Apple today announced that enhanced editions of all seven books in the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling are now available exclusively through the iBooks Store around the world for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Mac.
The enhanced Harry Potter books feature the full original text, interactive animations, detailed artwork and annotations from Rowling. There are also exclusive custom covers for each title, custom Harry Potter typefaces and new section headers and drop caps.
Harry Potter Enhanced Editions are available in English for $9.99 each in 32 countries, while pre-orders begin today for French, German and Spanish versions, which will be available on November 9 in 18 additional countries.
“I’m thrilled to see the Harry Potter books so beautifully realised on iBooks for the digital world; the artwork and animations in these enhanced editions bring the stories alive in a delightful new way,” said J.K. Rowling.
“Harry Potter fans are going to love how their favorite stories come to life,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “J.K. Rowling’s legendary series is perfect for enjoying on your iPad or iPhone and we’re thrilled to offer them exclusively on the iBooks Store.”
Harry Potter digital books were previously only available for purchase through the Pottermore shop that J.K. Rowling developed in partnership with Sony.
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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!
Imagine if some crazy company tried this with phones! :eek:
Strange, I was just saying the other day about how the ebook market was stagnating, largely because they've only ever been inferior copies of their physical book counterparts.
This however, is the direction they're starting to realise they should be going - interactive, artfully designed, doing things only a digital book can do.
I don't really care for re-reading Harry Potter, but this could be huge for the precedent it sets for the publishing industry.
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!
"while pre-orders begin today for French, German and Spanish versions, which will be available on November 9 in 18 additional countries."
What exactly is the purpose of pre-ordering digital media? Does it sell out really fast or is it only available for a limited time? I've noticed it quite a few times recently and I'm just a little puzzled.
Pre-order when you notice it (i.e. when it's being promoted in a shop/store), then later it's automatically delivered to your device/account on release date - without you having to remember when the release date is.
