Apple might continue to exercise the one-sided control that they are always not known to hold with partners with the newly unveiled iPad as well.
According to sources reported by the LA Times, the ebooks sold on iPad may come protected with FairPlay DRM which means the ebooks would be readable only on Apple approved hardware. Also, such a clause would give Apple unrestricted powers in deciding which of the competitors’ books make it to the iBooks store.
It is not clear if all ebooks on the iBooks store would be protected by this DRM since publishers like O’Reilly have been vocal against the use of DRM for their ebooks. However, considering the iPad can open up a lot of opportunity for smaller publishers, it is likely that a lot of publishers would still grudgingly cave in.
What are your thoughts on this?
[via LA Times]