Apple's Getting Back Into the E-Books Fight Against Amazon (bloomberg.com) 46
Mark Gurman, reporting for Bloomberg: Apple is ready to take on Amazon.com in the digital book market again, years after regulators forced the iPhone maker to back down from an earlier effort to challenge the e-commerce giant's lead. Apple is working on a redesigned version of its iBooks e-book reading application for iPhones and iPads and has hired an executive from Amazon to help. The new app, due to be released in coming months, will include a simpler interface that better highlights books currently being read and a redesigned digital book store that looks more like the new App Store launched last year, according to people familiar with its development. The revamped app in testing includes a new section called Reading Now and a dedicated tab for audio books, the people said. Apple released an early version of its iOS 11.3 mobile operating system update to developers on Wednesday, providing a hint that the new e-books app is on the way. The app is now simply called "Books," rather than "iBooks," according to the update.
Nooo! (Score:3)
The app is now simply called "Books," rather than "iBooks," according to the update.
Nooooo, is this finally the end of "i"Everything?
I'm still in mourning over the end of iCarly!
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Reading in LCDs confortable? (Score:5, Interesting)
I was under the impression that it wasn't very good for your eyes. I even read some people developed eyesight problems because of that
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I've used an iPad as my primary reader since they first came out. Never had any issues with it. I just set the brightness in the reader controls so it's not a spotlight in my face.
My wife uses an iPad mini as her primary cause it'll fit in her purse.
Between us we read as many as 10 books a week, particularly in the winter when it's cold outside and a nice fireplace inside.
Recently I moved up to the iPad Pro, largest size due to a vision defect and it's a great reader for those of us who need more page spa
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We don't care if you make money or not. We only care that you can't smear the comments section with more than a few -1 posts a day.
If you became a millionaire tomorrow I would be happy for you as long as it meant you stopped posting made up barely on topic personal anecdotes.
This has been going on for like a year and you still don't understand the situation.
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Though I work with computers I don't use them to read books. I have an epaper reader for that. What's your experience for reading for long times on LCDs? I was under the impression that it wasn't very good for your eyes. I even read some people developed eyesight problems because of that
I don't think they're actually going after the novel reading market. They probably are looking to capitalize on people who buy books and don't read them cover to cover. Like coffee table books, possibly text or reference books, and the like.
E-Ink makes a hug difference, IMO, when you're just plowing through text. I think most people who try both types of screens very quickly see the difference. Plus, and this is not Apple's or Amazon's or anybody's fault by mine, I get more reading done when I'm not readin
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Though I work with computers I don't use them to read books. I have an epaper reader for that. What's your experience for reading for long times on LCDs? I was under the impression that it wasn't very good for your eyes. I even read some people developed eyesight problems because of that
[Snip]
E-Ink makes a hug difference, IMO, when you're just plowing through text. I think most people who try both types of screens very quickly see the difference. Plus, and this is not Apple's or Amazon's or anybody's fault by mine, I get more reading done when I'm not reading on a device that has Youtube, Slashdot, etc.
Definitely E-Ink FTW. I read a lot and I find it much easier on the eyes. And I also agree that a dedicated e-reader is better; no online capability means no distractions.
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All else being equal, I prefer reading on an epaper reader (I've got a second-gen Kindle Paperwhite at this point). The problem is one of convenience. I don't want to carry around an additional device, so often I end up reading on my smartphone because I already have it on me. My Kindle is relegated to reading things at home, and even then only if the book that I want to read is available in a standalone ebook format (some publishers require you to read content in their own apps, which rules out the Kindle)
Because you're reading it wrong (Score:4, Insightful)
Most people set their screens much brighter than that. This results in eyestrain as your pupils have to adjust in size every time they look at and away from the screen. A good example are those LED billboards you see along the highway. When they're set too bright, it hurts your eyes to look at them at night. But when their brightness is set to match the ambient lighting, you can't tell if it's a LED billboard or a traditional paper billboard. Set the backlight of your LCD or OLED tablet to about match the brightness of a piece of paper, and there's no difference between reading from the tablet, an ePaper reader, or a printed page. (ePaper actually has a lower reflectance than white paper, about 50%, which is why the ones with a dim backlight are more comfortable for reading.
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Fanfiction and free translated fiction is why I read a lot on my tablet and not on my e-reader.
But there is one problem I see (Score:2, Insightful)
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Kindle is platform independent. I don't know why anybody would lock themselves to Android or Apple for media.
Because locking yourself into Amazon's dungeon is much worse?
Maybe through more legit means this time? (Score:2)
...years after regulators forced the iPhone maker to back down from an earlier effort to challenge the e-commerce giant's lead.
Yes, that time Apple and the top five book publishers colluded to enable price fixing, causing ebook prices to skyrocket overnight. What a wonderful effort; thank you Apple for fighting the good fight against Amazon. And then a few years later when the DOJ sued them all for it, such a shame.
I can't wait to see what their new efforts are.
Why am I going to wall myself in? (Score:2)
Kindle works as a Kindle (as in the device) and Kindle (as in the app). The app works on pretty every much platform I have around the house ... our Android phones, the Apple devices we have around (iPod, iPhone, iPad), and our (convertible) Windows laptops. I also believe I can read my book on a plain old browser if I log into my Amazon account. We have a family Amazon account so we can share books that way, and my library works with the Overdrive app, which happily lets me check out ebooks from the library
Waiting for (Score:2)