Sudoku Volume 1: Interactive Sudoku Puzzles for Kindle 2 and Kindle DX (Mobi Games) (Kindle Edition)

admin — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:21:01 +0000

Kindle Price: $0.01 & includes wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet.

by MobileReference (Author)

Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
Kindle Books

Kindle Books include wireless delivery – read your book on your Kindle within a minute of placing your order.
Don’t have a Kindle? Get yours here.

Product Description

Our best interactive Sudoku puzzles are now available for Kindle! Whether you are a novice to Sudoku or an experienced player this collection will sharpen your mind.

Each Sudoku volume contains 20 different Sudoku puzzles: five puzzles for each difficulty level.

The objective of a Sudoku game is to fill a 9×9 grid so that the numbers 1 through 9 occur exactly once in each row, column, and 3×3 box.

With Mobi Sudoku you can:

Check your progress at any time. The number of wrong entries will be reported.
Remove errors. Use it if you feel you made too many mistakes and want to keep your correct entries but remove incorrect ones.
See the solution
Reset the puzzle if you want to start over.
Add a clue if you feel that you are stuck. A single number will be added to a randomly chosen empty cell.

Note: Whispernet wireless needs to be turned on when a new game is loaded. Once a game is loaded, wireless can be turned off to conserve battery power.

Product Details

Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 137 KB
Publisher: MobileReference (October 28, 2009)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B002UPVVXI
Average Customer Review: (13 customer reviews)
Amazon.com Sales Rank: #66 in Kindle Store (See Bestsellers in Kindle Store)

Popular in these categories:

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Kindle has best sales month in November

admin — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 21:09:01 +0000

November was the best sales month ever for the Kindle e-reader, even before traditionally heavy sales on Cyber Monday, Amazon.com said early today.

“Kindle is a great gift for anyone who loves to read and it’s flying off the shelves faster than any other product Amazon sells,” said Ian Freed, vice president of Amazon’s Kindle division.

The latest Kindle generation, released in October, sells for $259 and is available for immediate shipment, Amazon.com said.

The fact that the Kindle device is shipping immediately may be Amazon.com’s main reason for making today’s announcement, drawing attention to Kindles remaining in stock compared to e-readers from other device makers that are sold out.

For example, the $259 Nook from Barnes & Noble Inc., was due to hit bookstores today after several weeks of pre-sales, but was recently reported out of stock, with deliveries starting after Jan. 4. Sony also said on Nov. 18 that its Daily Edition e-reader might not make it to buyers before the end of the year.

Source: Computerworld.

Kindle is the biggest selling item on Amazon, bests sliced bread

bryan646 — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 19:40:03 +0000

Recession? Not if you’re the Amazon Kindle, it turns out — it’s currently the bestselling product across all categories at Amazon. Yes, that means it’s outselling the robotic hamsters, the t-shirts with wolves howling at the moon, and the limited edition Snuggies. November, when people traditionally start trampling each other in the name of gift giving and holiday cheer, has also been the best single month of sales ever for the e-reading device, in spite of the fact that there’s more competition than ever for it — so that’s good news for them, right? Amazon hasn’t released any actual numbers, of course, so it’s hard to say what it all means. The other good news is that as far as we can tell, it doesn’t look like they’ll sell out anytime soon. Full press release is after the break.

Continue reading Kindle is the biggest selling item on Amazon, bests sliced bread

Kindle is the biggest selling item on Amazon, bests sliced bread originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 09:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kindle is the biggest selling item on Amazon, bests sliced bread
Laura June
Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:41:00 GMT

Technorati Tags: Amazon,Kindle,eReader,Engadget

Barnes & Noble Delays Nook Shipments To Stores | Epicenter | Wired.com

bryan646 — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 19:22:20 +0000

Epicenter The Business of Tech

Barnes & Noble Delays Nook Shipments To Stores

By Alexandria Sage

November 29, 2009 |

11:36 pm |

Categories: Commerce, Mobile Internet

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Barnes & Noble said Sunday it would delay shipments of its newly launched Nook electronic reader to stores as the company strives to deliver preordered devices to consumers before the holidays.

