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Oyster, Netflix for books, is launching the beta version of its iPhone app

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Re: Oyster, Netflix for books, is launching the beta version of its iPhone app

#12

Post by GotNothing »

For $9.95 a month, I'd rather support my local library/bookstore. Unlike movies, where I could watch 5-6 on a really lazy Saturday, books take quite a bit more time. I'm a pretty regular reader and I'm lucky if I get through 2 books a month.

Based on: http://gawker.com/5971571/are-you-an-above+average-book-read...

I read about the average (outlier) person, so for $9.95 I'd rather own the one or two books I can read that month, which would cost close (give or take) to the same amount as they're offering.

Re: Oyster, Netflix for books, is launching the beta version of its iPhone app

#13

Post by Thrall »

patmcc wrote: post #7

The "Netflix for books" is, and has long been, libraries. And yes, almost all of them have an ebook program in addition to their huge supply of paper books.

Our local libraries recently started an ebook program. However, copyright restrictions mean they aren't allowed to loan a single 'copy' out to more than one person at once. With the relatively small number of ebook copies available compared to the number of library users, last time I checked there was a long waiting list for most books. Perhaps ironically, it is quicker to go to the library and borrow a paper copy. (The irony being that one of the advantages of ebooks over paper books is that you don't have to wait for them to be delivered)

Re: Oyster, Netflix for books, is launching the beta version of its iPhone app

#14

Post by hkmurakami »

GotNothing wrote: post #12

For $9.95 a month, I'd rather support my local library/bookstore. Unlike movies, where I could watch 5-6 on a really lazy Saturday, books take quite a bit more time. I'm a pretty regular reader and I'm lucky if I get through 2 books a month. Based on: http://gawker.com/5971571/are-you-an-above+average-book-read... I read about the average (outlier) person, so for $9.95 I'd rather own the one or two books I can read t…

my thoughts exactly. they're supposedly targeting the casual reader, but how many casual readers read more than 1 book a month? at one book a month the pricing model makes no sense. it's really at 4 books a month where it starts to look cheap, but 1 book a week is a very steep hill for most people.

reading is an active activity unlike tv or music which are inherently passive. IMO that makes a big difference in how much we can consume the medium.

Re: Oyster, Netflix for books, is launching the beta version of its iPhone app

#15

Post by nonchalance »

anigbrowl wrote: post #6

The model is just too compelling for consumers: Pay a reasonable price, get access to all the content you want without having to own it I quite like owning my books, actually. There's already an alternative to doing so, called a library; since the book sales business did quite well int he pre-internet days despite the widespread availability of libraries, I'm not sure why the author thinks a functioning e-book librar…

Books in the library are rivalrous: for a given physical book, at most one person can borrow it at a given time. There are nontrivial costs (time and/or money) to copying a physical book.

e-books, in the current incarnation, are not rivalrous and are much easier to copy and disseminate.

Re: Oyster, Netflix for books, is launching the beta version of its iPhone app

#16

Post by nfailor »

trequartista wrote: post #9
untog wrote: post #4

Oyster? Really? Like the Oyster travel site: http://www.oyster.com/ Or the Oyster travel card: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/14836.aspx ?

The FAQ mentions about the choice of the name Oyster - https://www.oysterbooks.com/help/faq "Oyster takes inspiration from the famous literary line in Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor, "the world's mine oyster." All the pleasures of reading are yours for the taking, no matter where you go."

...which is precisely why it worked well for travel and cards...

Re: Oyster, Netflix for books, is launching the beta version of its iPhone app

#19

Post by nfailor »

bphogan wrote: post #10
zphds wrote: post #2

This looks neat but I find it weird that they targeted the iPhone first instead of the iPad. Isn't reading on iPhone hard?

Not to me. But then, I used to read audiobooks on my Palm Pilot in 2001.

psah, haven't lived unless you did it on the 1k.

Re: Oyster, Netflix for books, is launching the beta version of its iPhone app

#20

Post by TallGuyShort »

hatu wrote: post #17
TallGuyShort wrote: post #5

I'm yearning for the day somebody applies that business model to audio books...

Hasn't Audible done this for a long time already?

You're right - I guess I'm thinking more of the Kindle business model (I was thrown off by all the Amazon references). With Audible, I believe you have to stream the books, but when I want to listen to an audio book, I usually don't have a reliable connection (e.g. road trips). It would be great if you could download the audio (even temporarily, much as I hate DRM) as part of the subscription. Since I'm now talking about a different model entirely, I'm afraid I'm well and truly off-topic. Sorry :)
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