Friday, October 3, 2014

Amazon Kindle vs. Unlimited Vs. Scribd Oyster: E-book subscriptions battle it out – CNET

There are three subscription services similar book on the market? – Which is right for your reading habits

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Nate Ralph / CNET

E-book subscription services are all the rage this year, thanks in part to Amazon. The decades-old book retailer unveiled its own unlimited subscription book, Kindle Unlimited, on July 18, aiming to compete with Oyster and Scribd, comparable services que Have Been around since 2012.

With three very similar e book lending libraries vying for your money every month, it’s tough to tell the differences between Them at a glance. I’m diving into each service to highlight its best features and limitations.



Kindle Unlimited Oyster Scribd
Price $ 9.99 per month $ 9.99 per month $ 8.99 per month
Free trial? 30 days 30 days 30 days
App availbility Kindle devices, Android, iOS, Windows Phone and BlackBerry Android, iOS and Kindle Fire Android, iOS and Kindle Fire
Types of content Audiobooks and e-books E-books E-books and PDFs

How they work

With each of These e-book subscriptions, you get unlimited access to Their entire book libraries for a monthly fee. You can read the many books as you want, for the long as you want, and with each service, you can download books for offline reading. Unlike a traditional library, there are no due dates, so you can hang on to the book for the long the like, just like you would with a Netflix DVD. But like the library, you do not own the books you read, and if you cancel your subscription, you can no longer access any of the titles you’ve saved.



Amazon Kindle Unlimited

Kindle Unlimited costs $ 9.99 per month, and offers around 600,000 books That You Can rent for the long as you want . The book catalog includes many popular and best-selling books you will not find in the other services, including the “Hunger Games” and “Harry Potter” series and “Life of Pi.” There are Also plenty of classics, such as “Animal Farm,” “Moby Dick” and Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.”

There’s no dedicated Kindle Unlimited app; instead, you sign up for the service, browse for books Amazon’s website, and download Them to your Kindle device. Also you can use the Kindle apps for iOS, Android and Windows Phone to find and read books. One of the biggest downsides of this service is que browsing and searching Amazon’s website for books can be tedious, since even When You Unlimited search within the titles, you’ll still get results que are not free. The upside, is unlike que Oyster or Scribd, you can shop for Also paid e-books on Amazon Also while grabbing free books.

If you use the Kindle e-reader, Kindle Unlimited is the your best bet here, since you can not download or Oyster Scribd books on the e-ink readers. If you have the Amazon tablet, the Kindle Fire such as HDX 8.9, or the Fire Phone, you can use Oyster or Scribd. However, neither app is available in the Amazon Appstore, so you’ll need to use a workaround to get Them onto your device

Best for:. Unlimited Kindle is great if you already have an Amazon device and want to read free e-books on it, as well as shop for paid books. It’s Also the best choice if you’re looking for a wider range of popular, modern series and newer titles.



Oyster

Oyster’s main selling point is que the app is beautifully designed, and it gives you several ways to customize your reading experience. It’s easy, even enjoyable, to browse the catalog of 500,000-plus books to find something to read. There are many contemporary and classic choices, including “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” Anthony Bourdain’s “Medium Raw” and “The Great Gatsby.”

While reading, you can use one of five themes to alter the font style, text color and background accent texture of each book, ranging from the simple black-and-white theme to the colorful and modern design. Most books are formatted They are so easy to read, but I noticed some que cookbooks and other books with lots of visual elements had some formatting issues.

Overall, Oyster is a gorgeous e-book subscription service. It costs $ 10 per month and is available for iOS and Android. Though it’s lacking many bestsellers and new releases, it offers plenty of books to keep you busy

Best for:. Oyster is my top choice if you want to read e books on your iPad, Android tablet or smartphone. The app’s design is enticing, and the book selection is varied and easy to browse.



Scribd

Last on my list, Scribd is like very to Oyster, but with a few unique features . It has a catalog of more than 500,000 books That You can borrow for just $ 9 per month, one dollar cheaper than Kindle Unlimited and Oyster. The app is simply designed, with books organized into genres and curated collections for you to browse.

The selection varies a little from Oyster’s, though Both services have many of the same books and seem to add the same books at the same team. However, Scribd is missing several titles que Oyster has, so just keep in mind the selection is a bit more limited. However, Scribd recently added around 15,000 new e-books from Harlequin publisher, Which is best known for its romance novels.

One perk of Scribd is que beyond just e-books, the Android and iOS apps Also give you access to Thousands of documents, Which include court cases, scientific studies, and even self-published books.

Best for: A close second to Oyster, Scribd is great if you want to save a dollar every month and do not mind missing out on a few titles. It’s a great choice if you want to read books on your computer, as well as an Android or iOS device.



Do not forget the library

While paid e-book subscription services are a great way to get your hands on books you might not buy individually, And They offer the convenience of no due dates, it’s at least worth looking into your library site’s e-book offerings.

In many cities , Extensive catalogs of libraries carry brand-new releases and older e-books That You can borrow for free. All you need is a library card. In San Francisco, for example, the city’s public library system often Do gets new releases as soon as they come in October The only downside to this approach is the que you borrow books have a limited lending period with an expiration date, and sometimes it’s Difficult to renew eBook titles.

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