How Apple iBooks could compete with Amazon's Kindle in the ebook space [updated] -
Update: The original version of this post cited a $99 fee to set up publishing for books via the iBookstore, which was incorrect; while the developer program $99 fee applies to books-as-apps, it does not apply to iBooks themselves. TUAW was contacted by Apple's media team, and they told us that "anyone can submit books to sell on iBookstore easily, and for free at itunes.com/sellyourbooks." We apologize for the error.
Apple's iBooks app and the iBookstore have been available since March of last year, but don't appear to have made as much of an impact as the much older Kindle platform from Amazon. Just last week, Amazon chief Jeff Bezos announced that the company is now selling slightly more electronic books than the dead-tree versions. Last October, one of our bloggers noted that the iBookstore was "one big failure," citing the lack of titles as his main concern.
I feel the same way. Although it seems as if things are slowly getting better, I still find myself searching for electronic books in both the iBookstore and Kindle Store, and the majority of the time I buy them from Amazon. Personally, I do like the look of iBooks a lot more than I do Kindle books, and I find incredible numbers of typos in Kindle books. But I still go to the Kindle Store for most of my ebooks simply because I can find what I want to read.
During a discussion with several of my fellow bloggers yesterday, it occurred to me that there are a few things that the Kindle electronic publishing platform does much better than the iBookstore. Read more to see some suggestions on what Apple could do to better compete with Amazon's Kindle ebookstore and dominate the ebook market the way that the iPod and iTunes have come to rule the music business.
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