Now that the iPad/iPhone/iPod apps are "terminal"...

[ukiacat]

I follow the updates in MacRumors.com, CultofMac.com and 9-5Mac.com every single day and every one of them has been posting the same information as has been presented in this discussion. Also there is a discussion about this in a forum at Mobileread.com. And there was an article in the New York Times.

It is real. Apple has announced that Amazon, B&N and any other bookstore with an app on an Apple device must include a way for customers to buy their books through iTunes. They may still sell books through their own websites too but the price offered in iTunes must be the same or lower than on the bookseller's own website. There is also a 3000 item limit on in-app items. This means that B&N and Amazon would only be able to list a piddling number of the books they have for sale.

Apple wants a 30% cut of the cost of the book. B&N and Amazon only make 30% on the books they sell so there's no reason for them to agree to this change. I believe I read that if they do not agree to this change, their apps will be pulled from the app store in June. Right now I can't remember if it's June 1st or June 30th.

Apple has also made this requirement for any magazine publisher that wants to offer subscriptions on an Apple device. And they are also going after Netflix and other apps that sell music or subscriptions of any type. This is a seperate issue from the bookstore issue even though it is requiring the same changes (iTunes option for purchase and 30% cut)

I don't know what will happen to the books on my iTouch if this really goes through without a last minute agreement. I had been waiting to buy the new iPad2 that will be coming out soon but now I'll put that off until I see what happens with the B&N app. If there are no bookstore apps on Apple devices except for iBooks, then I will not be buying that iPad. I think Apple is making a big mistake. It would take a lot of iBook purchases to equal the sale of an iPad.

I feel angry at B&N too. I don't like how they are letting us all wait and wonder. How many people are out there happily buying Apple products so they can use them as a B&N ebook reader? Why won't B&N make a statement to let us know where they stand? Wouldn't they benefit by possibly increasing their Nook and NookColor sales when some buyers swerve away from an iPad? I don't get it. I just keep hoping for Apple to back down or for an agreement to be reached. Fingers crossed..........

[bklvr896]

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ukiacat wrote:

I feel angry at B&N too. I don't like how they are letting us all wait and wonder. How many people are out there happily buying Apple products so they can use them as a B&N ebook reader? Why won't B&N make a statement to let us know where they stand? Wouldn't they benefit by possibly increasing their Nook and NookColor sales when some buyers swerve away from an iPad? I don't get it. I just keep hoping for Apple to back down or for an agreement to be reached. Fingers crossed..........

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Because businesses don't work that way.  They're not going to come out at this point and say anything, until they are sure what is going to happen.  For all we know, they could be in negotiations with Apple (I hope not), but it is rare that businesses will respond to something like this until everything is set in stone.  Sometimes, if they do, it becomes a finger pointing, he said/she said kind of thing, that can get really unprofessional.  Has Amazon made any announcements?

I personally don't think the majority of those purchasing iPads are doing so to use it as a B&N eBook reader.  I think that's part of the problem that Apple is facing, iPad users and eBook readers are necessarily the same demographic.

[swan480]

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bklvr896 wrote:

I personally don't think the majority of those purchasing iPads are doing so to use it as a B&N eBook reader.  I think that's part of the problem that Apple is facing, iPad users and eBook readers are necessarily the same demographic.

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True.  iPad users are I think mostly Apple junkies.  The iPad is a fairly unfocused gadget, a hi-tech (and high priced) toy -- it reads ebooks but it's not really an e-reader, plays music but it's not really an iPod, surfs the web but it's not really a computer.  However, they have nonetheless tried to market it as an eBook reader, so I think a lot of people think of it as such.  I don't really give a rat's butt, I just want to be able to continue to read ebooks on my iPhone, and I hope I am not alone in this because I really am hoping that Apple will back down.  Or at least leave Bluefire and Stanza alone.

[swandy]

Swan, while I agree with most of what you say (I have an iPad and an iPhone), I think the assumption bklvr896 is only partially correct. While I did not get the iPad as an "ebook reader" (I had a Nook which I sold), people - myself included - purchased the iPad because it does so many of the things you refer. And while I will agree that a dedicated machine (ebook reader, video game player, video console, computer) can each do their dedicated task as well - if not better - than the iPad, the iPad can do them all. And it is that convenience that people get the iPad for. To be able to do a lot more than a dedicated reader alone can do in a relatively small package.

(And if define "toy" as something that is not really necessary, then yeah, the iPad is a high tech toy.)

[MrPine]

^^^my thoughts exactly.

 I sold my nook. and instead of buying a nook color, i spent the extra money and bought an ipad because i figured i would take advantage of all the other devices.

here is the big question.

for those of us that already have the nook app. and apple decided to remove it from the store.

will our app still function?

