eBook reading on your Apple iPhone or iPod Touch?

Original Post from September 29th 2007.

Do you wish for an eBook reading app for your iPhone?
This reader does and spent the time to create the mock-ups, which he posted here on MacRumors.com as part of his wishlist of applications for his iPhone.

See these nice mock-ups of the UI on the iPhone.

Somehow I suspect that Apple would work on his #2 wishlist entry "iTunes Store for iPhone" before getting to eBooks (I've never understood why Apple haven't done this, and remove the PC/Mac centricity from the whole music purchase thing and make your account on iTunes the center of things...)

But who knows, I could be surprised.
Many commenters on his post hate his other ideas, but no comments on the eBook idea at this time.
I'd take bets that before too long we'll see a newsreading app on the iPhone, and after that maybe for other textual material like books - but in that order.

Well, since I wrote that (and forgot to post it) we've seen the introduction of the iTunes Wi-Fi Music store for iPod Touch and iPhone which now allows you to purchase digital music directly from those devices when connected via Wi-Fi (including picking up your Latte at Starbucks). They've kept it PC/Mac centric though with that music being "synched-back" to your PC/Mac when later connected.

The use of Wi-Fi, not EDGE or another data connection, avoids Apple having to have an agreement on the content purchase with the Telcos. Presumably it was easier to get a good deal with Starbucks than with ATT Wireless for music download?

So, if there are people out there who read books on their mobile phones (I'm always amazed by that, but there's plenty of blog entries and comments from people who do...) then presumably the iPhone/iPod Touch with the bigger and brighter screen will make a better reading device for those users?

That would be especially true for news reading, and not a long novel, and so I stand by my comments above that someone will work with Apple to provide a news reader on the iPhone. Google with Google News? Reuters or another agency?

I suspect that Jobs is making overtures to the New York Times with iPhone often having images of the NYT on it in photos, adverts, etc. Just like he often plays Beatles songs in his keynote speeches, while in negotiations to sell the Beatles music catalog on iTunes.

So I'll predict that the NYT will be the first newspaper we see on the iPhone. :-)