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Just a reminder that if you're looking for digital publishing, e-book and iPad info, you should read my iPadGirl blog (and follow iPadGirl on Twitter). I keep my main Inkygirl blog focused on the craft and business of writing.

Donn Linn in his most recent blog post:

The hyperbolic predictions and bombastic punditry will always be with us. The trick for people and companies trying to navigate through this time of change is to sort fact-based opinion and observation from uninformed assumptions and agenda-biased commentary.

Yay, Donn! I follow Donn's Twitter and blog for his insightful comments about digital publishing and industry news.

For those interested, I've posted some of my thoughts on digital magazines over on my iPadGirl blog:

Diamond Age Lust and Thoughts On Digital Magazines

For those interested, I’ve compiled a list of magazines currently available for the iPad.

A while back, I mentioned that Fictionwise support had e-mailed me saying they were NOT developing a version of their e-reader for the iPad. Disappointed, I thought, “Oh well. At least I’ll be able to read my e-books in small iPhone size on my iPad.” But then I discovered that some of the e-books I purchased through Fictionwise (a Barnes & Noble company) were now unavailable because of “geographic restrictions.” When I tried downloading them for my iPad, I got the error “Territory not authorized.”

Nearly a month ago, I wrote to Fictionwise support about the problem. Here’s what they wrote back:

“Hi,

We are currently working with our providers to resolve the download errors you are experiencing.

Sorry for any inconvenience this may be causing and thank you for your patience as we attempt to resolve this issue.

Best Regards,

Ted
Fictionwise Support Team”

Since then, some of the titles I couldn’t access before can now be accessed, but there are still quite a few that remain unavailable.

It’s this sort of problem that makes it clear that the e-book industry still needs a lot of work before it has a hope of succeeding. I’ve already had at least one reader say, “See? This sort of thing is why I don’t buy e-books.”

DRM, for those that don’t know, stands for Digital Rights Management. It’s a pretty broad term that’s used to refer to techniques for restricting the free use and transfer of digital content. It’s meant to control copying of digital files but from what I can tell, it only ends up ticking off the consumer while content thieves find ways around it. It only takes ONE person to crack the code, and all the effort/hassle that has gone into the DRM for a particular item (an e-book, for instance) becomes worthless. Less than worthless, actually, because of the problems encountered by a consumer who LEGITIMATELY B

If you’re curious about the steps I took to create the image above, see my iPadGirl post.

I’ve been reading more magazines on my iPad lately. Here’s what I did and didn’t like, and my answer to the question, “Will the iPad save the magazine publishing industry?“

Dear Author blog has an excellent overview of the e-readers currently available for the iPad. If you have an iPad or are considering buying one for reading e-books, I strongly recommend that you read this post.

Clearly, there is room out there for a good e-book reader app for the iPad.

Related resources:

iPad Experience: Can the iPad replace ebook readers?: includes review of Kobo and Kindle apps
eBooks on the iPad: includes review of Wattpad
Reading Ebooks on The iPad with iBooks & Amazon Kindle [Mac]
by Bakari Chavanu on Apr. 16th, 2010

Giving up on having an iPad version of eReader, I’m checking out Stanza, but customer support does not seem to be replying to questions on the topic:

Meanwhile, I also tried getting versions of the e-books I purchased on Fictionwise onto my iPad to read through the iPhone app versions of eReader or Stanza…but am encountering problems.

I’m getting the following error when I try downloading many of the titles in my Fictionwise library:

“EBOOK DOWNLOAD: Territory not authorized. You are attempting to download an e-book that has territorial restrictions and it appears that you are in a country that is not authorized. Please contact the website you purchased this e-book from to determine if an error in processing has occurred. We apologize for the inconvenience.”

Argh. I had already come across this sort of problem when attempting to buy certain e-books that are available in the U.S. but not Canada, but never AFTER I had paid for them. I tried to re-download the e-books from my iPhone and got the same error, so this problem isn’t because of my iPad but rather because of something changing with the book permissions.

I’ve written to Fictionwise customer support. Hopefully I’ll get a more helpful answer than I did to my last query.

Sigh.

