Oyster, Netflix for books, is launching the beta version of its iPhone app

http://pandodaily.com/2013/09/05/the-netflix-for-books-is-here-its-mobile-and-it-makes-amazon-look-old/

by denzil_correa • 13 years ago

60 94 13 years ago

zphds2• 13 years ago

This looks neat but I find it weird that they targeted the iPhone first instead of the iPad. Isn't reading on iPhone hard?

bphogan• 13 years ago

Not to me. But then, I used to read audiobooks on my Palm Pilot in 2001.

nfailor2• 13 years ago

psah, haven't lived unless you did it on the 1k.

TwistedWeasel• 13 years ago

you read "audio" books?

officemonkey3• 13 years ago

I read the entire "Game of Thrones" book series and "The Count of Monte-Cristo" (and most of the other reading I've done in the last two years) on a iPod touch.

The new 5th Generation screen is quite nice in Landscape mode.

zphds2• 13 years ago

Wow... I tried reading with the Kindle app on my Samsung Note. I couldn't do it. The 7 inch tablet on the other hand...

Urgo• 13 years ago

iphone only, meh.

untog• 13 years ago

Oyster? Really? Like the Oyster travel site:

http://www.oyster.com/

Or the Oyster travel card:

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/14836.aspx

trequartista• 13 years ago

The FAQ mentions about the choice of the name Oyster - https://www.oysterbooks.com/help/faq

"Oyster takes inspiration from the famous literary line in Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor, "the world's mine oyster." All the pleasures of reading are yours for the taking, no matter where you go."

nfailor2• 13 years ago

...which is precisely why it worked well for travel and cards...

nmcfarl• 13 years ago

Really the name belongs to a bivalve and everyone else is ripping off an entire species. I'm tired of thinking people are going to be able to pay for their tube fare with a mollusc - only to find out after reading it's really some silly smartcard!

smackfu2• 13 years ago

Never heard of the site, and the travel card is UK only. So not too big a conflict.

Semiapies• 13 years ago

Don't get why this post was being downvoted when I saw it. Trademark allows for similarly-named companies in different businesses. The point is to prevent confusion, not cause a land-rush to monopolize common words.

TallGuyShort2• 13 years ago

I'm yearning for the day somebody applies that business model to audio books... </wishlist>

cjensen• 13 years ago

My local library includes online access to both audiobooks and ebooks. It's worth checking out your local library's services...

hatu3• 13 years ago

Hasn't Audible done this for a long time already?

TallGuyShort2• 13 years ago

You're right - I guess I'm thinking more of the Kindle business model (I was thrown off by all the Amazon references). With Audible, I believe you have to stream the books, but when I want to listen to an audio book, I usually don't have a reliable connection (e.g. road trips). It would be great if you could download the audio (even temporarily, much as I hate DRM) as part of the subscription. Since I'm now talking about a different model entirely, I'm afraid I'm well and truly off-topic. Sorry :)

darkchasma• 13 years ago

No, I pay $23 a month for two books, which I own, but there is no 'all you can eat' deal.

autodidakto2• 13 years ago

Audiobooks.com tried it. Sort of. $30 a month, a fraction of audible's library, terrible app. They gave up a while ago.

anigbrowl3• 13 years ago

The model is just too compelling for consumers: Pay a reasonable price, get access to all the content you want without having to own it

I quite like owning my books, actually. There's already an alternative to doing so, called a library; since the book sales business did quite well int he pre-internet days despite the widespread availability of libraries, I'm not sure why the author thinks a functioning e-book library is suddenly going to bring sales to a screeching halt.

nonchalance• 13 years ago

Books in the library are rivalrous: for a given physical book, at most one person can borrow it at a given time. There are nontrivial costs (time and/or money) to copying a physical book.

e-books, in the current incarnation, are not rivalrous and are much easier to copy and disseminate.

joe5150• 13 years ago

eBook lending licenses as brokered by the companies that provide this service to libraries (e.g. Overdrive) usually restrict the number of "copies" of an eBook that can be loaned at one time, and patrons often have to put themselves on waiting lists for books the same as they would have to for a checked out physical book. Obtaining additional available "copies" for popular eBooks is functionally the same as the library buying extra copies of a physical book.

greenyoda4• 13 years ago

In fact, some public libraries lend e-books too. And there's OpenLibrary.org, which also lends e-books for free.

villek• 13 years ago

My local library has been lending ebooks for years. Just a few days ago, they started "lending" online movies as well: http://www.helmet.fi/en-US/Tips/News_flash/HelMet_libraries_...

billybob255• 13 years ago

Some even lend e-book readers so people can access their lent e-books.

rfnslyr• 13 years ago

I feel the same way. I love owning my stuff. My MP3 files, my ebooks, my hardcopies, vinyls, cd's, etc. All this "in the cloud" stuff just adds an extra overhead to my already stressful life. "Will this company perish and all my shit be gone? Is it secure?" are questions I always think about.

