iBooks and iBookstore for iPad going international on May 28

As part of their larger, 9 country international iPad rollout on May 28, Apple announced today that the iBooks app and iBookstore service will also become available in many of those countries.

Publication rights often vary by region (for example, Harry Potter has different publishers in North America than it does in the UK) and it's an understatement to call the situation a mess. So, it's good to see Apple making headway.

Given how slow iTunes TV and Movies have been offered internationally, however, the entertainment industry should still feel shame and hopefully this adds impetus towards simplifying and -- frankly -- modernizing the way these licenses and rights are handled internationally.

Back on-topic: who's excited for iBooks? Anyone going to switch over from Kindle? Or is it just an easy gateway to getting those 30,000 Project Gutenberg titles onto your iPad (and later this year, iPhone)?

[Apple]

Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.