In case you missed the news, Apple announced a few months back that they were putting some rules around apps that sell ebooks through the app. You can offer to sell the eBooks as long as you also offer the ebooks through the iTunes store. Giving users the choice, one path of which get’s Apple their percent.
Today, both Amazon with their Kindle eBook reader app and Kobo with their similar app have stopped offering a button to buy eBooks through their apps. You can still buy eBooks through each of their Web sites then load your purchases onto your iPad. A quick poll around the office found this wont effect any of our purchases since we normally buy through the site anyway.
We image that the Audible app (from Amazon) will follow with an update in the next few days, removing the ‘store’ button too.
From Amazon:
“This update removes the Kindle Store button from the app. Customers can shop for 950,000 books in the Kindle Store by visiting Amazon.com/kindlestore in Safari or any web browser.”
From Kobo:
“We would like to inform you that we have made changes to our iPhone and iPad apps in order to conform with new rules imposed by Apple. The biggest change for our customers is the removal of the ability to shop from within our app.”
“You can continue to use the Kobo app to read the existing books in your library (they are safe!). You can explore our social experience – Reading Life – to connect with your friends, share and discuss your latest read, and enjoy all the other fun and engaging reading features from Kobo you’re familiar with. Plus, now you’ll find out about the latest in Kobo updates & news directly on your Kobo app.”