When I have that physical copy, the (mostly) only person I have to blame is myself for not maintaining my items integrity.

__abc2• 13 years ago

Different strokes. Owning that stuff would add way more overhead and stress for me. Different folks.

lectrick• 13 years ago

I've moved like 5 times in the last 10 years.

I only buy ebooks now. I use Spotify. I've sold my CD's to a used record store. I've stopped collecting mp3's.

Not having a bunch of physical cruft (and not having to manage it) is better.

slg• 13 years ago

To be fair, isn't comparing this to a library similar to comparing Netflix to Blockbuster?

baddox2• 13 years ago

Except that libraries tend to be free.

jlees2• 13 years ago

I like owning books, too, until I had to move continents and sell my entire library.

I think folks are missing one aspect of the Netflix-style experience; discovery. Sure, the joy of flipping through the sci-fi/fantasy section in the local bookstore or library is an unparallelled experience -- but I've found book discovery via Amazon to provide me with far more than simply gazing at shelves.

It's not only the product consumption experience that is changing, but how we interact with books in general. And while I'm a big fan of libraries, we're all getting used to metadata, social annotations, reviews and suggestions -- add that to the ease of access an 'all you can eat' approach provides, and I for one am looking forward to where it leads. (mind you, I read anything from 10 to 20 books a month, so I'd definitely benefit from this kind of service!)

shire3• 13 years ago

You read 10-20 books a month? interesting, either you have a lot of time or your a really fast reader I can do maybe 7. What's your secret? teach me Obi-Wan Kenobi.

shire3• 13 years ago

I agree, owning books after I'm done reading them gives me a sense of accomplishment it's like a treasure.

patmcc• 13 years ago

The "Netflix for books" is, and has long been, libraries. And yes, almost all of them have an ebook program in addition to their huge supply of paper books.

rdl• 13 years ago

Is Overdrive (the library ebook system I see everywhere) intentionally painful to use (to deter users), or just horribly implemented?

nandhp2• 13 years ago

It isn't great. But many libraries have rolled out a new version of Overdrive that's noticably better (even if it's the same implemention, it's at least less confusing). For example, NYPL New York doesn't have it yet, but Los Angeles Public Library does: http://lapl.lib.overdrive.com/

Thrall• 13 years ago

Our local libraries recently started an ebook program. However, copyright restrictions mean they aren't allowed to loan a single 'copy' out to more than one person at once. With the relatively small number of ebook copies available compared to the number of library users, last time I checked there was a long waiting list for most books. Perhaps ironically, it is quicker to go to the library and borrow a paper copy. (The irony being that one of the advantages of ebooks over paper books is that you don't have to wait for them to be delivered)

greenyoda4• 13 years ago

I suspect that as e-books become more popular, libraries are going to license them in larger quantities. They're a big cost saver for libraries since they take no space to store, no labor to re-shelve and can't be damaged or stolen.

pnathan• 13 years ago

Frankly, the e-book programs for the last few libraries I've been around have been awful. Hard to use, one was Windows only (we don't have Windows at home), selection of really lousy books... Basically, anything else that shows up presents a compelling alternative to the library ebook systems I've seen.

smackfu2• 13 years ago

I agree with the other responses that library ebook programs are hamstrung by the fact that they can only lend out as many copies as they "own". So if you want a popular book in ebook form, good luck. Might as well just buy it considering how long the wait is.

GotNothing2• 13 years ago

For $9.95 a month, I'd rather support my local library/bookstore. Unlike movies, where I could watch 5-6 on a really lazy Saturday, books take quite a bit more time. I'm a pretty regular reader and I'm lucky if I get through 2 books a month.

Based on: http://gawker.com/5971571/are-you-an-above+average-book-read...

