Dec 05
Here’s an excellent link from Jorgen to a story at The Atlantic Wire that describes some of the pros and cons to recent moves traditional news and magazine publishers are making to adapt to the constantly changing face of the digital publishing industry.
The digital age is famous for punishing those who do not adapt, so kudos to the listed publishers who are finding digital alternatives to extinction.
Dec 04
For $199 (the PC Mag link suggests you might find one as low as $174.99) the Sony Reader Pocket Edition (PRS-300) could turn into this Christmas’ perfect gift for early eBook adopters.
It’s a smaller platform, with a 5″ instead of the more common 6″ screen, but tech-wise it plays pretty much on par with the industry leaders Kindle, the missing Nook and larger (and also missing) Sony eBook Touch Edition. Get full PRS-300 specs and mini-review here.
The PRS-300 lacks the wireless connectivity boasted by the bigger machines, but with a USB computer connect, multi-format eBook play and long battery life, this is an excellent startup machine for the curious, be they student, business person or senior. It seems that this will be the Christmas of missing eBook Readers, since most devices are order-only, but you might be able to find the smaller PRS-300 at a Sony Store, and with the low price, they’re well worth the wait if you do have to order.
Dec 03
A special thanks to Jorgen for stopping in with a link to this PCWorld story. China and Taiwan have agreed (in principal) to push the EPUB e-book format for the Chinese-language market. This when officials met at a technology conference last week, with plans to meet next year to settle the deal.
This is huge news considering these two gigantic economies are called home by some of the world’s most avid readers. If ratified, the deal will open a market of 1.3 billion people to publishers offering their product in the standard eBook format (EPUB).
As soon as a standard is selected (EPUB) then publishers can focus on selling books and stop all the duplication of effort, yah?
Dec 02
Is it that time of year already? I guess with only a month to go, it’s not too early to start rolling out predictions for the coming year.
PaidContent.org has an interesting article “Ten Predictions For The E-Reader/E-Book Market In 2010″Â that’s well worth the read.
It suggests that all the positives we’re seeing as 2009 winds down will only get better in 2010. I tend to agree.
Dec 01
Here’s a link from Jorgen to a Daniweb story suggesting eBook Readers are about to be made obsolete by the Apple Tablet. It’s worth a read, and while I agree that Apple will have a huge impact (whenever the rumored device is released) I think it will have a greater impact on iPhone and netbook sales than it will eBook Readers.
Don’t get me wrong, there will be poaching of adopters, but it’s like predicting laptops would go obsolete after netbooks arrived on the marketplace. They’re complimentary technologies not competition.
It’s too early to tell, but one thing is pounding home to all participants in the eBook Revolution, it is the biggest marketplace in human history, and there is lots of room for everyone.
It’s all a matter of taste, yah?
Nov 30
I’m sorry to keep harping about this, but it’s embarrassing for people like myself who have long supported competition in the eBook Revolution. The whole idea is choice creates a stable marketplace with better prices and selection for consumers. And then these ninnies at B&NÂ failed to build enough machines to suit the demand they created!
Oh, here we’ve got Barnes & Noble’s brave solution. On their Nook page, this bold headline: “The hottest holiday gift is out of stock. Order nook today to be first in line for the new year.” (shouldn’t it read, “last year’s hottest holiday gift was out of stock?”)
Since I’ve got a whole year to make a choice now, maybe I’ll see what else is coming onto the market.
Nov 29
Thanks to Jorgen for a link to this enjoyable article at the Thaindian News that pretty much sets it all out there for us to see. It’s pretty obvious that eBooks are here to stay.
What’s interesting is they were considered to be the way of the future but with the speed of their widespread adoption it seems that the future is not far off, yah?
Nov 28
A story over at Unthinkable has analysts predicting an eBook price war between Borders and Barnes & Noble as the two latecomers vie for position in the eBook Revolution. This will also come down to a battle of the gear, because Barnes & Noble has its own Nook while Borders stocks Sony’s eReader. Get the whole story here.
Nov 27
I’m sure this is a hangover from the same market hesitation that brought the traditional publishing industry to the desperate straits we find it in. One can only hope that these industry leaders in the new publishing age will stop playing it safe, and start taking some chances.
This PCWorld story from our friend Jorgen offers a status report on a lacklustre eBook Reader competition. Amazon was/is the front-runner in the eBook Reader revolution, having released now their third version of the Kindle eBook Reader. Each generation of the device has been plagued with a short-fall of supply (playing it safe–order, build and ship) that created an opening for other companies like Sony and Barnes & Noble to use to their advantages, launching their own devices on the wave of interest created, interestingly enough, by Kindle.
Now, as the eBook Revolution charges into its first really explosive Christmas, Sony and Barnes & Noble have run out of machines. (Order only, receive after Christmas.) Was it fiscal cowardice or caution? Who cares? The end result is they’re going to lose BIG TIME during the biggest selling season, and their supply shortfall has ironically opened a door for the Kindle.
God! I wish this was a story that highlighted more heroic efforts. Anyway, the PCWorld story reports Amazon adding (the long-awaited) PDF support to its Kindle. This should help to re-orient the device for home or office use, and guarantee wider scale adoption for the broader marketplace. Coming at a time when the main competitors have left themselves dead-in-the-water without product, it may help Kindle regain some of the lead that it has lost.
So, a lot of accidents and default’s, yah?
Nov 26
Here’s a short Mediabistro interview with Wattpad CEO Alan Lau and an update on Wattpad.com’s recent launch of a version of their mobile phone application for the Indian provider, Bharti Airtel.
Lau makes an excellent point that BHarti Airtel with 110 million subscribers indicates a vast and relatively untapped marketplace (at least from a western perspective). There are mammoth English speaking populations in India and other countries with British Colonial roots–numbers that are simply staggering. The Internet is quickly breaking down the boundaries of old world publishing, and finding new consumers with different habits, histories and approaches to reading.
If you want a “WOW THAT’S INCREDIBLE” moment check out this list of countries with English speakers. And then check out the number of English speakers. Wild, yah?
