Singtel's ebook store

[zeroflame]

skoob will consider more for local as the mention that local publish will be available in their store. Student will able to get their study guide and assessment book.
Price and variety wise definitely wont be as good as amazon or B&N.We shall see any promo coming along the way

 

[helium7]

^ As long as they provide good price and choice , all else not so important in the consumer (me) eyes...

 

[tofubean]

I went to look at the app reviews in app store after seeing this in the news. So many 1 star reviews... Doesn't seem like a promising start. How is the app and book selection so far?

 

[xenatrix]

The book selection is impressive, but if you compare it with the Kindle experience (putting hardware aside, not fair to compare here since skoob supports more platforms) the presentation is lacking and the software doesn't have the features a seasoned e-book reader would expect. It just feels as if I'm reading an extremely long Word document, which isn't how it is supposed to be.

In this day and age it is simply not enough to offer a product without the polish. Credit to them for keeping the prices low though.

 

[hnzfaz]

Which e-ink reader will work with the store's drm? P'haps they should also sell e-ink readers. It'd make it easier for readers in many ways.

 

[tudthump]

The book selection is impressive, but if you compare it with the Kindle experience (putting hardware aside, not fair to compare here since skoob supports more platforms) the presentation is lacking and the software doesn't have the features a seasoned e-book reader would expect. It just feels as if I'm reading an extremely long Word document, which isn't how it is supposed to be.

In this day and age it is simply not enough to offer a product without the polish. Credit to them for keeping the prices low though.

what are the prices like?

 

[Soul77]

I just bought a chargeable drm-ed book. Process quite straightforward. I am able to read it from the skoob iphone apps, and also from the pc using adobe digital editions.
On top of that, i tried transferring the drm-ed epub file from the pc to my iphone using bluefire reader. Upon entering my adobe login within the bluefire, the book open without issue.

This means, any reader supports adobe drm should be capable of opening skoob books as well. (NOOK is supported, but Kindle is not)

http://blogs.adobe.com/digitalpublishing/supported-devices

 

[wind30]

I bought a book off my android phone.

It could not complete the download on the phone.

I downloaded it using my PC by installing skoob on PC.

Then through Adobe Digital editions, I am able to get it on my sony Ebook and Android phone. So from now onwards, I will probably buy books of skoob using my PC and then transfer to my sony ebook.

 

[ekin101]

They are giving free ebooks such as
1) girl with dragon tattoo..
2) Kite runner
3) Eat pray love..

Should as least give them a try..

 

[jeffyen2]

It just feels as if I'm reading an extremely long Word document, which isn't how it is supposed to be.

Are you refering to books gotten from Skoob? How is the book supposed to look like?

 

[belgarathc]

I downloaded The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo to my Sony PRS-350. It's just a normal ePub. Works fine.

 

[zeroflame]

i try to download..it give me a .acsm file. have to use adobe digital to download the file.

How to know what is the file format download? where is the file location after the book has been downloaded?

Edit : the epub is location at My documents\My digital edition

 

[Soul77]

i try to download..it give me a .acsm file. have to use adobe digital to download the file.

How to know what is the file format download? where is the file location after the book has been downloaded?

Edit : the epub is location at My documents\My digital edition

After you open the .acsm using adobe digital editions, the file will be downloaded as encrypted .epub file. Location of the file is in "My Documents\My Digital Editions"
You can transfer the .epub using any adobe drm compatible devices which allow you to key in your adobe userid/password.

I used bluefire app on my iphone to open the drm-protected epub, and it open without problems. Way better than the skoob iphone apps.

 

[Haley86]

Interesting... just came across this, Singtel's ebook store... anyone has tried this before?

http://www.skoob.com.sg

I got my first ebook from Skoob; I was looking for Daniel Kahneman's 'Thinking, Fast and Slow', but I was unable to find it on KOBO. The ebook on Skoob is cheaper than the actual book, and luckily unlike all the 1 star reviews about the Skoob app, I haven't had much problems with it.

That being said, I didn't continue to purchase the other books that I wanted (on Skoob and KOBO) because the ebook version seems to be outdated compared to the actual book (when I went down to Kinokuniya to check).

 

[jeffyen2]

I got my first ebook from Skoob; I was looking for Daniel Kahneman's 'Thinking, Fast and Slow', but I was unable to find it on KOBO. The ebook on Skoob is cheaper than the actual book, and luckily unlike all the 1 star reviews about the Skoob app, I haven't had much problems with it.

That being said, I didn't continue to purchase the other books that I wanted (on Skoob and KOBO) because the ebook version seems to be outdated compared to the actual book (when I went down to Kinokuniya to check).

The Kindle version is US$4.99 and the 2011 edition. Can't find it for Kobo too. B&N's version is US$9.99. The latest paperback version is 2013 but it's stated as a 'reprint', not sure if there is new material included. Kino's is 2013 reprint at S$23.

 

[jeffyen2]

"SingTel is closing the book on its e-book store skoob, only months after MediaCorp pulled the plug on a similar outfit, ilovebooks.com..."

SingTel shuts e-book store skoob after two years of operation

 

[hnzfaz]

"SingTel is closing the book on its e-book store skoob, only months after MediaCorp pulled the plug on a similar outfit, ilovebooks.com..."

SingTel shuts e-book store skoob after two years of operation

I think they fail on pricing and selections, two of the most important factors to succeed in e-book retailing.

 

[jeffyen2]

I think they fail on pricing and selections, two of the most important factors to succeed in e-book retailing.

Yes, I also think there's a lack of 'integration with hardware'. The default reader that they advocate on their help section is ' PC/Mac, iPad, iPhone, Android phone and tablet'. But do people really read ebooks on that primarily?

They should have just bundled a Kobo together with their package and seal up the competition...

 

[hnzfaz]

Yes, I also think there's a lack of 'integration with hardware'. The default reader that they advocate on their help section is ' PC/Mac, iPad, iPhone, Android phone and tablet'. But do people really read ebooks on that primarily?

They should have just bundled a Kobo together with their package and seal up the competition...

Fully agree with that. Missed opportunity.

 

[a562140]

mediacorp > singtel

starts later but learns faster and acts more decisively.