# Apple: 130 Million iBooks Sold, 25 Million iPads



## jackz4000 (May 15, 2011)

http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/130-million-books-downloaded-from-apple-ibookstore_b31820

http://tablets-planet.com/2011/06/07/it-took-apple-a-little-over-a-year-to-sell-25-million-ipad-tablets/

Not too shabby.


----------



## 41419 (Apr 4, 2011)

The number of iPads is impressive, but I'm not so keen on the number of books for two reasons:

#1 it includes free downloads

#2 in March they announced they had sold over 100 million books. So that's just 30 million in three months - which includes free downloads.

"Sales" seem to be slowing down. Maybe the integration of the iBookstore and iTunes will help. But IMO, when Apple shipped the iPhone and the iPads without the iBooks app, that was a statement of their priorities.


----------



## Terrence OBrien (Oct 21, 2010)

_"But IMO, when Apple shipped the iPhone and the iPads without the iBooks app, that was a statement of their priorities."_

My iPad-1 had iBooks sitting right on the desktop when I turned it on for the first time. Winnie The Pooh was on the shelf as a complimentary book. I clicked and bought a book, and it appeared on the bookshelf. Don't have an iPhone or iTouch.


----------



## Will Write for Gruel (Oct 16, 2010)

That's basically five books per iPad, and if free downloads are counted in that tally, that's not all that impressive.


----------



## 41419 (Apr 4, 2011)

Terrence OBrien said:


> _"But IMO, when Apple shipped the iPhone and the iPads without the iBooks app, that was a statement of their priorities."_
> 
> My iPad-1 had iBooks sitting right on the desktop when I turned it on for the first time. Winnie The Pooh was on the shelf as a complimentary book. I clicked and bought a book, and it appeared on the bookshelf. Don't have an iPhone or iTouch.


I must have that wrong so. Must check that - I'm sure I read something along those lines.


----------



## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

Don't forget every single iPad got a free copy of Winnie the Pooh. Once you add THAT in, it really, really isn't that impressive.


----------



## Jamie Case (Feb 15, 2011)

Amazon hasn't released numbers w/r/t e-books sold. So there's no real way to contextualize Apple's sales without knowing how they stack up to the market leader.


----------



## 41419 (Apr 4, 2011)

Terrence OBrien said:


> _"But IMO, when Apple shipped the iPhone and the iPads without the iBooks app, that was a statement of their priorities."_
> 
> My iPad-1 had iBooks sitting right on the desktop when I turned it on for the first time. Winnie The Pooh was on the shelf as a complimentary book. I clicked and bought a book, and it appeared on the bookshelf. Don't have an iPhone or iTouch.


Ok. When did you buy your iPad? I ask because it appears from this article that it wasn't shipped with the first batch in Q1 2010. It was the #1 free downloaded app, so maybe Apple saw the light then.

http://www.cultofmac.com/ibooks-tops-most-popular-free-apps-for-iphone-ipad/61596


----------



## Terrence OBrien (Oct 21, 2010)

Dec 2010.


----------



## 41419 (Apr 4, 2011)

Terrence OBrien said:


> Dec 2010.


Ok. So I think it's more or less safe to infer that Apple started shipping the iPad with the iBooks app some time between August and December.

Anyway, my point was that their focus has never been on selling books, other than, it seems, to poke Amazon in the eye. I hope that changes now with the integration of the iBookstore into iTunes.


----------



## Terrence OBrien (Oct 21, 2010)

Poke Amazon? These guys are trying to body-slam each other. Amazon, Apple, Google, and WalMart are all dancing around each other.

Apple dominates music, and Amazon is moving in on that
Amazon dominates online merchandising, and Walmart is moving in on that.
Amazon dominates eBooks, and Apple is moving in on that.
Apple dominates tablets, and Google's Android is moving in on that.
Amazon dominates online book sales, and WalMart is moving in on that.

Note WalMart is attacking on two fronts, but is not defending against an attack.

And we're counting down to Apple's June 30 date to see what happens.


----------



## 41419 (Apr 4, 2011)

...and Google is moving in on e-books and music, and Amazon will have a tablet out in September, and maybe a phone.

Interesting times for sure.