“We expect to have them in our highest-volume stores on December 7th and in a very limited number,” Barnes & Noble spokeswoman Mary Ellen Keating told Reuters. The company had earlier hoped to have a limited number of e-readers in some of its stores around November 30, she said.

Barnes & Noble, which launched the e-reader in late October, is focused on getting the devices into the hands of its customers who ordered the $259 devices before November 20.

Earlier this month, the company said it had sold out of the Nook due to high demand, following a similar announcement by e-reader rival Sony Corp.

Experts predict that electronic readers — which allow consumers to read off light, tablet-like devices that can download digital copies of books, magazines and newspapers — will be a hot gift item this holiday season.

But supply issues could end up helping sales of the Kindle from rival Amazon.com which analysts believe holds top market share in the category. The companies do not disclose sales figures or projections for their e-readers.

(Reporting by Alexandria Sage, editing by Matthew Lewis)

Photo: William Lynch, President of of Barnes & Noble.com, is seen as a silhouette during the launch of nook, the Wireless eBook Reader, at a news conference in New York October 20, 2009. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

Barnes & Noble Delays Nook Shipments To Stores | Epicenter | Wired.com

Technorati Tags: Barnes & Noble,Nook,eReader

Alleinstellungsmerkmal streichen - aber er ist dann billiger

Prospero — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 19:07:47 +0000

Ich habe ja mit einigem Amüsement und gewisser Skepsis dieses Gehype um den angekündigten TXTR-Reader verfolgt. Ja, das ist ein Ebook-Reader, richtig. Aber anders als Kindle, Sony und Co. – die übrigens in der aktuellen CT getestet werden, der TXTR ist ja erst ab Dezember vorbestellbar, es wäre interessant gewesen den im Vergleich zu sehen – ist das ja DER eBook-Reader für die Open-Source-Community. Genau. Die Erlösung von DRM und Co. Der kann halt alles, aber nur viel besser. Echt. Weil: Der basiert halt auf offenen Standards. Linux und so. Man versteht schon. (Und was der nicht alles an Formaten unterstützen sollte… Geblieben sind momentan wohl nur die üblichen: epub, pdf und txt. Andere Formate kann man auf der Plattform umwandeln lassen. Ah ja.)

UND: Der hat ein WLAN-Feature eingebaut. Whow! DAS wäre ja mal ein Grund dieses Teil zu kaufen, auch wenn es etwas teurer anvisiert ist als Kindle und Sony. Hey, WLAN – was man damit alles anfangen könnte… Hmm… Na ja, man könnte in allen Buchgeschäften des Internets halt Bücher kaufen. Vielleicht könnte man damit sogar surfen.

Na ja, die knapp zwanzig Euro mehr – die legt man doch gerne für ein Alleinstellungsmerkmal hin, oder? Sahen die Kunden auf der Buchmesse offenbar anders und deswegen, genau, hat TXTR genau das Feature, was den Reader besonders macht – gestrichen. Begründung:

Wir sind in den Wochen seit der Buchmesse wieder und wieder gefragt worden: Warum ist das Ding so teuer? Und die Antwort war immer: Die Funkschnittstellen kosten nun mal Geld. Da wir Mobilfunk in jedem Fall machen wollen — ein Gerät mit Onlineverbindung, die nicht konfiguriert werden muß, ist so viel einfacher zu bedienen als eins ohne — blieb nur, WLAN zu opfern. WLAN ist für Laien äußerst schwer zu konfigurieren, und bei einem Gerät ohne Tastatur wären öffentliche Hotspots ohnehin unzugänglich geblieben.

