First, Apple decided to restrict the books that DMP could sell in their iTunes app. While disappointing, I don't think anyone was terribly surprised since Apple is known for its primness and properness when maintaining its gated community.
Then, Amazon refused to sell one of the edgier, BDSM titles from DMG. One of the localizers reported that DMG was asked to remove pages or cover up naughty bits or both. And now, apparently, Amazon is refusing to list anymore DMP titles until the censorship situation is resolved. I'm wondering if Amazon finally realized that the previews of DMG titles often had explicit sex in them and were available for viewing by anyone. He's Mine (localized by Mi3) starts off with a threesome, and anyone in the world could have read that scene. If that really is the case, I don't blame them for panicking since businesses and ukes alike need to CYA. Someone with a young child and a penchant for litigation (read "half of America") could have a field day. And it's possible that Amazon's panties are in a twitch over something completely different, but whatever the reason, they should have addressed it when the books were initially released and not create a huge problem for everyone now. As for the greater issues of possible LBG prejudice, censorship in general, and Amazon's role in publishing, I leave those for the more articulate and passionate people. I'm just here to compare digital readers.
So how do these changes affect buying and reading DMG titles? Well as I'm sure you know by now, Kindle quality is so-so, and if you didn't know this, click the link on the sidebar to see a comparison of the different digital platforms.
What really broke my heart was the censorship of titles in the DMP iTunes app since the files were HUGE, which made for the best quality available. The good news for some is that the Android market remains a bastion of unfettered freedom. The DMP Android app is just as high quality and well designed as the iTunes version, and all DMP titles are available. For those of us who already own an iPad and won't be purchasing an Android tablet anytime soon, fear not. Barnes and Noble has not restricted any titles, and the quality of the Nook app for iPad is very good even though the pages are not optimized for the screen. And for those who don't read the super-explicit 801-ish titles, well, just keep doing what you're doing :P
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| Samsung Galaxy Tab running DMP app |
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| Galaxy Tab again |
If anyone has a different Android tablet and has installed the DMP app, please send me some pics! I'm always curious to see if fragmentation is really an issue or if it's just something people like to blow smoke about. Just a photo with your cell phone is fine, and you can load up a free preview of any book as an example ;)
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