Meet Oyster: The E-Book Cousin Of Netflix

Netflix has changed the way we watch television. Instead of paying for cable or renting all kinds of movies, we can just sign up for a $7.99 unlimited streaming plan and watch almost anything and everything we’ve ever wanted to watch. I’d even venture a guess that many of us have had our fair share of Netflix binge-watching sessions, because it makes it so easy to do just that. All you have to do it push play.

Just as Netflix has changed television, e-books have drastically changed reading. With the invention of Kindles and other e-readers, no longer do we have to carry tons of books with us – with just one little device we can carry a library with us wherever we go. The one main drawback to e-books is that you have to buy each one of them you want to read. (Unless you use your public library’s service). Of course, there are all kinds of free Kindle books out there on a daily basis, but they may not be exactly what you’re wanting to read at the moment. If you’ve ever found yourself wondering why there isn’t a quality “Netflix” type service out there for e-books, you’re not alone, and I’m happy to report that there is now hope for you in the form of a program called Oyster.

Just How Does Oyster Compare To Netflix?

Here’s the biggie: for $10 a month you can read all the books you want to read. No limits, no overdue fees, nothing like that. Oyster already has some of the biggest publishers on board with them, including HarperCollins and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt among some other lesser known ones. You just pick the book(s) you want to read and you’re ready to go.

When you consider that many popular books on Kindle (or wherever you get your e-books) cost around $10, Oyster sounds like a pretty good deal financially.

The biggest problem facing Oyster as of right now is that it’s only available on devices running iOS 7, meaning that you won’t be able to use it at all if you currently use an Android device.

What do you think? Would you use it?

[Image via allthingsd]

SOURCE: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57617713-93/how-the-netflix-of-books-won-over-the-publishing-industry-q-a/