So, so, WLAN ist für Laien also schwer einzurichten – nun – vielleicht kann ja mal jemand aus Japan, der den FLEPia von Fujitsu besitzt dazu was sagen? Denn der hat auch WLAN, ist aber leider bisher nur dort erhältlich und nicht in Deutschland. Aber bestimmt können doch die Nutzer des iRex Iliad was dazu sagen. Na ja, da wird beim Cnet bemängelt, dass die WLAN-Funktion nicht ganz so doll sei. Das ist aber einige Zeit her, seit 2007 kann sich da was verbessert haben.

Das Argument, man habe das WLAN-Feature – also DAS Alleinstellungsmerkmal für diese Preisklasse, der Iliad ist eine andere Liga – ausgebaut weil der Laie es nicht bedienen kann riecht ja förmlich nach “Da haben wir uns etwas übernommen – besser wir streichen das bevor es noch jemanden auffällt”. Sehen wir mal davon ab, dass man sich im Endeffekt mit dem Kauf des TXTR ebenfalls an eine Plattform bindet – seltsamerweise ist das bei Kritikern des Kindle ja immer DAS Argument zum Aufregen, aber hey, es ist ja ein Social-Netzwork für Leser, also total gut.

Ich finde auch das Andere höchst merkwürdig, vielleicht verstehe ich das ja auch nicht so richtig, deswegen mal langsam nach-ge-dacht: Das Teil hat eine USB-Schnittstelle – darüber kann ich dann eigene Texte aufs Gerät bringen, richtig? Okay.
Oder ich kann meine Dokumente auf die TXTR-Plattform packen und sie dann von dort aus mit dem Reader herunterladen, was auch ohne ein Abo möglich sein soll? Richtig? Hat man dann offenbar auch die Speicherkarten-Erweiterungsfunktion von der in diesem Blogbeitrag die Rede ist – Stand Januar – komplett gestrichen? Na ja, immerhin scheint Bluetooth noch drin zu sein… Oder halt das Datenkabel.
Gibts denn wenigstens eine Software dazu, die mir das ganze Prozedere – wenn ich denn nicht meine Texte und Dateien von der Plattform verwaltet haben möchte weil ich vielleicht ein kleines Datenschutzproblem damit habe eventuell – erleichtert? Gute Frage, ich lese davon so gar nichts.
Stöbern und Herunterladen von Dateien ist also auch kostenlos? Na, das will ich doch wohl meinen – wenn ich meine Dateien auf anderem Weg auf die Plattform hochlade sollte das ja wohl der Fall sein. Und jetzt kommt der Punkt, über den ich mich am meisten amüsiert habe – denn das ach so soziale Feature des Readers – das – nun – das wird halt – kosten:

Wer allerdings Texte mit anderen Nutzern tauschen oder zwischen verschiedenen Geräten synchronisieren möchte, muss für die Datenübertragung zahlen. Die Daten-Flatrate kostet monatlich 14,99 Euro oder bei einer Bindung auf ein Jahr nur 11,99 Euro pro Monat.

Ah ja. Hybsch. Ist ja DER Anreiz sich sowas zuzulegen, das Tauschen von Texten mit anderen aus der Community. Das ist natürlich social – aber open ist das nicht.

Eines steht fest: Wenn ich mir einen Ebookreader kaufen würde, dann nicht einen bei dem kurzfristig die Killerapplikation aus Kostengründen demontiert wurde und bei dem das Tauschen von Texten kostenpflichtig ist. Jedenfalls wenn man das online macht. Wie das aussieht, wenn man die Dinger per USB-Kabel aneinanderbindet wie weiland den Gameboy – das ist ja dann mal eine andere Frage. Aber ebenfalls kein Kaufgrund für mich. Tja, mal wieder der Beweis dafür was aus einer hochgehypten Idee wird…

Global Kindle vs Kindle DX Features Comparison

admin — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:53:59 +0000

Here you can find a comparison chart between the newest Kindle with International Wireless coverage ant the Kindle DX:

