This is a tough sell. An iPhone screen is not great to read on and to get enough mileage out of this you'd have to read a couple of books a month on it. If I could get something like this on my Kindle which is actually good on your eyes I might consider it.
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
#22Re: Oyster, Netflix for books, is launching the beta version of its iPhone app
#23Earlier quoted context omitted.
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 a…
I did the Audible free trial for a month and you can download through the app instead of streaming. It's worth a try if you're looking for something like that.
Re: Oyster, Netflix for books, is launching the beta version of its iPhone app
#24The 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.
Re: Oyster, Netflix for books, is launching the beta version of its iPhone app
#25For $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…
I read on my commute to/from work. Not sure about the # of books I finish a month, but I can say that I may be willing to "experiment" more with books I wouldn't have otherwise. No downside to read the first 3 chapters and then switch to another book, if you don't like it. I think, therefore, that it might be a nice DISCOVERY tool.
Re: Oyster, Netflix for books, is launching the beta version of its iPhone app
#26This would work great if it offered schoolbooks. Rather than buying a very expensive book, I would not mind "renting" it on a month by month basis.
Amazon.com already has an option for renting textbooks.
Re: Oyster, Netflix for books, is launching the beta version of its iPhone app
#27I really wish someone would make a netflix for audio-books. I'm aware of Audible and it's competitors, but they all seem to limit you to 1 or 2 books per month.
Re: Oyster, Netflix for books, is launching the beta version of its iPhone app
#28Why hasn't this already been done by Amazon, or Google Books? I understand Prime has something similar, but only for select books. Is this purely a publisher licensing issue? If so, wouldn't Amazon/Google have more leverage to make it happen?
Re: Oyster, Netflix for books, is launching the beta version of its iPhone app
#29The "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. (…
I suspect that as e-books become more popular, libraries are going to license them in larger quantities. They're a big cost saver for libraries since they take no space to store, no labor to re-shelve and can't be damaged or stolen.
Re: Oyster, Netflix for books, is launching the beta version of its iPhone app
#30The 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.
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_...