Books to be limited to extended previews

Apple and Starbucks are expanding the Pick of the Week iTunes promotion to include TV shows and books, the latter company has announced. The coffee brewer has been giving away music download cards for some time, and recently began offering apps. The first non-music offering in the expanded promotion, just made official today, is in fact the Shazam Encore app. Firemint's SPY mouse is slated for next week, and then an unspecified song is scheduled for the week after that.

Although the TV shows will be full downloads, the books will only be "extended samples," longer than what the iBookstore typically offers for free. Adam Brotman, Starbucks' senior VP and general manager of digital ventures, explains that the previews should be about three times as long. Free pagecount will ultimately depend on both the book and the publisher.

by MacNN Staff