I read about the average (outlier) person, so for $9.95 I'd rather own the one or two books I can read that month, which would cost close (give or take) to the same amount as they're offering.

hkmurakami2• 13 years ago

my thoughts exactly. they're supposedly targeting the casual reader, but how many casual readers read more than 1 book a month? at one book a month the pricing model makes no sense. it's really at 4 books a month where it starts to look cheap, but 1 book a week is a very steep hill for most people.

reading is an active activity unlike tv or music which are inherently passive. IMO that makes a big difference in how much we can consume the medium.

tekalon• 13 years ago

I would say this is for those that can get through 4-5+ books a month (like me and others I know). Not for everyone, but I know many that would find this better than having an actual monthly book budget. Libraries also have similar programs for ebooks (or at least mine does).

draz2• 13 years ago

I read on my commute to/from work. Not sure about the # of books I finish a month, but I can say that I may be willing to "experiment" more with books I wouldn't have otherwise. No downside to read the first 3 chapters and then switch to another book, if you don't like it. I think, therefore, that it might be a nice DISCOVERY tool.

GotNothing2• 13 years ago

I could see a person wanting to use as a "Discovery" tool, that's a big reason I subscribe to Spotify.

However, Amazon offers samples of eBooks (most of them I believe) and they offer that service for free.

ripter• 13 years ago

The books I'm reading now are 5.69 a book. If it's a long month or they are short books I can get through maybe two a month.

So while $9.95 is slightly cheaper, it just doesn't seem worth it to me. I'd rather pay more and keep adding to my book collection.

prawn• 13 years ago

Friend of mine said recently "What about Netflix for books? Why doesn't it exist?"

I first pointed out libraries and then made exactly your point about consumption. People burn through TV show episodes or movies more than they do books. And on top of that, I'd say a broader set of the population watch TV/movies than read books, which makes for a smaller market.

I am currently part-way through 6-8 books. I haven't managed to finish one in about 12 months!

joshschreuder• 13 years ago

I think people not finishing their books it probably one of the stronger use cases of this though. You wouldn't have to buy 8 books only to not finish them, you could just read them on Oyster.

Though admittedly that doesn't cover the library counter point.

s_baby2• 13 years ago

That's assuming they only stick to books. If they start carrying magazines/newspapers it'd be a viable platform.

davidcollantes• 13 years ago

This would work great if it offered schoolbooks. Rather than buying a very expensive book, I would not mind "renting" it on a month by month basis.

greenyoda4• 13 years ago

Amazon.com already has an option for renting textbooks.

hatu3• 13 years ago

This is a tough sell. An iPhone screen is not great to read on and to get enough mileage out of this you'd have to read a couple of books a month on it. If I could get something like this on my Kindle which is actually good on your eyes I might consider it.

greenyoda4• 13 years ago

Amazon has a Kindle owners' lending library:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=10007398...

impostervt• 13 years ago

I really wish someone would make a netflix for audio-books. I'm aware of Audible and it's competitors, but they all seem to limit you to 1 or 2 books per month.

dankoss• 13 years ago

Why hasn't this already been done by Amazon, or Google Books? I understand Prime has something similar, but only for select books. Is this purely a publisher licensing issue? If so, wouldn't Amazon/Google have more leverage to make it happen?

pico303• 13 years ago

If you read the article, Oyster is for select books too (100k, vs. Amazon's 350k). But for Amazon you have to have a Kindle. Won't work with the Kindle app on tablets, phones, or desktop.

dublinben• 13 years ago

You can buy a gently used Kindle Touch for $40, and new for only $70. It will more than pay for itself in terms of free books in under a year.

sinkasapa• 13 years ago

How about we just support our public libraries? I haven't found a better alternative and I'm already paying for it.

baddox2• 13 years ago

An online library has the same advantage over a physical library as Amazon has over physical retail stores and Netflix has over physical video rental stores: massive long-tail inventory.

nandhp2• 13 years ago

And all we need to get that massive+long tail inventory is for Overdrive (the ebook system used by public libraries) to offer "inter-library loan".

wraith4000• 13 years ago

I love the idea(though I'd never buy it on an iPhone), but I can't see this playing out well for the authors. I see no mention of how much they get.

unono• 13 years ago

All-you-can-buffet movies/tv and now books is done. That same for home renting, car renting, vacationing, plane flying, private schooling, food eating needs to be done. Huge profits for hackers that can do it.