I recently wrote the following to Customer Support at Fictionwise:

I’m a longtime customer of Fictionwise and I recently bought an iPad. All my ebooks from Fictionwise, however, are in the “recommended format” e.g. Secure eReader, but reading these ebooks on my iPad means I either have to read them iPhone size (too small for the iPad screen) OR blurry (increased to fill the size of the iPad screen).

Do you plan to develop an iPad version of eReader? If not, I regret that I’m not going to be making any further purchases from Fictionwise.

Debbie Ridpath Ohi

Their reply:

Hi,

Currently at this time, there are no plans to update the iPhone eReader app for iPad.

Thanks!

Best Regards,

Linda
Fictionwise Support Team

Not happy about this, nor with Fictionwise’s uninformative form letter response.

7 more days until I pick up my iPad. Thanks to Susan Pigott for pointing out this gorgeous Vaja cases for the iPad. I especially love the one that looks like a Moleskine.

To avoid overloading those of you who aren’t iPad fans, I’ve been pouring most of my iPad obsessings into my @iPadGirl Twitter account and iPad Girl blog, so feel free to follow me there.

VIV Mag Interactive Feature Spread – iPad Demo from Alexx Henry on Vimeo.

14 days until I pick up my iPad. Not that I’m counting or anything, of course.

Anyway, thanks to James Huskins (@groovymystery on Twitter) for pointing me to the demo above, which was included in an AppleInsider article.

And so now I’m even MORE excited about the iPad’s potential, and look forward to seeing how book and magazine publishers take advantage of colour tablet devices like the iPad.

I was recently approached by a publisher who likes my illustrations, asking if I had any stories to go with them. I’ve started using Zengobi’s Curio to brainstorm. LOVE this program. I’m also using it to brainstorm about my other writing projects, both fiction and nonfiction, as well as my cartoons.

Curio’s creator is unsure about whether to create an iPad-friendly version and is asking for feedback on the Curio forums:

I’d love to hear from some students given that we have a TON of college students using Curio. Are you going to be purchasing an iPad? To supplement your Macbook or for replacing it?

Likewise, we have a ton of professional users (designers, filmmakers, and other creative types, and plus engineers, scientists, etc) using Curio. What are your thoughts on the iPad?

If you’re a Curio user who love to see a version for the iPad, please do post your opinion on the Zengobi Curio forum!

Here are some useful posts about how writers use Curio:

Zengobi Curio : Project Central on my Mac
Using Curio to plan a book
Curio and Screenwriting
Writer’s Gem: Curio – by Angela Booth

Lots of gleeful iPad-bashing out there.

Interesting to compare the comments to early reactions to the launch of Apple’s iPod, which ended up selling over 220 million units by Sept/2009:

From a Wired article:

The iPod is expected to hit Apple’s online store and the company’s retail outlets on Nov. 10. It will cost $399. For all Jobs’ excitement, though, Apple users at Mac discussion sites seemed a bit crestfallen that the device wasn’t as revolutionary as the company had promised last week.

Indeed, many said it was over-priced and under-powered.

“Apple has introduced a product that’s neither revolutionary nor breakthrough, and they’ve priced it so high that it’s reminiscent of the Cube,” a post on MacSlash said.

The message then offered some ideas for what “iPod” might stand for. These won’t make Jobs happy: “I Pretend it’s an Original Device,” it suggested, or “idiots Price Our Devices.”

From MacRumors comments (check out one of the original threads for more iPod-bashing):

‘I still can’t believe this! All this hype for something so ridiculous! Who cares about an MP3 player? I want something new! I want them to think differently! Why oh why would they do this?! It’s so wrong! It’s so stupid!”

“Sounds very revolutionary to me. hey – heres an idea Apple – rather than enter the world of gimmicks and toys, why dont you spend a little more time sorting out your pathetically expensive and crap server line up? or are you really aiming to become a glorified consumer gimmicks firm?”

All that hype for an MP3 player? Break-thru digital device? The Reality Distiortion Field™ is starting to warp Steve’s mind if he thinks for
one second that this thing is gonna take off.

