Jan 20

Newsstand in your Hand

Many thanks to Jorgen for a link this story at the TimesOnline about the future of digital publishing as it relates to the next generation of eReaders revealed by tech companies at the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas. Even though the first generation of early adopters are patiently waiting for their grayscale Kindles, Nooks, COOL-ERs and Sony Readers to arrive in the mail, the CES suggested that the future of digital publishing will be a large-display, colorful affair.

This evolution seems unavoidable when looking at machines like the twin-screened Entourage Edge that offers facing color LCD and grayscale E Ink displays. The future of Que and the Skiff will be a horse of a different color too as magazines make the transition to digital and demand the depth and detail of full color display. Apple’s ‘Tablet’ will have something to say about this too.

Hard to predict outcomes when you’re launching a new technology that will affect culture and behavior, especially when it impacts something as intimate and personal as the act of reading. I still believe the consumers will have the final say, and there’ll be room for both color and grayscale devices, yah?

Jan 19

Apple’s Being Coy, but this must be the Tablet!

CNN has a story here about Apple inviting the press to see ‘our latest creation’ at an event planned for January 27 in San Francisco, California.

After a year of online rumors and claims about Apple’s legendary beast, the cocky devils neglected to use the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas as their launch site, choosing instead to watch their competition show their wares. (And hands… HP’s Slate was there in all its glory…)

What else could it be? It’s time for the Tablet, yah?

Jan 18

Way to GO Spain!

BarcelonaReporter.com reports at this link that 2009 saw the sale of eBooks in Spain increase by 500%. The exciting number results from a wide acceptance of the eBook Revolution by Spanish publishers and consumers.

That’s a most exciting development, yah?


Jan 17

eBook buyer statistics…

Thanks Jorgen for a link to an article at Resourceshelf.com that features highlights from a survey conducted by the Book Industry Study Group, Inc. (BISG) addressing how “print book buyers access, purchase and use e-books and e-readers.”

Two things stood out. Apparently 30% of print book buyers will wait up to three months to purchase the eBook edition of a book by a favorite author. That’s interesting news for publishers who try to manipulate the market by withholding the eBook edition to force sales of the hard cover.

And the second interesting point that stood out for me was not all that surprising. Respondents listed “affordability” as the #1 reason they would purchase an eBook over a print book of the same title.

Another VERY interesting point was 47% of those surveyed said their preferred eBook reading device was their computer.

Jan 16

NaSPA interviews eBook Rumor’s Cypher

Bill Elder was kind enough to interview me for NaSPA’s (Networks and Systems Professional Association) latest issue of Technical Support Magazine.

You can check out their site here or download the magazine directly here or read eBook Rumor’s copy at this link.  Don’t miss my interview (starts page 16) but be sure to check out the rest of the magazine.

I do make some pithy observations, if I do say so myself. Lots to read about “the continually evolving nature of IT, Networking, Telecommunications, Disaster Recovery and other related disciplines.”

Jan 15

Will Amazon’s Kindle win or lose? Too many variables to call.

Thanks Jorgen for an article at ITWorld that suggests eBook Reader Kindle will die a slow death in a competition with the various tablets coming on the market, while parent company Amazon will gradually win the monopoly on actual eBook sales (the books/content).

This, the article predicts, will be the result of a new world where tablets dominate. We’re told the new multifunction devices will win out over the special focus features of E Ink or E Paper-based eBook readers. I agree that tablets are going to be a dominant handheld tech-form, but if selling technology to a global market tells us anything, the next new machine does not necessarily mean the rubbish heap for the last old one.

The technology market is maturing, and represents a wide enough range of consumers. There will be room and demand for access to a technosphere of devices that suit individual preferences. While the competition is going to cause some extinctions, the variables in a global marketplace driven by consumers in different age, economic, political or cultural backgrounds will make market predictions like the article’s more and more difficult to make.

It’s not an either or situation. Price is the only thing that will drive Kindle out of the hardware business. If they continue to overcharge for a conglomeration of fairly old technology that has relatively few functions, then sooner or later, someone is going to price an eBook Reader (or other device) based on its function. (We’ve talked about the $99 price point being the key to eBook Reader ubiquity…)

Amazon should retain the eBook (the books/content) selling crown, but it is a vast, flexible and unique marketplace that is changing the game, or is it changing the change. When an author or publisher can sell directly to the reader, middlemen have to remain relevant. So, price will decide this race too, yah?

Jan 14

eBook Readers do well at the Consumer Electronics Show

As the dust settles on the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2010, we’re starting to see these ‘best gadgets’ or ‘best product’ lists come out. eBook Readers and eReading Devices did exceptionally well over at The Huffington Post in Stephanie Vaughn Hapke’s “Top Eleven Products from the Show.”

Check it out here.  Exciting times ahead for digital publishing, yah?

Jan 13

Associated Press and Google News talks break down…

Associated Press (AP), the venerable news gathering agency, seems to be struggling with the realities of the digital publishing revolution. Here talks with Google’s news gathering source have broken down. The talks centered on a licensing agreement Google has with the Associated Press that allows them to host its content on Google properties like Google News. Google says there will be no new AP content hosted pending resolution of the disagreement.

 The net result is Google is no longer hosting new AP stories in their news search results. Read the full story at CNNMoney.com.

Associated Press has a problem. As a news content collector and distributor, they only profit from the sale of that content through deals struck with news and media sources. They don’t have a ‘homepage’ that can be monetized with ads etc. in ways similar to news reporting outlets. Those organizations directly benefit from traffic collected and redirected by Google searches. The Internet and digital publishing is starting to cut into AP’s territory. One can understand their dismay, since they’ve been around from the beginning when news was only available on paper, yah?

But AP has to let it go. That’s the past. The digital publishing world demands an adapt or die strategy. Let’s hope they figure it out and make a course change. We need the Associated Press, if not for their content as a primary source, then at least we need their skills as painstaking collectors and distributors of information.

Perhaps that’s what AP should do: Become a news or content substantiation or fact evaluation service. An Associate Press stamp of approval would go a long way in validating an Internet news provider, don’t you think?

Jan 12

The nook by Barnes & Noble grabs “Best Gadget” honor at the 3rd annual Crunchies Awards.

NewsBlaze says Barnes & Noble’s eBook Reading device the nook picked up the “Best Gadget” honor at the Crunchies Awards, a win previously captured by Apple iPhone in 2007. It’s just the shot in the arm the gadget needs after a shaky start over the holiday with last minute receipt as Christmas gift, slightly wonky software and a couple crashes of the Barnes and Noble eBook store. I’m still a little worried about their tampering with EPUBs to make them B&N friendly only, but like most large companies dealing in content, they’re bound to learn the lessons the hard way.

Way to go nook!

Jan 11

Experiment in DRM-Free eBooks

Thanks Jorgen for this link to a story at boingboing.net about author David Pogue’s experiment where he released a DRM-free eBook to see if the unlocked eBook would have an impact on overall sales of that title. The results were what we’ve been saying all along.

A locked eBook only punishes paying customers, yah?