Just thought I'd have a laugh and download the new Dan Brown onto my iphone after getting a promotional email from Fictionwise (beats having to hide the cover behind a copy of Penthouse on the train). Cost on Fictionwise? - $9.99 which is just over six quid - except that it's geographically locked to US customers only. So I dug a little further and found that the UK e-book download from Transworld is the same price as the hardback - £18.95!

As much as I'd love to dip into this "rollicking piece of tosh" (Mark Lawson in The Guardian), is there any justification at all for this discriminatory pricing? With prices like this - plus another outlay for the crappy Kindle or Sony Reader, can't see much immediate prospect on any lift-off for e-books.