[swan480]

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MrPine wrote:

here is the big question.

for those of us that already have the nook app. and apple decided to remove it from the store.

will our app still function?

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That's one of my questions too.  I'd like to know whether Apple is simply going to remove the apps from the app store, or if they are actually going to disable them on our devices, too.

[swandy]

Well obviously they cannot force you to remove the app from your device or iTunes, but you may have trouble syncing or backing up your iDevice if the app is actually removed from the app store. Never had an app installed that was then removed from the store. BTW surprise of surprises, BN did release an update for the iPhone version of Nook app today.

[Pink_Maiden]

Wow!

I have to say that I am with bklvr and swan on this one.  Apple doesn't just want the whole pie, they want the pie, pie pan, fork and napkin too!  Talk about wanting it all.

I really think Apple is going to be sorry if they try to make these demands go through.  It really gets to me how they bully the market.  I think what they are trying to pull off should be against some sort of regulation or something.  If they try to enforce this I hope B&N and the others just pull their apps, as an iPod owner it wouldn't hurt my feelings one bit!

I have been saving to buy an iPad so I could use it mainly as an ereader, but also to watch movies on and check email and simple web surfing.  My health isn't good, so I end up spending a lot of time in bed and at the doctors.  I really wanted something that wasn't as heavy as a computer that I could still have some of the options that a computer has.  I love being able to watch a movie or read a book while waiting at the doctors office.  My son bought me an iPod just for that reason, lol

If Apple goes through with this, I really think I will be putting that money into an ereader instead or another type of tablet, as long as it isn't an Apple!  I have never bought any of their ebooks because of their greed, and now because of their greed they will loose more money from me, I won't be buying anything from them and I don't think I'll be alone in this.

So folks, tell me about the nook, lol  Color or regular?

Pinky

[MrPine]

what if nook were to follow apple's rules exactly?

here is what they do.

keep the app on the ipad.

offer only 3000 books. those books could be all free or $.99.

then the 30% share is nothing at all.

keep selling the other books on their website as usual.

????

profit

[KingAl]

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MrPine wrote:

what if nook were to follow apple's rules exactly?

here is what they do.

keep the app on the ipad.

offer only 3000 books. those books could be all free or $.99.

then the 30% share is nothing at all.

keep selling the other books on their website as usual.

????

profit

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But CS would soon be swamped with emails and phone calls from newbies wanting to know why they can't purchase books from the nook app.

[Doug_Pardee Distinguished Bibliophile]

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MrPine wrote:

offer only 3000 books. those books could be all free or $.99.

then the 30% share is nothing at all.

keep selling the other books on their website as usual.

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That's in violation of Apple's rules. In-App Purchasing can't be restricted compared to out-of-app purchasing. So only those 3000 books could be sold for downloading to iOS, whether in-app or out-of-app.

[MrPine]

that doesnt make any sense. if a company offers more than 3000 of something how can this be justified? it is impossible.

[swan480]

Of course it is.  It's also a win-win for Apple.  If the ebook stores don't comply, the apps get pulled and iBooks becomes the only ebook store on Apple devices.  If the ebook stores comply (which is unlikely), Apple gets the same cut on those ebooks as they would on the ones they sell themselves in iBooks.  Obviously Apple isn't particularly concerned about fair at this point.

[octoberdana]

I own a nook color and I love it for reading books and magazines.  However, the internet experience is not that great and leaves a lot to be desired.  So, I got a good deal on an ipad tonight and so I purchased one.

I was thinking of selling my nook color and getting a regular Nook to do my reading on, but now I'm not sure.

I like the ipad but it's way too big to carry in my purse most of the time.  So now with this news about the nook app leaving the app store I really don't know what to do.

[Pink_Maiden]

Hi octoberdana, I just sent you a message with a solution to your problem. Good night!

Pinky

[Mark_OB1 Bibliophile]

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swandy wrote:

Actually this is not the same situation. When you purchase software/hardware to use on a PC (Windows) or a Mac - don't you think that Microsoft and/or Apple get their cut from the person who created the software and/or hardware that is to be used with their licensed software?

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Ahh, how about... no?   And, like, wow.    What a concept.

- Mark

[wavydaby]

They pull the apps, and im selling my iPad.

period.

I bought the pad to do what it is.  A handheld pc.

And thats all it is. Its an overpriced Scabble/bejewled/webbrowser.

And you are kidding yourselves if you think that the iPad is not an ereader. It is,

along with being a doorstop, a time waster, a photo editor, facebook checker, a calendar, etc etc etc. It is what each individual bought it to be.

I do not worship at the temple of Jobs and Woz, their products are not the end all be all of technology.

they are the ben and jerry's of the computer world. they both started off as all "anti trust" and "look at us big the big guys down" and became the monster they originally told us they were trying to defeat.