From commenters after Slashdot announced the Apple iPod:

And I was all excited they were going to release a OS X based wireless web pad. Instead we get yet another portable MP3 player .. “groundbreaking” I think was the term I heard them use to describe this new secret product the other day. How “groundbreaking” can something be when I can walk up the street and buy something with similiar (and in some cases, additional/better) features?

Keep in mind it’s $400 right now becuase the Apple Fanatics will have to have one. They’ll pay anything for the latest cool toy from Apple. In 6 months, hopefully the rest of us will be buying the 20GB version for $200.

I am very sad that Apple seems to be repeating the same mistake they made with the Cube – great, nifty product that anyone would love to

10 Comments on iPad bashing now compared to iPod bashing in 2001, last added: 2/5/2010

Display Comments

Rae said, on 2/3/2010 3:19:00 PM

I still think that an iPod is just a very expensive MP3 player. Nothing changed since the beginning. Although I find it kinda funny how much it was bashed in the beginning and how it turned out.
The iPod Touch was something different, so was the iPhone. The iPad? Hm, I didn’t have any expectations so I was not disappointed. I won’t say anything about it until I have the chance to test it ‘though I find it kinda sad that you can’t run two programms the same time.

I don’t think I’ll get one but you never know. Maybe in a few years.

Bob Guest said, on 2/3/2010 4:14:00 PM

I didn’t get taken in with the iPod….. After all, I can get better performance and easier to use software for my Creative Zen….. So why would I want to get an iPad? From what I’ve seen, it doesn’t have any features that I would want and/or don’t already have available. I think Apple is just trying to soak us for yet another overpriced toy.

Wayne said, on 2/3/2010 5:14:00 PM

I see good and bad points. But while I have some specific concerns (multi-tasking for instance) I see more positives than negatives, and I’m willing to bet that sales will be good.

As to why no one else came out with anything close – well someone did. The XO-2 has also been criticized, for some of the same reasons, and I expect that it is going to shake up the netbook market. Of course the original XO created the netbook market

Reesha said, on 2/3/2010 9:01:00 PM

Here! Here!
Good comparison. Even though I find myself fast becoming one of those Apple fanatics, I grew up in a PC home. Even if the iPad has some major or minor drawbacks, I’m just glad to see Apple heading in this direction ’cause it means they’ll most likely try to improve it.

I kind of wish they would’ve called it the StarTrek Pad though. Technology is getting closer to those kinds of things every year. When Apple introduces the Tricorder, I’m so gonna be at that Keynote in person.

Olive O'Brien said, on 2/4/2010 5:32:00 AM

I used to be totally anti iPod, etc and am still very happy to use my MP3 player instead. But did relent this year and bought an Apple iPhone:) Am too interested to see how the iPad will pan out or if it will live up to the hype.
Olive

Michelle Gregory said, on 2/4/2010 8:08:00 AM

i certainly won’t be one of the ipad bashers. i learned my lesson with the ipod. i didn’t see any need for it and now my husband has to fight me for it. i love my ipod.

Wayne said, on 2/4/2010 9:19:00 AM

Michelle,

Last fall I finally managed to get my wife converted to a Mac. She had a few problems adjusting, but once she did, well, she won’t go back to Windows (she would consider Linux though, she really liked it). So we have five MacBooks in the house, one for each adult. We know, and generally like Apple.

So just after Christmas her Palm Pilot started to die. My son has a first generation ITouch, I have an IPhone, and my daughter wanted an IPhone. I kept telling my wife that she needed to look at an ITouch, and so did my daughter, instead of another Palm. But let’s face it – she’d been using one for ten years, and was comfortable with it, and would have probably bought another one if Palm’s OSX Desktop had of worked well. I pointed out that I had used a Palm for years, and found the IPhone a lot easier to use, and the screen a lot nicer.

Eventually we managed to convince her, and she bought one, even though she had qualms about the on-screen keyboard. After about 3 hours of playing with it, well, she’ll never go back to a Palm. She loves the on-screen keyboard, uses it for appointments, games, ebooks, and of course music.

