Nov 24
PCWorld reviews the $199 Kobo Vox Tablet eReader and gives it good marks.
ExpertReviews reports on an investigation into eBook Pricing. (Nobody believes the publishers. eBooks can’t be as expensive to make as paperbacks and hard covers!)
EContent talks about a new program from OverDrive that allows library patrons to test drive eBook Readers and tablets.
And LAPTOPMagazine reviews the $129Â Sony Reader Wi-Fi (PRS-T1RC).
Nov 23
ZDNet asks you to consider the Nook Simple Touch and the Kobo eReader Touch for the special people on your gift list. (I’ve got a Kobo eReader Touch and I don’t know how I lived without it!)
BoyGeniusReport says the Amazon Kindle Fire is no iPad, but that’s why it will end up dominating.
What’sYourTech reports on Kobo’s new Vox Tablet and how the upstart is hungry for a slice of the market.
Nov 22
eWeekEurope reports that some travelers are complaining about airport security scanners ruining Kindle eBook reader screens. Amazon says it’s impossible.
And, GottaBeMobile has posted a nice list of Black Friday eReader deals. (Lots of sweet $79 eBook Readers!)
Nov 21
Now that the Amazon Kindle Fire has been shipped and should be reaching customers as we write, GoodeReader offers a video tutorial on how to load eBooks (and other content) on the new tablet devices.
Nov 19
MobileTechReview has an excellent video review of the Amazon Kindle Touch. It’s worth checking out for the side-by-side comparisons with other industry competitors.
Nov 18
PaidContent reports that Barnes and Noble’s startling growth in eBook sales is responsible for its competitive position in a marketplace dominated by Amazon’s overwhelming online presence, and says they’ve got the advantage because of their bricks and mortar pedigree.  They’re able to offer the human touch and cite service as the key to the eBook Revolution.
Nov 17
PaidContent has a story about Penguin Group USA’s  Book Country, an online genre fiction meeting place that now offers three self-publishing packages ranging from $99 for a user-formatted eBook to $549 for a professionally formatted print and eBook. These are then distributed through various distribution packages from: Basic (via Book Country) to Wide (books appear at all the usual suspects: Amazon, Apple…etc.)
While it’s hardly surprising that a publisher wants to get into the eBook publishing game, this service’s focus on pay-to-play is reminiscent of the antiquated vanity press experience. Amazon’s publish, sink or swim approach is easier to gauge, since the writer and reader are able to meet on a fairly even (Indie) playing field.
Still, it’s too early to say whether it’s more than a cash grab by the publisher. We’ll have to see how these professionally formatted print and eBooks are promoted and produced before we can judge the product or the consumer reaction.
Nov 16
POPSCI reviews the new $199 Amazon Kindle Fire tablet after the online eBook giant started shipments a day early with hopes of getting the jump on Barnes and Noble’s Nook tablet that is slated to ship later this week.
Nov 15
Jorgen dropped by with a link to a Bloomberg story that fills us in on recent developments on the Amazon (Free) Lending Library. The eBook giant announced that it would supply a free lending network to Kindle owners in possession of the $79-per-year Amazon Prime service.
This has infuriated the big six publishers that went to considerable trouble (and alienated a lot of readers) when they adopted the agency pricing model that gave them complete control over eBook pricing. (That was their calm and cool and GREEDY response to Amazon’s $9.99 Kindle eBook pricing in the early days of the eBook Revolution.)
Sounds like Amazon wants to set the eBook marketplace on fire by adjusting prices to reflect consumer interest and demand. We’ll see if the publishers are ready to accept the future.
Nov 14
CanadianBusiness offers a story on unreasonable eBook pricing. It’s something we’ve talked about since the beginning of the revolution. The big publishers have to drop their prices or encourage eBook Piracy. Nobody buys their story that an eBook costs just as much to produce as a paperback.