----------



## skyrunner (Dec 28, 2010)

Amazon will have a tablet out in December ? 
That's interesting. It might mean that authors who want to, 
can do e-books in color, for sale through Amazon. 

Anyone know more about the Amazon tablet ?


----------



## skyrunner (Dec 28, 2010)

Terrence OBrien said:


> Apple dominates music, and Amazon is moving in on that
> Amazon dominates online merchandising, and Walmart is moving in on that.
> Amazon dominates eBooks, and Apple is moving in on that.
> Apple dominates tablets, and Google's Android is moving in on that.
> Amazon dominates online book sales, and WalMart is moving in on that.


Like this. Good summary


----------



## 41419 (Apr 4, 2011)

skyrunner said:


> Amazon will have a tablet out in December ?
> That's interesting. It might mean those of us who are interested, can do books in color for sale through Amazon.
> 
> Anyone know more about the Amazon tablet ?


Nothing has been confirmed officially, but Jeff Bezos came pretty close.

Here is one article: http://www.macvideo.tv/encoding/news/index.cfm?newsId=3282845&pagType=samechandate

Rumours are a 7" tablet and a 10" tablet.

Apple are apparently developing a 7" tablet too. Analysts think it could bridge the gap between phone, tablet, and e-reader. Killer device? Time will tell.


----------



## 41419 (Apr 4, 2011)

skyrunner said:


> Amazon will have a tablet out in December ?
> That's interesting. It might mean those of us who are interested, can do books in color for sale through Amazon.
> 
> Anyone know more about the Amazon tablet ?


Oh and I think September/October is more likely. Enough time to get buzz in the run up to the holidays.


----------



## skyrunner (Dec 28, 2010)

dgaughran said:


> Here is one article: http://www.macvideo.tv/encoding/news/index.cfm?newsId=3282845&pagType=samechandate


Good article - thanks for the link. Two key points I noticed

_Amazon, can sell cut-rate hardware in hopes of making the money back on its music, movie, e-book and app stores. 
That explains why the latest Amazon tablet rumors point to such low prices, even when the devices are reportedly 
packed with cutting-edge quad-core processors._

_Even with Amazon's advantages, an Amazon tablet still needs an answer to a very basic question: 
*Why would you buy it instead of an iPad? *
Good content won't be enough, because Apple already has that. Processing power could be a factor, 
but only if it makes for a significantly better experience than the one Apple provides._


----------



## Terrence OBrien (Oct 21, 2010)

One of the pricing advantages Apple has is the fact that it developed almost everything in the iPad itself. It's not licensing the technology and assembling. It owns it.


----------



## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Hi, I've moved this to the iPad/iPhone/iPod discussion forum.  Thanks for understanding.

Betsy
KB Moderator


----------



## jackz4000 (May 15, 2011)

Terrence OBrien said:
 

> Poke Amazon? These guys are trying to body-slam each other. Amazon, Apple, Google, and WalMart are all dancing around each other.
> 
> Apple dominates music, and Amazon is moving in on that
> Amazon dominates online merchandising, and Walmart is moving in on that.
> ...


Well stated. The battle of the titans is approaching. 130M today may not sound like much but it is a beginning.


----------



## 2.5 (May 16, 2010)

dgaughran said:


> Ok. So I think it's more or less safe to infer that Apple started shipping the iPad with the iBooks app some time between August and December.
> 
> Anyway, my point was that their focus has never been on selling books, other than, it seems, to poke Amazon in the eye. I hope that changes now with the integration of the iBookstore into iTunes.


I got my iPad 1 in Jan. Of this year and it did not have iBooks on it. I got the app but don't use it much. It's just not good for extended reading.


----------



## Arthur Slade (Jan 20, 2011)

dgaughran said:


> Anyway, my point was that their focus has never been on selling books, other than, it seems, to poke Amazon in the eye. I hope that changes now with the integration of the iBookstore into iTunes.


I agree. The iBooks has been an afterthought since the beginning. And it is a much smaller industry than movies or music. I'm glad they're moving towards giving it more "space" in their world. But frankly when I use my iPad for entertainment it is usually in this order:
Web Surfing
Movies TV
Games
Books

And I'm a big reader. The fact I also have a kindle, does kind of affect that list though. I tend to use it for reading. The iPad for everything else.


----------