So I think that the IPad will be a success. Apple knows how to integrate software and hardware better than anyone else. However I don’t like being locked into their store, and their store only. I don’t like DRM. I like to be able to load what I want, when I want, and to be able to hack the system. I also prefer software that is licensed under the GNU General Public License for ethical reasons, and Apple is a proprietary as all get out. So I’m rather conflicted, as Apple doesn’t like or use the GPL.

Gary McGath said, on 2/4/2010 2:36:00 PM

Yesterday I read an article looking back on iPhone bashing (too expensive, no third-party apps, only one carrier, etc.), but I can’t find it now.

Danno Bonano said, on 2/4/2010 2:44:00 PM

Wayne, well said. However, for most people, Apple’s ecosystem (iTunes – music/movies/tv/apps and now books) is the game clincher. It just works with their devices. Frankly, having the software sold in hundreds or thousands of locations is tiresome and mostly a pain in the butt. Plus, it can be buggy and cause problems with the OS, device and/or network connectivity. I, for one, prefer some level of vetting apps. That means I don’t have to do it. Also, my money isn’t going into packaging for software. I know Apple’s cut and the developers cut when I buy an app. As well, Apple has lowered the price of software for each of us while making millions for developers. I don’t have any sort of issue with GNU but I do believe developers should be compensated for their work.

As for Bob Guest above, seriously, the Creative Zen had easier to use software? Ha. If the hardware device was better made with a better interface and a better desktop user experience it would have trounced the iPod. It didn’t. As it turns out, the iPod became popular because it was easy for any user (young or old) to use. And by saying “use” I mean not only operating but also purchasing music.

I was a hardcore PC guy who ridiculed Mac users. I, too, had a Zen. Back in 2002 I had to buy a Mac for my wife as her new job was specifically on Macs. I had also just bought an Athlon processor PC. I spent 3 days configuring my PC and removing crapware. Spent another few days installing software and analyzing my registry to alleviate some crashing issues. My wife chose an iMac and the next weekend we went and bought one.

I was a bit curious about it. Set the box on my dining room table, opened it and within 8 min and 43 seconds was connected to the net and receiving email. Wow.

Three months later I bought my first iPod and never used the Zen again. Finally, a company that just gets it.

The iPad will not be the exact device you think you need but it will be the device you actually need. Apple didn’t add a lot of features to the iPhone on the initial launch. What they did do was execute so well on what features they did offer. When they could execute exceptionally well on newer features then they added those too.

Say what you will but tablets sold 500,000 units in 2009. The iPad will easily sell over 2 million. And with good reason.

Wayne said, on 2/5/2010 8:02:00 AM

Wayne, well said. However, for most people, Apple’s ecosystem (iTunes – music/movies/tv/apps and now books) is the game clincher. It just works with their devices. Frankly, having the software sold in hundreds or thousands of locations is tiresome and mostly a pain in the butt. Plus, it can be buggy and cause problems with the OS, device and/or network connectivity. I, for one, prefer some level of vetting apps. That means I don’t have to do it. Also, my money isn’t going into packaging for software. I know Apple’s cut and the developers cut when I buy an app. As well, Apple has lowered the price of software for each of us while making millions for developers. I don’t have any sort of issue with GNU but I do believe developers should be compensated for their work.

Danno,

I didn’t say that Apple shouldn’t run the ITunes store. What I said was that Apple should allow you to add other stores if you want. All Apple did with the ITunes store was imitate what Canonical had done for Ubuntu several years earlier. The difference being that Canonical allows you to add ‘repositories’ run by other companies, and Apple doesn’t.

And as to GNU, developers are compensated. Let’s take the Linux kernel as an example – all of the major kernel developers and most of the minor ones are being paid by their companies to work on the Kernel. It’s the same with OpenOffice, MySQL, Apache, Mozilla, etc., where the developers are being paid by their company to work on the product.

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I was excited about the idea of an Apple tablet long before the hype began. I remained excited despite the build-up hype. And yes, I’m STILL excited now that the announcement’s been made and people are scrambling over each other to dissect, critique and mock.

I’m not a tech guru, so can’t defend the iPad against some of the criticisms about what the iPad should have had.

I also don’t claim to be an e-reader device expert, so won’t attempt to do a detailed comparison of the iPad with other e-readers at this point.