Feature:	Global Kindle	Kindle DX	Difference
Amazon price (US$)	$259	$489	+89%
Screen size (diagonal)	6″	9.7″	+61%
Screen size (total area)	16.6 sq. inches	44 sq. inches	+164%
Screen Resolution	600 x 800	824 x 1200	+106%
Pixels Per Square Inch	165	150	-11%
Device size	8″H x 5.3″W x 0.36″D	10.4″H x 7.2″W x 0.38″D
Storage Space	1,500 books	3,500 books	+133%
Weight	10.2 ounces	18.9 ounces	+85%
PDF reader	~~via converter~~ Yes	Yes
Auto landscape mode	No (manual)	Yes
Int’l version available	Yes	Coming soon
Web browser	Basic only	Enhanced

GelaSkins Protective Kindle Skin (Fits 6" Display, Latest Generation Kindle), Bookshelf

admin — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 22:14:53 +0000

Price: $17.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

Product Description

GelaSkins are removable vinyl skins for protecting and customizing your 6″ Display, Latest Generation Kindle. They feature photo-quality graphics ranging from fine art prints to contemporary urban images designed by our growing family of artists from around the world. GelaSkins protect with a durable anti-scratch, anti-UV coating. With patented adhesive technology by 3M, GelaSkins remove residue-free when you want to remove them or switch them for another design.

Technical Details

Compatibility: 6″ Display, Latest Generation Kindle
Removable art print protects your 6″ Display, Latest Generation Kindle from scratches and dust without adding bulk.This is for back cover only not full case.
Patented micro-channels within the adhesive allow for a bubble-free application
3M technology makes for easy, repositionable application and clean removal with no residue
Ultra thin (< 2 mm) design

Product Details

Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
ASIN: B001QCWU5O
Item model number: Amazon Kindle (2nd Gen.)
Average Customer Review: (93 customer reviews)
Date first available at Amazon.com: February 9, 2009

eReader Holiday Outlook: Forrester Ups Its Projections By 50%

admin — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 18:40:42 +0000

The eReader market is growing faster than expected: Forrester published a report in May, “How Big Is The eReader Opportunity?”, that pegged 2009 US eReader sales at 2 million. Our new report ups that projection by 50% to 3 million for 2009, with 30% of 2009 sales occuring in the holiday season of November and December, and Amazon.com leading the ereader market.

There are a number of reasons why eReader sales are growing faster than we had expected, which we detail in the report, including falling device prices, more content availability, better retail distribution, and lots and lots of media buzz.

All these dynamics will compound to fuel more growth next year, and we expect more changes in the market that could push eReader sales beyond 6 million in 2010, bringing cumulative US sales to 10 million by year-end 2010.

With Nook & Sony readers out of stock, we can say next will be a Kindle Christmas.

Source: Forrester.

Ebook Reader File Solution

tangentlines — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 23:22:19 +0000

I know that many of you on the web are aware of the infuriating DRM block that many e readers suppor

Save $100 on Kindle or Kindle DX with Audible membership

admin — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 23:04:47 +0000

Audible.com will give you an Amazon.com promotional code good for $100 off the purchase of select AudibleReady® devices and accessories when you join the AudibleListener® Gold plan for 12 months at $14.95 per month. If the product you choose is less than $100, you will receive the device for free. Use your promotional code toward the purchase of products sold by Amazon.com at www.amazon.com, while supplies last. This offer does not apply to products sold on (a) the www.amazon.com site by third-party merchants or (b) any other Amazon-owned, Amazon-operated, Amazon-branded, or Amazon-affiliated site.

Joining the AudibleListener® Gold plan for 12 months at $14.95/month ($179.40 for one year) before January 31st, 2010 you´ll get the $100 promotional code, one free Audible book every month (12 free Audible books) and 30% off on other titles.

This way, you can get $100 off on the Global Kindle, on the Kindle DX or on other devices. See all qualifying Kindle and Kindle accessories, qualifying MP3 players, qualifying GPS devices and qualifying accessories.

