Ask MacTalk - iBooks and the iPad, Should I Dive In?

<img class="alignright size-full wp-image-5107" title="bpm-questions-you-should-ask-your-bpms-vendor1" src="http://www.mactalk.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/bpm-questions-you-should-ask-your-bpms-vendor1.jpg" alt="bpm-questions-you-should-ask-your-bpms-vendor1" width="140" height="200" />Welcome to another segment of <strong><em>Ask MacTalk</em></strong>. This is your chance to email me and ask a question regarding anything to do with Apple. You might have a technical issue you want solved, you might be seeking advice with a new computer, or just want to settle a bet with a friend. Either way, as long as it's Apple related, I will take a stab at answering one question, every Monday. If I pick your question to be answered, you win a $20 iTunes voucher!

<strong>If you have a question you'd like to ask, just email <a href="mailto:ask@mactalk.com.au?subject=Question for MacTalk">ask@mactalk.com.au</a></strong> - <em>just note, not every email will be answered or published, so if it's something urgent, your best bet is to post on the <a href="http://forums.mactalk.com.au" target="_blank">forums</a></em><em>.</em>

The question this week comes from <strong>Judy Frazer</strong>. She wants some info about the iBook store and the iPad.

<em>I am more than confused about e-books - are they available or not for the iPad in Australia? Every opinion I have read contradicts the previous one! And as or the cost, if and when they become available, will it be worth it? And what will be actually available, again, if and when. Should I invest in an iPad? I'd love to, but it does depend on so many unanswered questions.</em>

Well Judy, I'm pretty much in the same boat as you. In their usual style, Apple has given no information about the Australian release of the iBook store, except that it won't be available on launch here in Australia. The "answers" I'm about to give you are all my best, educated guesses as someone who is a keen observer of such things.

So - availability. There's no official date for the iBook store being available in Australia. Nothing. There has been a job listing on the Apple website for someone to fill the role of "<a href="http://jobs.apple.com/index.ajs?BID=1&amp;method=mExternal.showJob&amp;R ID=48775">Manager, iBooks Asia Pacific &amp; Canada</a>". This job listing is still up, so I assume they haven't filled it yet. That's not a good sign if we want an Australian iBook store sooner rather than later, if there's no manager assigned to our region. There's plenty of (stupid and complex) reasons why the iBook store is US-only for launch day, but it mainly boils down to all the contracts and agreements and boring things that need to be worked out before e-books on the iPad can hit our part of the world. It's very similar to how the iTunes Music Store took ages to reach our shores all the way back in 2005.

Which e-books will be available? Again, it's hard to know for sure, but if you look at the Australian version of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/1284007011">Amazon's Kindle Store</a> and the <a href="http://www.dymocks.com.au/VirtualStore/LandingPage.aspx?Store=Digital&amp;Ne=10&amp;N=429 4967265">Dymocks e-Book store</a>, you can get an idea of the sort of titles available. It's pretty bare. Unfortunately, many Australian titles aren't available and Australian publishers haven't really worked out deals with retailers for eBook distribution, hence, there's none available. The good thing is that the iPad supports the 'epub' format, which is an open standard for eBooks - think MP3, but for books instead of CDs. There are a couple of places online you can legitimately buy ebooks, or even download them for free. It's just a matter of scouring the net for the content you want and converting it to 'epub' format. However, even then, the availability of quality ebooks is nowhere near the selection available at a local bookshop, let alone an online store like <a href="http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/">Book Depository</a> or Amazon.

How much will they cost? How long is a piece of string? Unlike with the iTunes store, books will be variable in their pricing. Could be $10, could be $15, could be $20. It's really up to the publisher and what they think they can get away with. Sometimes it's often cheaper to buy the paperback version of a book, particularly for popular titles as they're sold at a discount (e.g: a copy of 1984, or any of the Penguin Classics won't really cost more than $10 - the eBook might even cost more).

Should you invest in an iPad? If you plan on using the iPad solely as a reading device, I don't think it's worth it. The Kindle has a much better screen and accepts more formats and is easier to get content for. However, if you want to use the iPad for anything else (movies, Internet, magazines, games etc.), then the iBooks are a nice feature to have along with that, rather than the killer feature.

It seems to me that the eBook market is very immature right now. It's very similar to online music only a few years ago. Hopefully with Apple moving in to the market, we will see all the major (and non-major) publishers get their content up on the iBook store, turning it into a one-stop-shop for eBooks, much like how the iTunes Store is now for music. Unfortunately, as early adopters, we will have to wallow in this primordial pool and wait for the rest of the world to catch up.

<em>If you think you can help clarify the iBook store situation for Judy too, just drop a comment on this post with your suggestions, or with info on how you've done a similar thing yourself. I may answer these questions first, but there's always more than one way to skin a cat.</em>