No, I’m not crazy about the name but heck…it’s just a name. My focus will be on how well the iPad is going to work for me.

I’m mainly excited about the Apple iPad because of its e-reading possibilities. Yes, it’s backlit. But so is the iPhone, and I’ve been reading e-books on my iPhone for a while now, with dozens of e-books on my virtual bookshelf. I’m looking forward to having a sleek, portable device with more screen space that’s easy to carry around. I will always love the sensual joy of holding a print book, but I also love the idea of being able to carry around a library of books without the back strain and arm strain that comes with it. As someone with occasional tendinitis issues, this is a major boon.

I’m disappointed that the iBooks store isn’t available in Canada yet, but I figure that since iPhone apps will work on the iPad, I’ll just keep reading e-books the way I do now…but on a larger screen. Plus as with the Kindle, I figure Canadians will get access once Apple sorts through the red tape.

The Stanza and e-Reader people probably started revamping their products for the iPad as soon as the specs came out. The iPad’s built-in reader supports the ePub standard, a standard adopted by the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF) as an open-standards-based format for digital books. I’m curious to see how Apple handles copy protection, especially if they’ll allow iPad users to import unprotected ePub documents.

I’m also excited by the glimpse of some of the other features we saw in the Apple presentation, especially the calendar. I use iCal right now, and that’s a pain to use on a small iPhone screen.

(Update, after talking to Alice Ching-Chew: The iPad would be GREAT for sheet music! Much easier than carrying around my binders of printed out music.)

But most of all, I’m excited about the idea behind the iPad. The science fiction nerd inside me loves the idea of holding so much information and functionality in something the size of a thin book (about 9.5″ x 7.5″, 1/2 inch deep). I’m excited to see future versions as Apple continues to tweak and improve, and can’t wait to see what comes next.

Jeff pointed out that the iPad delivery

For those who missed the liveblogging from the Apple announcement, here are some good summaries:

AppleInsider’s overview of iPad specs and info about AT&T’s no-contract iPad data plans, which run $15/mo. 250MB, $30 unlimited.

Apple iPad Just Tried To Assassinate Laptops:

It’s the ‘internet device’ vision of a decade ago all over again, except now Apple can offer what is arguably the best user experience for internet and media consumption combined with a very reasonable (for a brand new gadget) price.

BNN blog transcript: Steve Jobs presents the Apple tablet

Mashable: Apple Introduces iPad Tablet Device

Boy Genius Report: Apple iPad recap

Need more iPad goodness? The iPad video is now on the Apple site.

Am I getting one? Oh, yes. I’ve also started a new Twitter feed called iPadGirl.

As some of you may already know, I have been obsessed (yes, I said OBSESSED) with the possibility of an Apple tablet for ages. I even launched a separate Twitter account (@tabletgal) just for posting any info I found.

I can’t believe the announcement’s going to be made TODAY. Finally. But now there’s the morning to get through…eek. I think my brain’s going to explode if the announcement isn’t made soon.

Here are some sites doing live coverage of the event at 10 a.m. PST / 1 pm EST:

Engadget
Gizmodo
MacRumors.com
PC World
Wired
Technologizer

If you know of others, please post below. I’d like to ask a special favour of Inkygirl readers and ask that Apple naysayers NOT post below, just for today. For the rest of you: are you going to be tuning in for live coverage, or waiting until after the event to read the news?

Richard Nash’s Frankfurt Book Fair wrap-up included the following distressing (distressing to ME, anyway) text: Let it be said: that platform, right now, is the iPhone. Not any other rumored device. Apple has not been in private discussions about a larger device and reports that they have are a hoax. But Apple does believe in the [...]

Set to debut next week: Find out more about Barnes & Noble’s new e-reader in this Gizmodo post. I’m still waiting for the Apple tablet.

As I mentioned in my publishing news blog on Writermarket.com this morning, B&N has launched a new e-book store as well as its own e-book reader.

Being a huge fan of both e-books and e-book readers for the iPhone, I immediately downloaded the app. I read e-books on my iPhone all the time and am constantly checking out the updated versions of e-book reader apps. Originally my favourite was Fictionwise’s eReader but now I like Lexcycle’s Stanza the best.