Audible (www.audible.com), an Amazon.com company, is the premier online destination for digital spoken-word audio, offering more than 60,000 audiobooks, audio newspapers and magazines, radio shows, and original programs. Forget CDs and cassettes; download Audible content directly to your computer, MP3 player, phone, or GPS device. It’s so quick and easy–you’ll be listening to your favorite bestseller within minutes.

Dicionário Bíblico atualizado - 1737 termos

siriarah — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:55:36 +0000

Acabamos de liberar mais uma atualização do Dicionário Bíblico (agora com mais de 1700 termos). E, como prometido na última atualização, estamos adicionandos mapas a alguns do termos (lembrem que só funciona no dicionário para o eReader). Foram feitas algumas correções nos termos já existentes também.

O Dicionário Bíblico está disponível para os seguintes programas/sistemas operacionais:

RoadLingua (Palm OS, Windows Mobile);
Mobipocket (Windows, Palm OS, Windows Mobile, Symbian, Blackberry, Ebook readers);
StarDict (Windows, Linux);
eReader (Android, Palm OS, iPhone/iPod Touch, Windows Mobile, Symbian, Windows, Macintosh, OQO);
SDict Viewer (Maemo-N8×0).

Caso queiram comentar, sugerir, criticar, elogiar podem fazer nos comentários .

P.S.: Apesar de já existir uma versão do eReader para o Android, não tive como testar o dicionário neste sistema. Assim, sim algum dos leitores tiver um smartphone com Android e puder testar nosso dicionário com o eReader, dê-nos retorno nos comentários .

Refurbished Kindles (1st Generation) Sold Out!

admin — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 15:12:06 +0000

Recently, Warehouse Deals, an Amazon company, has been selling Refurbished Kindle 1 for $149. Actually there are no more units available, but if you want save some bucks, you can still find Refurbished Kindles for only $219 ($40 less than new ones) and Refurbished Kindle DX for $399.99 (89 bucks less). This devices come all with 1-year full warranty.

e-ink: How it works?

admin — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 21:35:53 +0000

Electronic ink is a proprietary material that is processed into a film for integration into electronic displays. Although revolutionary in concept, electronic ink is a straightforward fusion of chemistry, physics and electronics to create this new material. The principal components of electronic ink are millions of tiny microcapsules, about the diameter of a human hair. In one incarnation, each microcapsule contains positively charged white particles and negatively charged black particles suspended in a clear fluid. When a negative electric field is applied, the white particles move to the top of the microcapsule where they become visible to the user. This makes the surface appear white at that spot. At the same time, an opposite electric field pulls the black particles to the bottom of the microcapsules where they are hidden. By reversing this process, the black particles appear at the top of the capsule, which now makes the surface appear dark at that spot.

NOTE: Image not drawn to scale – for illustration purposes only.

To form an E Ink electronic display, the ink is printed onto a sheet of plastic film that is laminated to a layer of circuitry. The circuitry forms a pattern of pixels that can then be controlled by a display driver. These microcapsules are suspended in a liquid “carrier medium” allowing them to be printed using existing screen printing processes onto virtually any surface, including glass, plastic, fabric and even paper. Ultimately electronic ink will permit most any surface to become a display, bringing information out of the confines of traditional devices and into the world around us.

Nook & Sony ereaders sold out until 2010, Kindle in stock!

admin — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 21:19:44 +0000

Barnes & Noble said that its Nook e-reader delayed the shipment date into January 2010 for anyone ordering the devices after Nov. 20. This is the second time that Barnes & Noble announced a delay for its e-readers.

Reuters reports that Sony has also announced it has run out of supplies of its new reader as well, you can still find Sony readers in stock on Amazon Store.

