Harry Potter Enhanced Editions Now Available Exclusively on iBooks

ArtOfWarfare said:
I can definitely see them going back to books that are ~10 years old and giving them this treatment to milk them for more money.
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... or on a less cynical note, maybe entice a new generation of readers by adding features that generate more interest. I personally think it's a great idea - I love thinking of young kids wanting to read Melville, Vonnegut, Faulkner outside of school. I realize the pessimistic take is they should want to read without bells and whistles, but the world has changed.

FWIW, my 7.5/yr old _loves_ to read, to the point of saying things like, "Let's turn off the TV and sit and read together" on a Friday night. Love it :D

Waiting for this to get bundled with a discount :)
 
I wonder whhy Rowling sudenly changed her mind. Either she wanted more $$$, or maybe her deal with Pottermore about exclusivity ran out (Which is what I consider most likely).
 
Benjamin Frost said:
Here in Ye Olde Englande, digital book sales are down. Waterstones have removed Kindles because they're not selling.

The fact is, digital books are much too expensive, and these Harry Potter ones are no exception. Real books are tactile, a pleasure to hold and read, and can be given to someone to be read many times over or sold or given away. Digital books have none of these benefits.

The digital revolution is not what it might have been.
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That’s not what the numbers say. Digital book sales still have more relative growth than print book sales, even in the UK. That e-reader sales are declining does not mean that fewer digital books are sold. E-readers have terrible market saturation and increasingly compete with tablets. The fact that a book store isn’t able to sell it’s branded (with advertising) Kindle, isn’t all that surprising to me.
 
Color me old school - but while there's a 'cool' factor here. I would much prefer to have everything in my imagination. An illustration here and there like the originals. But when I want to read, I want to read, not interact or get "side tracked."
 
orbital~debris said:
Interesting - there's no page turn animation (pages slide off to the side instead) and no option to choose a different typeface (although text size can still be adjusted), when reading the iBooks edition.

Presumably because this is an enhanced edition, so a slightly different format from a just-text eBook?

Of note, Apple's book description mentions: "Update to iOS 9 to get the full, enriched experience".
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The embedded font these are using is terrible.
 
It's curious that the original illustrations have been completely supplanted by new artwork. I'm not sure I like the new covers, but then with eBooks the covers aren't as important.
 
As a resident Potterhead, I am all over this. I never purchased the eBook versions of this series before, only have the hardcover trunk set. So glad I waited now!

I'm also kicking myself that I didn't bring my iPad with me to work today...
 
Benjamin Frost said:
Here in Ye Olde Englande, digital book sales are down. Waterstones have removed Kindles because they're not selling.

The fact is, digital books are much too expensive, and these Harry Potter ones are no exception. Real books are tactile, a pleasure to hold and read, and can be given to someone to be read many times over or sold or given away. Digital books have none of these benefits.

The digital revolution is not what it might have been.
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Digital books do have a some advantages that you don't mention, when traveling you can take your entire library in the space of a single book. That and if you are a night reader nothing can beat the kindle paperwhite - reading normal books in the dark laying down is a pain.

But I do agree with your other points - publishers decided that they don't want physical book sales to die because they make nearly the same profit. I bought The Martian on my Kindle and went to use the approved DRM laden lending scheme that Amazon had to lend it to my dad...and lo and behold the publisher disabled lending. That is just completely ridiculous when the price is the same as the paperback.
 
I've only read one book on my iPad in iBooks. Everything else, I've read on my Kobo. I like the e-ink screen better.

Having said that, this looks pretty interesting. Maybe I'll buy the first book to give it a try.
 
There is no bundle which seems strange, it would of been nice to get some money off considering these are £6.99 each. Will probably end up buying them though!
 
I'll hold off and see if they do a bundle. I pre-ordered STAR WARS (IV) the day it was released, and then a few days later the movie bundle showed up on iTunes.

I had bought the full set via Pottermore website some years ago; not regretting it at all, but I had even then figured what a good fit they would be for the iBookstore and what could be accomplished via the iPad. I'll get these at some point down the road, I'm sure.
 
Lord Hamsa said:
I would just like to thank all of the Star Wars fans who have proven that they will continue to pay over and over for the same content in new forms, with slight tweaks and enhancements being the rationale. Without you guys, these money grabs would never work!
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Don't forget about fans of The Beatles who will buy the same content over and over again, sometimes when there aren't even any "enhancements".

I'm sure there are plenty of people out there that have multiple versions of The Lord Of The Rings books and movies too.

"It's new (kind of) and shiny; I have to have it."
 
enhanced, or no enhanced, i'd still like the movies

and yes i have all 7 :D and no u can't have any :p Their mine....all mine..
 
ctdonath said:
You get the notification "Your purchase of _______ is now available" the moment it's available, and it's on your device ready to enjoy.

That vs forgetting about it, having to fiddle about to get it, and getting it late.
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Oh how far we've come when we can't bother to remember to download something we want ;)
 
As an antidote to all the cynical Star Wars-bashing, I'd just like to point out that if one likes the idea of the kind of enchancements these Harry Potter books bring and is also a Star Wars fan, then the digital 'Making of...' Star Wars books are really worth checking out, as they have loads of great content not possible in the physical editions.

I do agree with those saying these kind of enhanced ebooks are a great selling point over physical books, but I also agree that sometimes it's good to just focus on the actual written text. I think a good feature for ebooks like this would be a 'basic mode' switch, that let you easily toggle all the bells and whistles on and off. Especially for fiction books.
 
My kids read all these books and I took them to several of the movies. Thankfully they have grown up and I don't need to sit through the movies. Don't get me wrong they were okay, but compared to the lord of the ring trilogy books, Harry was not quite as good. Of course this is my opinion.
 
To give you all a hint of what is coming next in the iBook world... the camera will track your eyes to determine where you are at on the page you are reading and a music soundtrack will play along and dynamically change as you read throughout each scene in the book.
 
Ugh, I just bought a copy of the Sorcerers Stone from Pottermore last week and now this comes out. :( Well there goes another $10.
 
My collection of the 7 Potter books on dead trees can easily be handed down in 70-80 years. Probably not so much on an iPad tied to an ancient electronic account... But shoot I probably still will buy these :p
 
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