JadeNB• 13 years ago

All-you-can-buffet movies/tv and now books is done. That same for home renting, car renting, vacationing, plane flying, private schooling, food eating needs to be done. Huge profits for hackers that can do it.

I must be missing the joke, but are you really suggesting that what the world is missing is all-you-can-eat food? Like … a buffet?

ngoel36• 13 years ago

Congrats to the team on the launch! I know they've been hard at work for quite a while. Getting deals with the necessary publishers could not have been easy without the clout of a large brand name like Amazon.

I'm sure the iPhone-only offering might prove controversial, but I don't doubt that an iPad version will be coming soon. iPhone-only makes sense for me - I prefer to read books in short chunks: on the Muni, waiting in line, a few minutes before bed, etc. The Kindle app has done an excellent job of making the best of the limited real estate, I'm optimistic that Oyster will do so as well.

zzzmarcus• 13 years ago

It seems like the main complaints are that:

- It's iPhone only. This will, of course, change. They have to launch somewhere first.

- We already have public libraries and Overdrive. Sure, they are out there but they don't solve the problem that Oyster does. If you just want to flip through a bunch of books and see what you feel like reading, your current options are to go to a physical bookstore or library or hope Amazon or Google Books has enough to satisfy you in their limited previews. Imagine that as you're reading a book, you come across a reference another and being able to easily jump to the reference with no hassles like putting the book on hold (as is almost always the case on Overdrive) or reaching a check out limit or having to get in the car and go find a hard copy. Even the Kindle lenders library heavily restricts the number of books you can use at once. Having the full text of an ever-growing library at your fingertips is, if using Spotify is a close enough parallel, something that can't be fully appreciated until it's experienced.

- Price. If you usually buy at least one book a month and you can assume you'll probably do that indefinitely then it makes sense to instead start paying Oyster (or similar) indefinitely to get not one book a month, but all the books.

- Authors don't get paid. I think it's to early to say whether this will work out for authors or not. We don't know the business model. If it doesn't work for authors and publishers, they'll stop using it and Oyster will have to change their business model. In fact, this is the biggest risk as I see it. Netflix started with a good catalog and, for awhile, had a great catalog of movies. Now they're losing content and having to create their own, most of which I have no interest in. If publishers were to fall out of love with Oyster, Oyster's value would be severely diminished so they'll have to do what it takes to keep publishers (and hopefully by extension, authors) happy. One thing to consider, and maybe this is not as common as I'm guessing, but there are so many times where I've read a Kindle book and decided to buy a paper version to give the book a physical presence in my house. For certain authors, this could mean getting paid twice when people read their books.

epochwolf• 13 years ago

I wish they had an iPad app or a way to send books to my kindle. Reading on my phone sucks. :(

javanix• 13 years ago

If they could port this to Kindle somehow (or partner with a physical, non-backlit reader manufacturer) I would be in in a heartbeat.

Until then I wish them luck and sincerely hope this sort of business model takes off.

dave_sullivan• 13 years ago

I said exactly this to my girlfriend about a year ago: "I've got a genius idea, what about a netflix for books?" She said, "You mean a library?"

Now I'm not sure who was right...

jedberg2• 13 years ago

From what I can tell it is for ebooks, so not quite a library. :)

jedberg2• 13 years ago

They really shouldn't call it "Netflix for books" because then they'll just get a constant stream of "you mean a library?".

They should call it "Netflix for ebooks".

phaedrix• 13 years ago

So...Would have to read books on an LCD screen instead of a nice-on-the-eyes Kindle screen? No thanks.

dan-bell• 13 years ago

I'm hoping for a future with faster refresh E-Ink screens available on low spec, stripped down Android or FirefoxOS powered tablets.

garg• 13 years ago

Please support your local libraries and local bookstores. I hope libraries are never turned into historic relics.

njharman• 13 years ago

I couldn't find any indication if this mailed physical books or is just eBooks. Disclaimer, I only skimmed article (its breathless hype style is too annoying/worthless to read in detail).

If just eBooks, total complete meh.

kermitten• 13 years ago

It would be good to see which books they have before signing up. I like the idea though a little expensive.

shire3• 13 years ago

This would be a neat idea if it's free considering I can read as many books as I want for free at the library "paperback" might I add. Sorry but the library deserves my support more than your service.

Oyster, Netflix for books, is launching the beta version of its iPhone app

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