The big winner here will be Amazon and its popular Kindle line of eReaders. Amazon had supply issues last year, but this year the ecommerce giant reportedly has plenty of stock of its readers. The unavailability of the Nook and Sony readers will have many consumers buying the Kindle since it will be available.

How personalized and customized can eReaders be?

switch11 — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 09:39:45 +0000

Martyn Daniels at Brave New World talks about the various ‘exclusive’ and limited edition Sony Reader offerings in the UK -

Mills and Boon Exclusive Edition.
Harlequin Romance Limited Edition.
Danielle Steel Limited Edition.
John Lewis Exclusive (John Lewis is a store).
Michael Connelly limited edition.
Debbie Macomber limited edition.
Ian Fleming and James Bond Limited Edition Sony Reader.
James Patterson Sony Reader.

Perhaps 8 is a bit much. However, Sony do have the right idea.

Readers want choice – they want something that suits them and can be personalized

Consider all the criteria on which people choose devices (beyond the functionality) -

How does it look?
Is it cool?
Is it in fashion?
Does it suit me?
What does it say about me?

Sony is providing a lot of options – the colors, the limited edition devices. It increases the chance readers find a version that uniquely suits them.

Beyond Choice, we want personalization and customization

After buying anything we personalize it -

Covers and sleeves for the eReader.
Stickers and magnets on the Fridge.
Themes and wallpapers for our computers.

The device becomes an extension of us.

We want to be able to customize it and personalize it and make sure that it fits.

Which brings us to eReaders

We have already lost all the benefits books had i.e.

We could tell people who we were via our libraries.
The book we carried was an instant advertisement.
Each book had its own character and its own message.
We could share books and capture imaginations.

What can eReaders do to give us back our signalling options?

Actually quite a lot. To be fair they are doing some of this already -

Special Back Covers like Nook has.
$110 Cole Haan covers like Kindle has.
Designer covers.
Limited Edition and Exclusive eReaders.
Kindle Skins.
Higher end eReaders.

However there is a lot more that can be done -

eInk back screen that changes according to the book.
Laser etching and casing customization.
Author and Book specific editions that are completely built around the author – not just a different color.
A ton more customization options in the eReader itself – fonts, themes, screensavers.

There are a lot of other things that probably need more thinking or more evolution of eInk.

The big opportunities in personalization

Whatever companies comes up with -

A high-end model that just screams coolness.
An add-on that instantly signals identity.

Will make a killing.

If analysts are right and eReaders are a 20-30 million units a year business by 2013, some company is going to be selling a lot of eInk back-covers and premium leather cases.

Kindle 2 Update Adds PDFs and Better Battery

komplettie — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:50:07 +0000

Amazon is updating its Kindle and adding some pretty impressive bits and pieces, including extending

How to Choose the right eBook Reader

hdywordpress — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 02:08:16 +0000

An ebook reader, sometimes called digital book reader or e-reader, is a portable electronic device that replaces hardcover or paper books. It allows the user to carry hundreds of books in electronic format and read them in a display designed to give the user almost the same experience as reading a paper book with less strain to the eyes. It is the perfect gadget for avid readers of ebooks.

eBook Readers and Standards...Where to Now?

lbonura — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:57:05 +0000

On 18 Nov, I joined more than 600 other publishing peers for an Aptara webinar on “eBook Readers and Standards…Where to Now?” The presentation looked at the rapidly unfolding eBook market, and how publishers are struggling to adapt as competitive and consumer pressures demand that their titles be compatible with the multitude of new eBook applications and eReaders coming to market. For those working on the development of a successful eBook production strategy, this presentation gave a clear position on where the market is today and will be tomorrow.

