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Improvements to the German e-book portal libreka!—plus the first official iPhone e-reader running Adobe-DRMed ePub
October 17, 2009 | 4:11 pm
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By Paul Biba
Got this email that I thought I should share with you:
Hi,
I think TeleRead missed this announcement at the Frankfurt Book Fair:
The German text is about the planned improvements of the German eBook portal libreka!, which is the official eBook shop of the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels (federation of German publishers and book stores). The interesting part for non-Germans is the announcement of the release of a libreka! iPhone app in the beginning of November. With this app it will be possible to buy and read the eBooks sold at libreka!—which are EPUB with Adobe DRM. So this will be the first official iPhone eBook reader for EPUB with Adobe DRM.
Best regards,
Tobias Steinke
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Comments:
The announcement actually states, that the libreka app will be available in November. My impression is, that the approval process for the appstore is not very transparent, so the statement is better taken with a grain of salt. A truckload of salt, actually, because openinge the iPhone to Adobe DRM might not be in Apple’s best interest with the mythical tablet on the horizon. If the tablet is positioned as a reading device Apple will be pushing their own commercial solution and they don’t have a history of diversity.
Why then did they approve the Kindle app? Because that was a year or so ago and customers owning a Kindle are basically lost to them anyway.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the libreka app goes the same way as Google voice, as far as the iPhone is concerned.
Thanks for commenting about the iPhone app Martin Jenny. I hadn’t thought about that wrinkle at all; but will remain hopeful. I can’t help wondering whether GoodReader on my iPod touch mightn’t handle a mobile-pdf file; but I’m not too game to risk it at present…
I just did some digging around on libreka. The formats offered are, as noted above, all Adobe: PC-pdf, mobile-pdf and Adobe Digital Editions. All can be read on a Sony Reader, or using the Adobe Digital Editions app on one’s pc. Not sure whether the availability of mobile-pdf indicates readability on any existing smartphones with pdf readers installed, but maybe. I couldn’t really tell whether all titles are available in all 3 formats — have only browsed around there long enough to get my most superficial questions answered; have to browse a bit more.
The selection available electronically still appears to be somewhat limited, but includes a lot of current bestsellers. Some titles are available as ‘print on demand’ only. Be sure to pay attention when seeking literature. There is some literary criticism cataloged at libreka according to the title and author of the work being analyzed — not the name of the scholar/critic.
Have to wait and see how the e-book thing shakes out for them. And for us. I’ve created a customer account with them, and can find no means of adding a title to my ‘shopping cart’. Whether that’s because the title’s not available as an e-book, or whether it’s because I’m accessing from a U.S. domain, is ambiguous. No idea whether there will be geographical limitations to purchasing. I shall explore some more…
Hmm..wish I read German. Where do you find the download? I didn’t see it from my US version of IPhone store…
@asphalt: No, most of the current bestsellers are offered in Adobe Digital Editions only. And the alternative is not “print on demand”, these are just the normal books.
Libreka started as a full text search for (digitized) German books – a desperate attempt of the German publishers to have something similar to Google Books in place. The idea was to offer a full text search for “normal” books and give you an idea what to buy at your local book store. Then they added the possibility to buy a few books also as e-books. But Libreka is still made by book stores. If you want to buy an e-book you will have to input the posting address of a (physical) book store that will get part of the money you pay for the e-book. Yes, you have to name a book store to be able to buy an e-book! Very strange.