The Pottermore e-bookstore has opened earlier than anticipated, and all Harry Potter e-books and digital audiobooks are available as of today.
Pottermore has been in development since last year – the interactive community segment of the site is still in a testing phase, but the bookstore is open now. As for price, the first three Harry Potter works are $7.99 a piece a e-books, and $29.99 as audiobooks. The last four books are $9.99 and $44.99 respectively. The content also comes in bundles – $57.54 for a complete e-book bundle, and $242.94 for a complete audiobook bundle.
Pottermore content appears to be compatible with every available device, and users can link their established e-bookstore accounts to set up downloads. Pottermore has so far partnered with the following vendors:
Sony (NYSE: SNE) Reader online account (US and Canadian based customers only)
Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) Kindle (available in most countries)
Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS) NOOK (US and Canadian based customers only)
Google (NSDQ: GOOG) Play (This service is currently available in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States)
Pottermore e-books do not have DRM and come “personalized” with watermarks – “The Pottermore Shop personalises eBooks with a combination of watermarking techniques that relate to the book, to the purchaser and the purchase time. This allows us to track and respond to possible copyright misuse,” according to the company. Pottermore allows users to download purchases up to eight times, and it is suggested that each book is copied to ones laptop, tablet, child’s e-reader, etc.
Pottermore content is presently available in the U.S. and UK English, but “French, German, Spanish and Italian language eBooks will be available soon, and many further languages will follow. Digital audio books in German and Italian will also be available shortly,” according to the company. The content is available for sale internationally.