When the iPad came out, it came as no surprise that it was going to be in direct competition with Amazon’s Kindle. It is currently up for some debate whether readers will buy an iPad for reading, but it is no debate that there are millions of iPhone users who are currently reading Kindle books on their phone. With the iBookstore, these users will have a choice of buying between Amazon or Apple. This will definitely make things more competitive.
First of all, there will probably be more exclusive contracts with book publishers. This means that certain titles might be Kindle only or iBookstore exclusive content. Depending on which market place starts to dominate, one platform or another might have the most exclusive and best titles only one those devices.
If there are the same titles in both stores, the lowest price is going to win in the long run. If reading from an iPhone screen, there isn’t going to be a significantly different experience between reading a Kindle version or iBookstore version of the book. Users will simply buy the cheapest one. If the iBookstore wants to be competitive, it will have to have lower prices than the Kindle since both platforms can be read from the exact same device.
One overlooked side of this new competition is what the author makes. Apple is going to give the author around 70% of the sale where Amazon pays out much less. This means that Apple currently looks like the better deal for authors. It’s only a matter of time before Amazon raises the author percentage. What this could mean for customers is possibly lower overall cost since authors will be making higher profits.
With more and more devices and sources for ebooks, it’s just a matter of time that prices will come down due to competition and choice will increase for those who are reading eBooks.
The iBookstore announced with the iPad might bring some serious competition to the eBook market. While the iPad might not be the most read on device, the iPhone will. The competition is on between Amazon and Apple for this market.
Source by Tracy Cunningham
Will the iBookstore Make the eBook Market More Competitive?