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What is the best alternative to Harlequin?
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iBooks Store
All
5
Experiences
Pros
3
Cons
2
Top
Pro
Self publishing
Users can self publish their own eBook via the iBooks store.
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Con
iBooks uses its own DRM scheme called Fair Play on .epubs sold in the store
iBooks does use .epubs for its eBooks but sadly they are encrypted with their own proprietary DRM called Fair Play. This means any .epub that has Apples DRM purchased from iBooks will not be able to be used in other .epub eBook readers.
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Pro
Send eBook as gift
iBooks recently updated their store to where users can send eBooks as gifts to their friends and family.
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Con
Forced to use iTunes or an Apple product
There is no webpage for the iBooks Store which means there is no way to browse Apples eBook selection without using one of their device or installing iTunes.
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Pro
Sells textbooks
iBooks has textbooks for sale with a store wide rule of offering them at lower prices then what is seen on college campuses.
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26
3
Waterstone's
All
5
Experiences
Pros
2
Cons
3
Top
Pro
eBooks offered are Adobe Digital Editions compliant
Waterstone's eBook store sells .epubs that are encoded with Adobe Difgital Editions DRM. This allows the .epubs purchased to be used with the Adobe Digital Editions application that can then transfer purchased .epubs to ADE compliant eReaders.
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Con
UK only store
Waterstone's is a UK only store, so those outside the region are out of luck purchasing from them.
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Pro
Generally cheaper than WHSmith
For those that are stuck using UK eBook stores it woul appear as though Waterstone's has better prices than WHSmith.
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Con
Some eBooks more expensive than paper books
Sadly Waterstone's does not have as much pull with publishers as Amazon so there are more high priced eBooks on their store.
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Con
Sells Kindle devices but its eBook store is .epub only (which are incompatible)
Something of an odd predicament in that Waterstone's has a contract with Amazon to sell Kindle devices even though they only sell .epub eBooks on their Waterstone's branded eBook store.
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7
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eBooks.com
All
6
Experiences
Pros
4
Cons
2
Top
Con
Store feels cluttered and unintuitve
The landing page for eBooks.com feels a bit cluttered and can be confusing to navigate to the users desired section.
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Pro
Academic books
eBooks.com offers academic eBooks on their store that are claimed to be from the world's leading scholarly and academic book publishers.
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Con
Difficult to download books and hard to get service
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Pro
Free excerpts
eBooks.com offers free excerpts for their more popular eBooks. This way users can get a feel on how the title reads and what it's structure looks like.
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Pro
Very intuitive site
The site is very easy to understand and navigate.
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Pro
Send gift certificates
eBooks.com allows for users to purchase gift certificates online worth 10-100 dollars and will then e-mail said certificate to an e-mail address of the purchases choosing along with a customized message.
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48
7
Kobo Books
All
7
Experiences
Pros
4
Cons
3
Top
Con
Not all eBooks sold on the site are Adobe Digital Editions compatible (.epub)
For some reason not all the eBooks available on the Kobo eBook site are downloadable as .ascm files. Most likely Kobo leaves this up to the publisher, as Houghton Mifflin Harcourt does not have a single book on the Kobo store that offers a separate .ascm download. What most users are unaware of is that the Kobo store is not primarily an .epub bookstore. Kobo uses a proprietary format called .kepub that only works on their own Kobo branded devices. Many of the books they sell do offer a separate .ascm file download, but not all. What exacerbates this issue is that there is currently no way for a user to know if an .ascm will be offered until after purchase.
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Pro
Offers separate Adobe Digital Editions downloads
The Kobo eBook store offers a separate file download (most of the time) from within a users browser. this file is called and .ascm file and is what is used to add an .epub to the Adobe Digital Edition software.
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Con
Kobo randomly changes prices
Depending on whether a user is logged in, different prices will be shown on non agency eBooks. Non agency eBooks allow for Kobo to set the price of the title instead of the publisher and sadly it does appear as though Kobo has taken advantage of this to entice new users into thinking their books are priced lower than they actually are.
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Pro
Send eBooks as gift
Kobo Books eBook store allows users to send eBooks as gifts to their friends and loved ones.
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Con
Desktop app doesn't function
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Pro
Self publish
Kobo offers a way for users to self publish their own eBooks with a service called Writing Life.
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Pro
Many coupons
Kobo often offers a lot of coupons for their eBook store. Some being as high as 80% off coupons. Though most only work on non agency eBooks, so not that great if the user only reads the newest of releases.
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10
Books on Google Play
All
4
Experiences
Pros
3
Cons
1
Top
Pro
Adobe Digital Editions compatible
All eBooks for sale on Books on Google Play are Adobe Digital editions compatible. Google provides an option to download an .acsm file for all eBook purchased on their site. This .acsm file can then be imported into Adobe Digital editions where it can be read as an .epub inside of the application or transferred to any Adobe Digital Editions compliant .epub eReader, such as a Kobo.
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Con
Does not actually follow .css and HTML guidelines when displaying user uploaded .epubs
Upon close inspection Books on Google Play does not actually follow the normal standards when displaying user uploaded .epubs but rather has it's own secret method of how it handles the internal .css and HTML. This can result in display problems for user uploaded content.
