No plans for Apple e-book service, says source
updated 11:05 am EDT, Fri July 31, 2009
No Apple e-books coming
Apple does not have any interest in building an e-book store, at least at the moment, an anonymous industry source claims. Speculation has arisen because of reports documenting an upcoming tablet device, generally expected to measure 10 inches and carry a built-in 3G connection. Regardless of whether or not the tablet supports e-ink technology, it could represent competition for Amazon's dominant Kindle readers.
The source suggests that any e-book support on the Apple tablet will have to come from third-party companies, which could include Barnes & Noble or Amazon itself. A Kindle application is already available for the iPhone.
Silicon Alley Insider observes that Apple may be avoiding e-books for several reasons. These include a small audience relative to the amount of money needed for e-book publishing, which could also fail to sell more hardware, the main purpose of iTunes and the App Store. Enough e-book apps already exist on the App Store moreover, from which Apple pulls 30 percent of the revenue.
Apple may also have had bad experiences with e-books several years ago. The book industry was then and now archaic and disorganized, the source claims, prompting Apple CEO Steve Jobs to cancel distribution plans.
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Joined: Oct 1999
No Way
While there is a market for eBooks/Kindle, it's is very limited. And Steve Jobs has made his position on this very clear. Any kind of book digital device has to have e-ink for serious readers. While a backlight device, such as the iPhone, is accept able for reading for a limited time (such as unexpected down time and no eReader at hand) reading a book on such a device is very hard on the eyes. People that speculate that reading on any backlit device just aren't eBook readers. There is a reason e-ink technology was developed.
Again, there is no way Apple would be interested in directly competing in this very limited space.