Why’s iTunes so damn successful? And what’s different between the iBooks store and the iTunes music store? Availability. Typing an obscure band into iTunes will likely reveal results, but typing some blockbuster books into iBooks and often enough you’re met with nothing. Zip. Zero. No results.
Take for instance Stieg Larsson’s popular Millennium trilogy — iBooks doesn’t have one result. That’s problematic. And, while iBooks is relatively new, others in the industry have had quite the head start in the eBooks realm, so the results don’t really come as much of a surprise. Apple wasn’t first to the table with a device, so it’s understandable that they’re still negotiating with publishers to get access to entire libraries of books. It sucks as a consumer, especially if you’re met with one empty search after another the first time you try to buy a book off the iBooks store. But, it’s no surprise that Amazon is outselling Apple 60 to 1 in the eBook stores. I can find almost anything on Amazon, and if I can’t find a similar iBook, guess where I’m going to be going for my purchase: Amazon. While the article on Boy Genius Report clearly demonstrates that the book in question was available on both book stores, there has to be a spill over effect happening to some degree.
Come find a book; stay and buy another book. If I can’t find a particular book in the iBook store, what is there to make me think that I might find my next book there — not too much. Apple’s got an opportunity to close the gap in the eBook world, but they’ll need more eBooks before they even have a fighting chance. Until then it’s hard to rely solely on iBooks for digital books.
Article Via Boy Genius Report