The presenters were Sarah Rotman Epps, Forrester Research’s eBook Market Analyst, and Michael Smith, Director of the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF), which manages the EPUB standard. Here are some highlights:

From Sarah Rotman Epps on a Forrester Research survey completed in the third quarter 2009:

Q2 2008, 37% had never heard of an electronic book device; in Q3 2009, that number dropped to 17%
US eReader outlook:
- Sell-through of 3 million units in 2009
  - Amazon 60%
  - Sony 35%
  - Others less than 5%
- 40% of 2009 sales (1.2M) in Q4, with 900,000 in November/December holiday season
- A conservative estimate for 2010 would be for sales to increase from 6M (2009) to 10M units
What’s coming in 2010:
- First eReaders not using E Ink screens
- New screen sizes, color, and non-E Ink video
- New category-bending devices: dual screens, web tablets, smartphones better optimized for reading
- More competition: B&N, others
- Global growth
- 2007 is to eReaders what 2001 was to MP3 players
US consumers:
- 3% now use their desktop computer to reader eBooks
- 2% use their laptop computer
- 1% use an eReader device, such as a Kindle or Sony Reader
- 1% use a netbook
- 1% use a mobile phone or PDA
Of consumers who say they are interested in eBooks, the value they saw included:
- Take up less space: 54%
- Can access multiple books on the go: 47%
- Can adjust text size: 37%
- Better for the environment than print books: 37%
- Can read in dark/low light: 37%
- Cheaper than print books: 35%
- Easy to search: 26%
- Easy to look up a word in a dictionary: 22%
When asked how interested they would be in reading different forms of media on an eBook reader, consumers who were very interested replied:
- Books: 29%
- Magazines: 15%
- Newspapers: 14%
- Textbooks: 11%
- Wikipedia: 9%
- Comics: 7%
- Blogs: 4%
What should book publishers take away from the survey:
- Stay “device agnostic”
- The features that matter when it comes to content:
  - Ability to reflow content and look good on any device
  - Ability to sync up content across multiple devices
  - Ability to share content with a friend
What will eBooks mean for a publisher’s bottom line?
- Expect small revenues from any one channel, but expect growth over time across devices
- Could be incremental, but much will be replacement
  - Plan for a smaller business
  - But potentially still a profitable one as you cut back print operations over time
- New opportunities
  - Subscriptions
  - Incremental content sales
  - Advertising

From Michael Smith’s presentation:

Industry predictions:
- Continued growth of eBooks and eReaders as they become more mainstream
- Younger generations (digital natives) begin to read electronically for pleasure
- Hockey stick sales growth: 2010-2011
eBook wholesale numbers:
- 2009: $109,900,000 (Q1-Q3)
- 2008: $53,500,000
- 2007: $31,800,000
- 2006: $20,000,000
eBook formats: What’s right for your content?
- Final form content vs. digital reflowable text
  - PDF vs. EPUB
- How will content be consumed?
  - Web
  - Mobile
  - E Ink Display
Current standards landscape
- EPUB is an open and non-proprietary standard
  - Key to healthy eBook ecosystem
  - PDF is an ISO Standard
  - DAISY, ONIX, ISBN, XML, XHTML, CSS all important
- Others promoting non-EPUB formats
What’s pivotal to pervasive EPUB adoption?
- Publisher adoption — Critical mass of content
- Consumer adoption — EPUB prefect for small screen apps
- Continuous evolution and improvements — EPUB Maintenance Working Group + EPUB 3.0
Future of EPUB — Not a matter of “if,” but how fast it will become the dominant format/preferred standard
- Continued worldwide adoption of EPUB with strong push throughout Europe, China and Japan
- Move from primarily trade titles into Science/Technology/Math and then Higher-Ed
- Continued growth in Library markets
- Adoption of EPUB format to be a factor in rise of accessible titles available for Print Disabled community

Kindle Ready to Fight Rivals With 85% More Battery

pastatech — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:03:09 +0000

Are you ready Nook? I hope so, because Amazon is ready to get it on. Amazon announced today that a new firmware update will bring the world’s most popular e-reader (at the moment) a boosted battery life of 85% more. According to Amazon, 85% more battery with 3G on equates to a full week of ON time. Before the update is applied, Kindles only lasted 4 days with 3G on. With 3G off, the Kindle will operate for two weeks.

