Jul 26

Amazon’s eBooks Outsell Hard Covers and B&N Launches nook App for Android.

While I was away…
Just missed this by a hair. A July 20th story at The Wall Street Journal reports Amazon.com announcing eBook sales surpassing hard cover sales for the last three months. This should help any tardy publishers make the decision to join the eBook Revolution.

and…

American Breaking Headline News says Barnes and Noble has launched an Android version of its nook eBook reader. Check out the full story here. Further, B&N plans to rebrand its eReader apps for other platforms.

I have a feeling things are going to get very hot this August as companies position themselves for a digital back-to-school rush. What’s the lead up to Christmas going to be like?

Jul 15

Summer Holidays – eBook Reading by a Lake

You’ll have to forgive another week of missed headlines as eBook Rumors takes a short summer break. Thanks for visiting, enjoy the grab bag of stories below, and be sure to look for fresh rumors and posts the week of July 25th. Enjoy!

* Gizmodo Australia is talking about Video-Capable ePaper here. Big opportunity for the eBook Revolution… as long as we can keep ads to a minimum.

* The $179 Pandigital Novel eBook reader with large 7-inch colour touchscreen and runs Google Android in the background, but someone hacked it to run Android direct, turning the machine into a nice Android OS Tablet. The full story is here at GadgetVenue.

* eSchoolNews has a post about Read:OutLoud University Edition eBook reader. Designed for ease-of-use as an eBook Reader the machine will make life easier for university/college students and/or veterans with disabilities.

* Educational software provider Blackboard is inking a deal with Barnes & Noble to get the bookseller’s educational titles into the B&N eBook store for students. Read more about it at Forbes.

* USAToday has a story about millions of books being digitized for the disabled. Read more about it here.

* The Financial Post has a Research Report about the Chinese eBook Reader market for 2010-2011. Read the post here.

* Read another Kindle DX review at The Hindu.

* Read the Wall Street Journal post about Japanese Publishers embracing the eBook.

* A very interesting read at BSCReview. The title speaks for itself: “Dr. StrangeNook, or, How I learned to stop worrying and love the eBook reader.”

* CollegeNews says that half of college students plan to buy an eBook reader next year. Read the story here.

* Wired.com’s GeekDad tests iPad cases here.

Jul 15

Are Borders’ Multi-Platform eBooks A Game-Changer?

AnnArbor.com’s Nathan Bomey analyzes Borders’ new eBook Store here and wonders whether its untethered eBook formats are ahead of the curve. Since a consumer can read Borders’ eBooks on any device, it’s easy to see the American book retailer grab its projected 17% share of the eBook market. Especially when pitted against the proprietary, kind of ‘locked’, eBooks sold by the competition.

Jul 14

Get Your eBook on iPad, Kindle, nook, Sony Reader or Kobo eReader, etc…

Jorgen dropped by with a special link for independent authors and publishers eager to take part in the eBook Revolution. A story at Gizmodo gives the inside track to getting your eBook in the iBookstore. They talk about everything from eBook Readers to formats, and point the way to a growing marketplace of over 100 million readers.

Jul 13

Here We GO! Sony Reader Breaks the $100 MARK!

GalleyCat has a story about Sony upping the ante in the eReader price war by breaking the $100 barrier on its PRS-505/LC. The members-only offer at Books-A-Million sold out within hours.

Read the story here.

True enough, we missed the special, but can another be far behind? Keep your eyes peeled and your credit cards ready!

Jul 13

Barnes and Noble Presents NOOKstudy Options.

Thanks Jorgen for this link to a Notebooks.com story about Barnes & Noble introducing new software called NOOKstudy. This attempt to expand the nook and eBook market provides an alternative to traditional textbooks. The NOOKstudy software will be released for PC and Mac and will expand the reach of B&N’s eReader applications already available for iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, BlackBerry, PC and Macs.

What can you say? More innovation from Barnes & Noble. You can tell they’re in the digital publishing market for the long-haul. NOOKstudy is coming in August. Check out the home page here.

Jul 12

Digital Textbooks: The Affordable Future

The Daytona Beach News-Journal has an excellent story about the eBook Revolution’s impact on post-secondary education, suggesting students in the near future will be paying one-fifth the current text book costs. This welcome digital development comes at a time when traditional ‘paper’ textbook costs are soaring to as much as $1,000 per student per year.

Jul 11

Jame Patterson’s Sells Over a Million!

The ChronicleHerald.ca has a report from James Patterson’s publisher, Hachette Book Group, claiming 1.14 million units of the author’s titles have downloaded. Read the story here.

Jul 10

FoxNews Reviews the Kindle DX

Amazon’s rebooted Kindle DX doesn’t just come with a $100 drop in price to $379. (That was the price for the original Kindle…) They’ve also added some improvements.

This FoxNews review takes a look at Amazon’s biggest eBook Reader.

There’s video too!

Jul 09

Microsoft Seeks Patent on Page Turning Animation

We’ve all seen the neat little animation that mimics the physical turning of a page. Well, looks like Microsoft has filed papers to patent it for themselves. Not sure of the ramifications for iBooks and Stanza, but the story at The Register has pics and hints at a cool virtual multi-page flip that’s part of the patent. Check it out here.