I said exactly this to my girlfriend about a year ago: "I've got a genius idea, what about a netflix for books?" She said, "You mean a library?" Now I'm not sure who was right...
From what I can tell it is for ebooks, so not quite a library. :)
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
#72So...Would have to read books on an LCD screen instead of a nice-on-the-eyes Kindle screen? No thanks.
Re: Oyster, Netflix for books, is launching the beta version of its iPhone app
#73Earlier quoted context omitted.
I read the entire "Game of Thrones" book series and "The Count of Monte-Cristo" (and most of the other reading I've done in the last two years) on a iPod touch. The new 5th Generation screen is quite nice in Landscape mode.
Wow... I tried reading with the Kindle app on my Samsung Note. I couldn't do it. The 7 inch tablet on the other hand...
I do most of my reading on mass transit, so carrying 100 books in my shirt pocket means I always have something to read.
I initially read on a Kindle 3rd Generation eReader, but they were pretty fragile (I had three break on me in 18-months time), so I got used to using my iPod Touch. I'm so used to it now, I've lost interest in reading physical books.
Re: Oyster, Netflix for books, is launching the beta version of its iPhone app
#74For $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…
Friend of mine said recently "What about Netflix for books? Why doesn't it exist?"
I first pointed out libraries and then made exactly your point about consumption. People burn through TV show episodes or movies more than they do books. And on top of that, I'd say a broader set of the population watch TV/movies than read books, which makes for a smaller market.
I am currently part-way through 6-8 books. I haven't managed to finish one in about 12 months!
Re: Oyster, Netflix for books, is launching the beta version of its iPhone app
#75For $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…
Friend of mine said recently "What about Netflix for books? Why doesn't it exist?" I first pointed out libraries and then made exactly your point about consumption. People burn through TV show episodes or movies more than they do books. And on top of that, I'd say a broader set of the population watch TV/movies than read books, which makes for a smaller market. I am currently part-way through 6-8 books. I haven't man…
I think people not finishing their books it probably one of the stronger use cases of this though. You wouldn't have to buy 8 books only to not finish them, you could just read them on Oyster.
Though admittedly that doesn't cover the library counter point.
Re: Oyster, Netflix for books, is launching the beta version of its iPhone app
#76Please support your local libraries and local bookstores. I hope libraries are never turned into historic relics.
Re: Oyster, Netflix for books, is launching the beta version of its iPhone app
#77The 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…
In fact, some public libraries lend e-books too. And there's OpenLibrary.org, which also lends e-books for free.
Some even lend e-book readers so people can access their lent e-books.
Re: Oyster, Netflix for books, is launching the beta version of its iPhone app
#78Earlier quoted context omitted.
In fact, some public libraries lend e-books too. And there's OpenLibrary.org, which also lends e-books for free.
My local library has been lending ebooks for years. Just a few days ago, they started "lending" online movies as well: http://www.helmet.fi/en-US/Tips/News_flash/HelMet_libraries_...
I better go cancel my Netflix subscription.
Re: Oyster, Netflix for books, is launching the beta version of its iPhone app
#79Oyster? Really? Like the Oyster travel site: http://www.oyster.com/ Or the Oyster travel card: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/14836.aspx ?
Never heard of the site, and the travel card is UK only. So not too big a conflict.
Don't get why this post was being downvoted when I saw it. Trademark allows for similarly-named companies in different businesses. The point is to prevent confusion, not cause a land-rush to monopolize common words.
Re: Oyster, Netflix for books, is launching the beta version of its iPhone app
#80The 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.
eBook lending licenses as brokered by the companies that provide this service to libraries (e.g. Overdrive) usually restrict the number of "copies" of an eBook that can be loaned at one time, and patrons often have to put themselves on waiting lists for books the same as they would have to for a checked out physical book. Obtaining additional available "copies" for popular eBooks is functionally the same as the library buying extra copies of a physical book.