WHSmith beats Waterstone’s to iPad

UK high street retailer WHSmith has beater rival Waterstone’s to Apple’s iPad with a new ebook app which is available to download from today.

The new app allows the buying and reading of books through the app however the iTunes app store listing for the software cautions that existing WHSmiths.co.uk accounts wont syncronise with the app. WHSmith say they “are working” on resolving this.

The built-in store is said to offer 25,000 paid for titles which can be downloaded straight to the device as well free classics however the app’s FAQ says it is “current not possible” to download books bought through it to other devices and there’s no word on whether this will be added in the future.

With ebook apps for Amazon Kindle, Kobo and Apple’s own iBooks, the ipad is shaping up to become a major player in the sector which makes the absence of a Waterstone’s app all the more conspicuous.

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