Aug 11
The New York Times is carrying a rumor suggesting that one look at the job board at Amazon.com’s Lab 126 suggests that the online eBook retailer is getting ready to add more hardware to its arsenal. With Lab 126 responsible for designing Kindle and with Amazon carrying music and digital movies as well as eBooks, do the job specs hint at an Amazon-style iPad down the road?
Take the link to decide for yourself.
Aug 10
The Christian Science Monitor offers a post and advice on textbook rental for students getting ready for the fall semester. It’s a great move to save money that also seems to be the way of the future if the National Association of College Stores has its way with half of its 3,000 member stores offering book rentals this fall. That in concert with Barnes & Noble’s plan to do the same at its 637 college bookstores is sure to make text rental the norm.
When linked to B&N’s NOOKstudy program that offers digital textbook rentals, student’s will have a wide variety of money saving options in the coming year.
Aug 09
Gigaom.com has a post by author Simon Wood on the writer’s view of digital publishing. I’d have to say I’m in complete agreement with Wood and can only see an upside for the content creator and reader.
eBooks are here to stay, but so are their paper progenitors–albeit the paperback might be relegated to a print-on-demand version (it was happening anyway) and the hard cover may evolve into high-quality, collectible works of art.
It should be a win-win scenario for writers and readers.
Aug 08
Check out this New York Times article that pits the many uses of the iPad against the read-only world of Kindle. There are some good points made, but they all depend on the consumer.
You can’t invent a better flesh and blood reader, and since they’re the ones paying the tab the winner of the Kindle versus iPad debate will be up to them.
Aug 07
The Wall Street Journal reports Dorchester Publishing embracing the eBook Revolution and digital publishing by abandoning traditional print books for digital options.
This after the States’ oldest mass paperback publisher watched a decline in orders from its key retail accounts produce a 25% drop in last year’s sales.
This is actually good news for writers and readers. eBooks and print-on-demand technology allows publishers to offer their entire back-list of out-of-print books.
We’ve been waiting for this development for some time, yah?
Aug 06
Author Christine Pope’s new paranormal romance novella, Playing With Fire, launched August 5 and is available for purchase in multi-format at Pink Petal Books and ChristinePope.com. Christine is bordering on the prolific if you remember the April 2010 release of her novel, Fringe Benefits, also bearing the Pink Petal Books imprint.
Here’s a taste of what you’ll find in her latest offering:
Samael calls the City of Angels home, but he’s far from angelic. His assignment: Bringing the souls of L.A.’s unquiet dead to the underworld. His duties don’t preclude more earthly entanglements, as long he keeps things purely physical.
When he meets Felicia McGovern, he soon realizes his attraction to her goes far beyond her admittedly enchanting flesh. Her unexpected discovery of his true nature separates the lovers, but when her life is in danger, Samael risks everything to keep her safe. He faces certain punishment…or possibly a redemption he never imagined could be his.
Find out more about Christine Pope at her website.
Aug 05
The Globe and Mail has a story about Barnes & Noble, the biggest U.S. bricks-and-mortar bookselling chain, preparing to “evaluate strategic alternatives, including a possible sale of the company†because of a perception that its shares “are now significantly undervalued.†The news brought B&N shares up more than 19 percent on Wednesday.
So, are we seeing market manipulation, and attempt to re-value B&N shares, or have they claimed a solid enough stake in the eBook Revolution to get the best price possible for a chain that boasts a bricks-and-mortar platform while it also pays for it? I guess we’ll find out soon. The powers that be at B&N have certainly done a heck of a job raising the bookseller’s profile for the digital age.
Aug 04
PCMag posted an article about Barnes & Noble announcing a new Web-based textbook rental service that they’ll be offering at back-to-school time to go with their Nook Study software. College students can download the software that allows them to access class materials formatted for PC or Mac. They’ll be able to sign up for the service at Barnes and Noble Textbooks.
More good thinking from B&N.
Aug 03
Geeky-Gadgets.com has posted a story about the third generation Amazon Kindle selling out in a week. A trip to the Amazon website will show you that the WiFi and 3G versions are temporarily sold out. (New orders ship Sept. 4, 2010.)
With the recent price-wars and waves of eBook Readers finally reaching the mainstream en masse, this promises to be an exciting Christmas for writers and readers.
Aug 02
Desire Athow at ITProPortal speculates here on the future of the Kindle as a multi-function tablet device.
Athow cites some of the new Kindle’s abilities as clues to the evolution of a hybrid machine that can compete with iPad and the stampede of low-priced Android tablets that are expected on the market.