Although B&N’s e-reader app for the iPhone basically does what it’s supposed to, I don’t think I’m going to be switching away from Stanza anytime soon. Here’s my review:

QUICK SUMMARY:

- B&N’s e-book reader app needs huge improvements in user interface and user experience.
- B&N’s app only lets you get e-books from the B&N site. Other e-reader apps are far more flexible.
- B&N’s e-book files are in .pdb and .prc format which theoretically means other e-reader apps SHOULD be able to read them, but the mechanics may not be intuitive for the average e-book reader.
- B&N’s e-books appear (at least at first glance) to be cheaper than at Fictionwise.com. Ironic, since B&N owns the latter.
- I’m not buying any e-books from the B&N e-book site until they improve their app.

MY LONG-ISH REVIEW:

To read any e-books with the app (even free e-books), you have to sign up for a B&N account. If I was just checking out the app out of idle curiosity, just this would have turned me off. Why force potential new users, especially users who are probably already using another e-reader, into signing up for something they haven’t had a chance to try yet? Bad marketing move.

The app comes with a few free titles, most of which are already available for free elsewhere.

When you click on the “Shop For E-books” button, your browser opens and you’re taken to a very primitive search page with one search field for book info. No choice of categories or topic or other info. A larger part of the screen was devoted to a B&N store locator.

Frustrated with the iPhone interface for the app, I went to my laptop to look through B&N’s new e-book store.

Living in Canada, I haven’t paid much attention to B&N’s Web presence except for publishing news. Their new e-book store was decently designed, and the e-book store tab easy to find in the top navigation bar.

B&N appears to have a flat US$9.99 price tag for most of their bestsellers. I buy most of my e-books at Fictionwise.com, so I was curious if there was much price difference. Stephanie Meyer’s Eclipse cost US$16.99 at Fictionwise but only US$9.99 at the B&N store. Since B&N owns Fictionwise.com, I was pretty shocked at the price difference.

I checked a title I recently purchased: King Dork by Frank Portman. I paid US$7.26 (as a Fictionwise club member, plus taking their “micro-rebate” into account) but B&N still had it on sale for less at US$7.19.

According to their the B&N e-reader FAQ, the e-books they sell are packaged to be read with the B&N e-reader.

The Barnes & Noble eReader is built primarily to support eBook files sold at BN.com. These text files end in either .pdb or prc and have been specifically packaged for use on a handheld using the Barnes & Noble eReader.

Hm…

My current favourite e-book reader, Stanza, does support both .pdb and .prc files, but it’s not immediately obvious how I’d go about using Stanza to read books purchased on the B&N website. Until I figure this out, I’m leery about buying any e-books from B&N. If any of you have done it successfully, please let me know!

I’m also not crazy about the fact that the B&N e-reader app currently only lets you get e-books from their site. Stanza and other e-book readers like eReader and Bookshelf are more flexible, enabling users to download e-books from a wide variety of sources.

In appearance, here’s a comparison of the first pages of Little Women using screenshots from my iPhone.

Using B&N’s e-reader, from their Classics series ($4.99 in their store, free with their e-reader):

Using Stanza e-reader (free copy of Little Women obtained using their Online Catalog, which access a wide variety of free and commercial e-books from different sources):

With Amazon owning Stanza and B&N owning Fictionwise, what does this means for e-books and e-book readers in general? With B&N also planning to come out with a rival to the Kindle, it’s clear that B&N isn’t going to let Amazon get away with the biggest toy in the e-book industry sandbox that easily. But will it succeed?

I’m not hugely impressed by the first version of B&N’s e-reader; they have a lot to improve in terms of user experience before I’d consider switching over. The other e-reader apps have already been through many iterations and improvements. I’ll be curious to see whether B&N can catch up.

I’ll be covering a comparison of specific e-book reader features of the top e-books readers in a future post.

I’ve been learning a ton about Twitter in the past few weeks, figuring out what I’m looking for in Twitter, and how best to use it. Here is how I use Twitter.

While you’re preparing your book to be downloaded from a Twitter post (see my previous entry), why not publish your book on the Kindle as an e-book?