Forget the new Harry Potter tome, the first iPhone book is out

While J. K. Rowling’s publishers are nervous about electronic copies of the latest book, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” slipping out before Friday’s release of the hardcopy edition, O’Reilly Media is taking a completely different tact with its new iPhone book. Looking to be the first book to jump on the iPhone hype, the tech publisher is already delivering “iPhone: The Missing Manual” by the New York Time’s David Pogue in PDF format to those that can’t wait for a hard copy. For $24.99, you can get the PDF now and get hardcopy of the book when it comes out in August. O’Reilly is doing it right. By letting the electronic edition out earlier, it makes the patience-lacking customers happier and O’Reilly can make a few extra bucks since one can’t just buy the electronic version. (You can get just the book for $19.99.) Granted, this is easier for publishers of how-to type books that are tied to a third-party offering such as the iPhone. But still, a great idea to get on the hype wave before it crashes on the beach.