Filed under: Odds and ends, Freeware, iPad
Barnes & Noble eReader for iPad coming soon
That's the word from the giant U.S. bookseller. There is already a version for the iPhone and iPod touch, and Barnes & Noble says customers can expect the free software around the time of the iPad launch. The reader will give B&N customers access to more than a million eBooks, as well as selected newspapers and magazines.
The Barnes 7 Noble Nook, which competes with the Amazon Kindle, has only been out a short time, but if the iPad is a success a heck of a lot more people may be reading B&N books on Apple's device rather than the Nook. Now we have to wait and see if there is a Kindle app for the iPad (other than the already-released and popular Kindle app for iPhone), but I think it is a foregone conclusion.
It sounds like Apple is going to allow these competing book apps on the iPad, rather than forcing people to only use the iBooks store; if so, that's a good thing.
[Via Engadget]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
ruegenmail said 12:29AM on 3-12-2010
Does this mean Barnes & Noble as well as other book stores will start selling iPads in their stores in return?
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wygit said 10:15PM on 3-11-2010
Don't know, but if B&N, Sony & Kindle all do app store apps for iPad, it's game over. Apple will own the ebook distribution market. I love my little Sony touch, but I don't care for the sony store. And Apple hasn't (yet) actually tried to slide a rootkit on my computer with a music CD.
Screw it, they're all evil to some extant.
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Mike said 11:35PM on 3-11-2010
I think it would be cool if Apple allowed other apps to sell eBooks, then view them in Apple's reader / add to your bookshelf. Almost like if I download an eBook from anywhere to my Mac, cmd+O, the program I want to open them does. So assuming no-DRM or compatible DRM, iBooks would open up and store my eBooks. Just like iTunes stores my Amazon MP3s. I'd even like to add pdf-type eBooks to the iBooks app.
You have to assume that the iPad is going to allow the creation of real files for association because the new iWork wasn't shown syncing, etc with anything else. I also have a suspicion that the SD card adapter and usb adapter will eventually allow real file-system interfacing (copy files to and from). And unless they want to start a database driven concept for office files, they'll allow the user to name, and open the files. The question is where from? Can I click on an email attachment, jump straight to iWork and edit, save a new version, then attach to email? I'd hope so, and many other things as well...
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Jason Martin said 10:49PM on 3-11-2010
This is cool and all, and I might end up using it on occasion, but I don't see it replacing my B&N nook because of the lack of an e-ink display. That's the main reason I own an ebook reader.
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Jason Martin said 10:51PM on 3-11-2010
Also, I hope it's better than B&N's god-awful iPhone app. That thing's a mess. I never use it anymore.
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Troy Murray said 10:54PM on 3-11-2010
Hopefully Apple doesn't pull the Amazon Kindle and B&N Nook app for "studying" it like they did the Google Voice app
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Twist said 11:44PM on 3-11-2010
I would much rather have a single application for reading ebooks and have all these different companies publishing in a format compatible with that application. Unfortunately I believe we are in for a massive number of different competing ebook store apps once publishers start to realize that for the price of a single part-time Objective-C coder they can cut out the middle man and sell their books directly to readers.
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