Pay for ebooks with PayPal
Not long ago I did a web search to find an ebook company that would allow me to pay with PayPal. Unfortunately, Amazon does not so that ruled out buying a Kindle book. As a result, I did a little more digging and was happy to find out that I could have bought it on Barnes and Noble. I can install Nook software and read my books on the iPad or my Samsung Smartphone.
However, I ended up buying "Inheritance" by Christopher Paoloni from Kobo eBooks. I was surprised that I hadn't heard of them before but that appears to be doing a great job. The site is Kobo Ebooks. It's a platform neutral book site complete with apps for every major tablet, smartphone and computer system. I downloaded it to my iPad 2 and my Samsung Galaxy S smart phone. It kept my book synched between both devices. My only complaint is that it seemed to take a lot of energy from the iPad on account that it continually synches and thus requires a near constant wifi connection. I'm sure they'll work that out soon enough. And they too take PayPal. But what makes them different is that they are trying to add a social element to book reading.
Just think about it, you can get clarification on a passage, or discuss the deeper meaning of a chapter with members of the community. Plus it keeps track of your personal reading statistics. I would not be surprised to see authors having direct conversations with readers as this technology grows up.
In general, I think it's a really great concept but it has its work cut out for it if they are going to be successful given the powerful competition: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iTunes. I think in order for Kobo to be successful, they are going to have to get the word out and quickly. With the right marketing plan and perhaps first book discounts, they may be able to obtain the critical mass that would be required to make it a success. At any rate, I highly recommend that you check it out. The software was easy enough to download, install and use.
