Darice de Cuba

Let me start by stating that I write this as a book consumer stating my opinion and what view I have on the whole e-book pricing affair.

I love to read books since I was a kid and I could read. As a kid I depended on the library and books I got from school. First I read in Dutch and when I learned English I started reading paperback, I will never forget the first paperback I read, “The Client” by John Grisham. I read everything history, fiction, non-fiction, etc.

When I came to the Netherlands to study where bookstores are everywhere in contrast to Aruba which seriously lacks a decent bookstore till today, I started buying books. Not much as I was a student and money for non-study books was low. But as the years passed I started buying more and more till the point now that my bookcase is full and books are starting to gather on the floor.

I rarely, almost never buy hardcover, the only books I bought hardcover where Harry Potter on their release date. Because I love those books and they are classics which will be read for years. The other book I bought hardcover was “The Lost Symbol” by Dan Brown, just because I wanted to read it right away because I loved “The Da Vinci Code”.

When Amazon released the international Kindle I knew I wanted one. I already saw myself buying double the amount of books I buy now. The price for e-books at 9.99 dollars is appealing and the fact that I can buy a book anytime of the day. I was more skeptic though on the price of the Kindle a device for reading e-books only, nothing more, doesn’t even have a touch screen.

Then the Apple tablet rumor got stronger and I decided to wait to see what it would be. Low and behold you can read e-books with the iPad and do a whole lot more just for 10 dollars more then the Kindle.

With the announcement also of their own e-book store, iBooks, the book publishers woke up.

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Even though coming from this Apple fan mouth I will say this:

The iPad just hit the Kindle out of the park and all other e-readers and tablets behind it.

I would buy the iPad to use as a e-reader only, the iBook store and app is to a book lover what iTunes is to music lovers and everyone else. They idea only that I can browse books like that and buy them on the spot is nirvana like. And turning a book page works like dragging a page manually! It doesn’t get any more closer to the real thing.

Now I only have to sit tight, save money and wait for it to be released in the Netherlands. I would doubt in getting it with 3G or not, but having experienced being in places with no WiFi and being able to turn to 3G on my iPhone takes that doubt away. With 3G it will be.

The iPad elegantly replaces my Hakingtosh netbook combi with iPhone tethering when staying at places without WiFi.

Apple even re-did the whole iWork UI and functionality especially for the iPad, now that’s what I call dedication!