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Pro
Users can upload their own DRM free .epubs or PDFs
Goolge has built in a function to allow users to upload their own eBooks. Up to 1,000 files can be stored using this function as long as each title is below 50MB.
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Pro
Accessible
It is the most accessible platform for an Android phone user. Convenient.
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28
6
Barnes & Noble NOOK Books
All
7
Experiences
Pros
3
Cons
4
Top
Con
Uses a special DRM on their eBooks, any eBook purchased from B&N is not Adobe Digital Edition compliant
While B&N does use and read .epub on their devices, any eBook purchased from the B&N eBook store will not be able to be used in other .epub readers unless the DRM is stripped from said eBook.
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Pro
Send eBooks as gift
The NOOK store allows users to send eBooks as gifts to their friends and family.
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Con
No legacy Windows app or Mac app
While B&N use to offer a PC and Mac app for the desktop, they pulled support officially in 2013.
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Pro
NOOK app
B&N offers a NOOK app for Android, iOS and Windows 8 in their respective stores. This allows user to shop and read their eBooks natively on those operating systems.
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Con
Higher prices then competition
Part of the reason B&N is having so much trouble with the NOOK brand currently and most likely part of its decision to separate itself from it by spinning it into its own company is that since the demolishing of agency pricing they are unable to compete on prices.
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Pro
Self publishing
B&N offers a way for users to self publish their eBooks to the NOOK eBook store, the service is called NOOK Press.
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Con
B&N not confident in NOOK brand
B&N will be spinning its NOOK division into a separate company, which does not show much faith in their own brand. What's worse is that this show of uncertainty of wanting to separate from the failing device and it's eBook store will only just further distance the customers from the NOOK. Being that their eBooks have a special DRM scheme that does not allow their .epubs to work in other device, current users better hope this new company does not fold or they will be out of their entire NOOK eBook library.
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17
5
WHSmith
All
5
Experiences
Pros
2
Cons
3
Top
Pro
Instant quality with Kobo eReaders, apps and eBooks store
Instead of developing their own eBook store, eReaders or reading apps WHSmith has the instant gratification of offering quality products with an established brand.
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Con
Some titles not available on the store
While most mainstream books can be found easily, there are a few smaller titles that are just not on the store at all.
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Pro
WHSmith and Kobo partnership create competition
A good thing about the WHSmith eBook store and its Kobo partnership is that it creates competition in the UK for eBook stores and devices. WIth competition comes better prices and innovation.
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Con
Just a re-branded Kobo eBook store
WHSmith has entered a contract to where they are now partnered with Kobo. With this deal WHSmith has replaced their old eBook store with a Kobo powered alternative. Basically it is just a WHSmith skin over the Kobo eBook store.
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Con
UK only store
eBooks are only priced in GBP.
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10
4
Amazon Kindle Store
All
12
Experiences
Pros
8
Cons
4
Top
Con
All eBooks are in a proprietary format
Unlike other eBook stores, Amazon does not offer .epub's (a free and open eBook standard) for their Kindle devices. What they do offer is a proprietary format that only will work on their own Kindle devices. Sadly this creates user lock in as there is no way to take those digital titles to another reader without stripping the DRM from them (something that may or may not be illegal in certain countries) and converting to a format that does work on said other devices.
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Pro
Often has lower prices compared to other eBook retailers
Amazon being as large as they are can often undercut the pricing of eBooks. This is not always the case as a lot of eBooks have their prices set by the publisher. this is called agency pricing. But on non-agency eBooks Amazon is often the cheapest store.
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Con
Amazon is an evil corporation
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Pro
Self publishing
Amazon allows for users to self publish eBooks and audiobooks.
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Con
Bad communication
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Pro
App for almost every platform
Amazon offers the Kindle app for just about every platform. So far there are apps for Android, iOS, Blackberry, PC, Mac, and Windows Phone 7. Conspicuously the Linux platform is absent from that list.
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Con
A lot of books are copy and paste from the web
Large selection, but there is an ever increasing numbers of books that are less than 100 pages, mainly created copying and pasting freely available information from the web. Searching for what you want is becoming difficult, with results showing lots of pointless and poorly written small books.
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Pro
Offer optional subscription service
Amazon offers an unlimited (actually it is pretty limited) eBook service similar to what netflix offer for movies. Though the selection is on the smaller side compared to their regular eBook store.
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Pro
Lots of 100% discounts
It's easy to get a lot of books for free if you use this IFTTT recipe.
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Pro
Send eBook as gift [US only]
The Amazon Kindle store allows for users to send eBooks as a gift to any e-mail address of their choosing along with a custom message, though for now this feature is US only.
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Pro
Kindle Owners' Lending Library
The Kindle Owners' Lending Library is a feature of Amazon Prime, a service that costs $99 a year that includes such features as free two day shipping on Amazon orders and a membership to their video and music services. The Kindle Owners' Lending Library has more than 600,000 books users can borrow (one at a time) with no time limitation.
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Pro
Kindle Daily Deals
Amazon offers discounted eBooks daily for their "Kindle Daily Deals". The eBooks can be as much as 80% off the normal retail price. Though often the eBooks on offer of of low quality or unheard of titles.
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