Competition Heating up Between Amazon and Apple

Apple is planning to expand its portfolio of online services by offering eBooks for the iPad device. However, Amazon is not far behind.

Now that eBooks have become very popular, there are millions of titles to choose from, including fiction books such as Romance Novels. However, when it comes to content distributed electronically, the non fiction segment has always enjoyed a lot of popularity online. Even before e-reader devices such as the Amazon Kindle became popular, eBooks dealing with topics such as online business and guides on real estate investments were selling very well in the online world.

This is where competition is now heating up between Apple and Amazon. Mainly, in the textbooks market. There is a lot of speculation that paper textbooks are soon going to be obsolete, with some technology commentators predicting that this could happen before the next decade. So naturally, many companies are now seeking to profit from this new trend. Apple is seeking to expand iBooks textbooks into the college and university market.

Even though the iPad tablet for which iBooks is designed to run on has a lot more sales than the Kindle Fire, Amazon’s product is in second place and actually preferred by those who want a simple tool with which they can read eBooks. The price is also an issue. If Apple decides to promote college textbooks for the iPad, it needs to take into consideration that many students would be reluctant to purchase the device if they don’t need it, mainly due to its high cost. It should also be known that Apple is not known to be too generous when it comes to giving rebates on its products and any educational discounts on its Mac line of computers have been seen as simply being “not enough” to make any real difference. There’s also the issue that these books will only be able to be used on Apple’s iOS platform.

Amazon’s platform is a lot more open, which is why many small fiction authors, such as independent authors that write erotic eBooks, have been attracted to it in the first place. The Kindle Reader app can work on devices other than the physical Kindle, such as smart phones and PCs running different operating systems. As for the Amazon Kindle itself, it comes in different versions, ranging from the basic black and white e-reader, to the Kindle Fire, which is sold as an entry-level tablet. In any case, it is much less expensive than an iPad and students who won’t need a full featured tablet are more likely to go with it instead of Apple’s product.

Those in the eBook market, such as publishers, authors and equipment manufacturers are seeing that people arent just buying romance books online, but that that significant profits could be made in the future from the sale of college textbooks in eBook format, that students could use on an eReader device of their choice.