, and more to the point, Apple can't monetize it. It doesn't sound unreasonable that Apple will do whatever it takes to make iBooks the eReader of choice at the expense of the plethora of current eBook apps. They will be doing it in the name of providing a simpler and more enjoyable user experience, but of course you can't pocket what you can't sell.
It will be fascinating to watch the eBook market about two months from now, after the first iPads have been delivered, and to see what Apple has planned.
[via The Guardian]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
T. said 10:38PM on 3-09-2010
What's the point?
Instead of a free app.. a free EPUB of Treasure Island will beat out a paid ebook from Apple.
Unless unlike MP3s on the iPod, you believe Apple won't allow users to load their own EPUBs through an iTunes interface.
I find this unlikely, since it would require Apple to pull an app from a huge vendor off the App store. You really think Apple is going to pull Amazon's Stanza app?
I find it more likely that Apple has already pulled all it's going to pull on Amazon, by killing the version of Stanza that allowed iTunes like USB sync through an unsupported API.
Given Stanza's need for Wi-Fi sync from a bare bones confusing Stanza desktop app, compared to an assumed Apple eBooks app that syncs through USB from within iTunes, I think Apple have the convenience factor to relegate Stanza to a distant second place already. They don't need to go annoying Amazon enough for it to stop selling iPod Touch:
Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3 in Electronics (See Bestsellers in Electronics)
#1 in Electronics > Portable Audio & Video > MP3 Players & Accessories > MP3 Players
I'd say Amazon's making a pretty penny for Apple in the online iPod sales department, if Amazon is selling enough iPod Touches even with Apple's online store to make it #1 in MP3 Players, and #3 in all electronics.
So, assuming Apple won't piss off Amazon, and since Stanza can read non-DRM EPUBs, I can't see Apple shooting their eBooks app in the foot by making anyone who wants to read free content do it through someone else's ereader app.
I don't see Apple bothering to get into hosting Guetenburg EPUBs... there's no profit.
But if they do, there's really no point in getting rid of the 25 free apps for each title, since Apple controls the app store search, if Apple wants to host free public domain ebooks, they'll always be the #1 search result for any particular book. And given an Apple option at #1 for free, who is going to bother to download a free app from #2-#n?
Eventually, Apple's going to have to institute a clean up policy. They can always quietly kill the other 25 apps a few years from now, since most will have been abandoned, and lack any new downloads over the last n months.
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Captain Obvious said 10:58PM on 3-09-2010
Um, WTF does Amazon have to do with Stanza?
Duncan said 11:57PM on 3-09-2010
@Captain Obvious - Amazon owns Stanza
@T. - very insightful
dsfx said 6:30AM on 3-10-2010
No...Amazon has the Kindle for iPhone app. Lexcycle makes Stanza.
puhsitch said 7:43AM on 3-10-2010
Duncan:
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/27/amazon-acquires-stanza-an-e-book-application-for-the-iphone ?
puhsitch said 7:43AM on 3-10-2010
Sorry, that was meant for dsfx, not Duncan. Damn, too early in the morning for me.
molo said 2:07AM on 3-10-2010
Remember ibooks is US only (for now), apps are global.
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nitrous9200 said 12:08AM on 3-10-2010
So that's where they get their hugely inflated "140,000 APPS" number from. That means roughly 20% of the entire catalog is not even real applications, but just books...really? Fart sounds are no longer the king of the App Store so now we need to make fun of it for having 27000 books in it.
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Sebastian said 12:09AM on 3-10-2010
There can't be an eBook purge. You seem to have forgotten about the iPhone and iPod Touch - those 'other' things which work on the App Store.
I don't believe iBooks will work on them when it's released, and many people don't bother to upgrade their firmware.
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David Frantz said 12:38AM on 3-10-2010
EBooks on iPad will be interesting to see develope. However I can't see Apple getting to excited about the other eBook readers as the data is mostly public domain. They might compete by offering free downloads even.
Let's face it the classics long out of copyright have no value. Atleast not in the monetary sense of a copyrighted work. Like iTunesU though there is a cultural value that is hard to quantify. I could see Apple wanting to stake out the free works for the same reasons it runs iTunesU. It enriches the ITunes environment and draws in customers.
Of course one never knows with Apple but they aren't as bad with app store and iTunes as some make them out to be. Rather like the record companies they have to come to an agreement and contract to do business with the providers. It is more a question of what those contracts force than Apples corporate desires. If they can effectively corner the market like they did with iTunes then we will see renegotiations in a couple of years. Further Apple is representing many publishers, they could easily turn theses app producers into publishers. There really isnt much effort required in publishing the works of long dead authors, so one way or another these old works will end up on the platform.
Dave
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Urbz said 12:51AM on 3-10-2010
Just to add something, until very recently I thought that reading a whole book on an LED-backlit LCD was preposterous. Then, I happened to buy a book and decided I wanted to refresh myself by downloading the prequel. I did so with Stanza and a torrent (the prices were ridiculous, so I decided I would steal from them before they could steal from me! Looking forward to paying reasonable prices, though.)
All I can say is it was all of the personal experience that I had come to expect from a book. And I read it on the beach. I think part of that feeling comes from the iphone itself, which is a joy to use and very personal in its own right, but the flipping of the pages and the different text sizes simply made reading a whole book a joy. Chapters, bookmarks, instant word definitions... better than a printed novel, more practical, and easier.
I returned the paperback I had bought and ended up not reading it at all, but I have it saved for a rainy day. All avid readers should try it out. :)
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Alex said 1:38AM on 3-10-2010
"Over the last reported month, new introductions of eBook apps more than doubled that of games (158 eBook versus 71 game apps). "
There must be kind of error in one of the sources -> for the past half year at least, every day there are AT LEAST 20-40 new books added; which means between 600 and 1000 books / month, instead of the 158 ebook apps the article mentions.
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Robert said 2:16AM on 3-10-2010
I certainly hope that there is some kind of eBook app purge. I'm sick of having to trudge through page after page of eBook apps on sites like AppShopper. And most of the eBook content is stuff I couldn't care less about.
I know it's quite trivial once you get the framework going, but now with in-app purchase, you would think that these devs would just release their eBook readers as a single app, and have the actual books as seperate downloadable content.
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Gavin Cockrem said 6:45AM on 3-10-2010
"Currently there are over 10 times more free eBook apps than paid ones."
Doesn't that data show the complete opposite?
24629 are paid, against only 2348 free.
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gavinlc said 6:50AM on 3-10-2010
Also, the guardian article links to the interactive graph here:
http://www.mobclix.com/appstore/1
David Winograd said 1:22PM on 3-10-2010
No it really doesn't.
The free books are the large number.
gavinlc said 2:37PM on 3-10-2010
That legend clearly shows that the blue is "Paid". So, is the legend wrong?
David Winograd said 3:00PM on 3-10-2010
Looking at again, you're right.
I have two sources that contradict each other so I've lined out the sentence.
Thanks for catching it.
Andrew Treloar said 6:45AM on 3-10-2010
@dsfx Amazon bought Lexcycle last year :http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/27/amazon-acquires-stanza-an-e-book-application-for-the-iphone/
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oZ said 9:47AM on 3-10-2010
I'm sure Apple will start culling all of them for "duplicating existing functionality".
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