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    Harry Potter e-book sales postponed until 2012

    LONDON (AP) — Harry Potter fans will have to wait a bit longer to buy the magic tales in electronic form.

    The creators of the online Potter portal said Friday that the launch of an e-book store has been pushed back to next year.

    The seven Harry Potter books had been due to go on sale in October, exclusively through the "Pottermore" website.

    The site is a combination of virtual encyclopedia, role-playing game and online community for fans of author J.K. Rowling's boy wizard.

    It launched in July and is so far accessible to 1 million registered users chosen through an online competition.

    In a blog posting on the site, "Pottermore" management said registration would be open to everyone from the end of October, and the online store would open in "the first half of 2012."

    The posting said use of the site so far had been "phenomenal," and the delay would "allow us to focus on our first priority: opening 'Pottermore' to as many people as possible and making the experience as good as it can be."

    The Harry Potter novels have sold 450 million copies — and made Rowling one of the world's richest women, with a fortune estimated by Forbes magazine at $1 billion — but have never been available as e-books.

    Rowling annoyed some booksellers with her decision to circumvent established retailers and sell the e-books and digital audio books through her own site.

    The creators of "Pottermore" say the books will be compatible with popular e-readers, including Amazon's Kindle, Sony's Reader and Apple's iPad.

    ___

    Online: www.pottermore.com

     

    27 comments

    • Bee  •  7 mths ago
      That's OK! I have the books in paper! =o) I'm live with Pottermore! I'm enjoying my experience there a lot!
    • UNHAPPY PATIENT  •  7 mths ago
      she is only worth a billion? that isn't even an 'A' list player. Nort bad for a welfare mom with an idea that kept us entertained for years
    • wndtalker1  •  7 mths ago
      I want to know if I can download them to my computer
      • vahe 7 mths ago
        Be a Pirate.
    • Lisa  •  7 mths ago
      I am excited for the e-book format because I can carry the series around with me and it will take up a lot less space than all those books! I just hope the prices aren't as outrageous as the audio books!!
    • Angie  •  7 mths ago
      Read the books, don't need them in e-form, don't care.
    • April  •  7 mths ago
      ohh...well it'll be worth the wait
    • Cory W  •  7 mths ago
      Sony really screwed up with pottermore. The site is a promising concept, but sony's unveiling of it to beta users has proven lackluster once you spend the 3 hours it takes to work through book one. the potions are buggy, the dueling had to be taken down almostly immediatly, and in essence, it really did not come close to embodying the charm of the book themselves, which are far more immersive than the site it. if anything, the site needs the ebooks to be released sooner rather than later, because they are really what will draw people there. when I got my kindle, the first thing I did was make a collection for the harry potter ebooks... now, it is going to be useless for 6-9 months.
      • Stacy H 7 mths ago
        The site clearly indicates that it is the beta version- which means that there will be issues. So quit whining! Now, if they move it out of Beta, and it still has all of those issues, then there is a problem. However, it is still a free website.
        I have been on Pottermore and there are two things that I love about it: the additional information that has been revealed is great, (I hope that there is much more) and the artwork/animation is beautiful. However, it is frustrating to work through the buggy, slow, sometimes inaccesible site. I am reserving judgment on that and hoping it will improve. It almost certainly will.
      • Angie 7 mths ago
        You get to make potions there? Cool.
    • indianajonz  •  7 mths ago
      I like the feel of the pages in my hand. The smell of the paper. The joy of watching my bookmark make it to the one third point/ half way point/ almost finished area. Plus, I can get 2 pages read by the time my friend's e-reader has booted up. And lastly, My book case looks so sexy with all those books on it. Long live the printed book!
    • me  •  7 mths ago
      What about the barnes and noble NOOK?
      • Anony. 7 mths ago
        Because the Kindle and iPad are going take it out back and shoot it like Old Yeller.
    • John Smith  •  7 mths ago
      Strange I already have a .pdf file on all the books I got from the internet.
      • Steve 7 mths ago
        Congrats on the pirated material. You might want to delete that you are breaking the law by having it.
      • Jarod 7 mths ago
        If producers of materials can't forsee a demand someone will fill it. Illegal downloading is the reason the BBC started showing Doctor Who in the US and UK on the same day.
    • A Yahoo! User  •  7 mths ago
      love to see her ell direct. in spite of the fact she'll have even MORE cash, it's time the big book sellers learn that they aren't integral to the process. might humble them a bit
    • Mike  •  7 mths ago
      Well, if it's not available on the Nook, I'm certainly not interested. Look at all the money I just saved!
      • vahe 7 mths ago
        then carry it on your shoulder you cavemen, all the books!
      • John 7 mths ago
        Hey Mike,
        it will be for the Nook also. So you will be spending that cash, just a little bit later than first thought...
    • Allison Karalus  •  7 mths ago
      I hate Harry Potter books thus says the Lord Jesus Christ.
    • Ekene Mike okeke  •  7 mths ago
      that ok
    • Littluns  •  7 mths ago
      Well, there's an alternative with "Littluns: And the Book of Darkness" for all reasons and all seasons. It's color illustrated in a 411 page epic animation-like adventure and journey for grown-ups, but not available on a reader yet. But that's another story.
    • Hailey  •  7 mths ago
      ugh jk rowling. im tired of carrying around my huge books. i just want to put it in on my kindle and be done wit it
    • lumines  •  7 mths ago
      Everyone has the books already and everyone has read the books many times. Now why would anyone want to read them on the computer? But if possible, can there be a better voice for the Audio Books of Harry Potter? Because an English guy is reading the Harry Potter on the Audio Books and I can't quite understand some words he is saying because of the British Accent. I suggest like Whoopie Goldberg to read the books. I like to listen to the books on my iPod while falling asleep at night.
    • Claymore  •  7 mths ago
      The #harrypotter series will be the first selections when I purchase my E-reader
    • DJK  •  7 mths ago
      She should have called it Cheddarmore. Cause J.K looooooves that $$$$$$$$$$$$
    • Blue_Moon  •  7 mths ago
      What? The e-books are the only reason I signed up for early entry in August and now she's saying that they're not going to be available until next year? Come ON!!!
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