These e-reader wars are getting interesting. I’m digging this new firmware update. Alas, competition can only make everything better in the long run. I’d say in about 3-4 years, an e-reader would look very attractive given that the price drops to $100 – $150 and the battery can run for weeks or even a month.

Amazon

Have you seen the Amazon Kindle Commercial?

admin — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:47:33 +0000

Take a look at our new Kindle TV commercial, airing on national television. It was the winning video in the Your Amazon Ad Contest held this past summer. The creative directors are Angela Kohler and Ithyle Griffiths of Los Angeles and the star and singer/songwriter in the spot is actress Annie Little.

“We received an e-mail about the contest two weeks after Ithyle and I bought Kindles; I’m stupid for my Kindle…I love it,” said Kohler. “We were in the airport and everyone was asking about it, so, on a plane from Japan to Thailand we brainstormed ideas and sketched out little stories that our character could fall into following different literary genres. We scribbled out pictures on napkins and made a flipbook, putting the little scenes in different orders.”

Seen on: Amazon.

Kindle DX Refurbished for $399.99

admin — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:28:58 +0000

Warehouse Deals, an Amazon company, is selling Kindle DX in refurbished condition for only $399.99. Refurbished doesn’t mean it was broken and repaired. It can mean that, but it could also be that the box got damaged in shipping and they had to open it and make sure it still worked and then they re-boxed it or that it was a return within the thirty days after someone else bought it. All it means by refurbished is that they can no longer list it as new.

The war of eBooks has started

phinee — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 01:41:11 +0000

The internet has completely changed the way we buy and use music and even films, now it’s going to the same with books…

Amazon, the biggest online retailer launched its first eBook about a year ago with much fanfare. When I talk about eBooks with my friends I notice that most people are still pretty skeptical about them, they don’t see themselves reading the latest novels on a screen. Neither did I, until last summer when I laid my hands on an Amazon Kindle.

A friend of mine brought an Amazon Kindle and I had a chance to take a closer look at it. If you compare books and ebooks like the Kindle, what ebooks bring is a major jump in convenience: you can download new books from anywhere in a few minutes, it’s cheaper, it’s light and portable (you can put thousands of books in a small device) and, of course, we don’t need to cut a tree to publish an eBook.

But eBooks faced a few obstacles to adoption. First, a book doesn’t run out of batteries and second, it’s not the same thing reading a piece of paper than reading on a screen, particularly in the sunlight. While eBook batteries will never beat a regular book’s battery life there have been some technical breaktroughs in screen technology that make the eBooks screens pretty similar to regular books.

So who knows when people will start moving on to eBooks but as technology progresses, it’s pretty clear that convenience will be more an more attractive.

All this is a revolution that is starting today and a few companies are fighting for this very appealing market with different business approaches.

Amazon.com has been the pioneer launching a mass-market device and is using the sheer force of its online store to heavily promote the device. The problem with the Kindle is that it’s proprietary, meaning that you can only use books that you buy on Amazon.

Barnes & Noble (the company that used to be the biggest bookstore chain in the USA before Amazon) recently launched a device named Nook. The Nook looks better than the Kindle, has a colour screen with book covers and uses Google Android. The Nook is open and allows people to buy books on B&N website and also let’s you read many eBook files. Also, it allows people to exchange books.

Sony’s eReader is the most open because it’s the only one that doesn’t have a bookstore behind it. It allows you to read books from multiple stores and formats. They have partnered with Google Books to get access to 1 million free books, which are mostly books in the public domain like War and Peace or Darwin’s ‘The origin of species’.

On the other hand all portable devices, from smartphones to iPods have their own readers.

So you can bet there will be a lot of action and opportunities in this new market which will just boom. You might be interested in joining one of the main players, although there will also be many national and local companies that you should research in your own area.

International jobs at Amazon or jobs at Sony or at Barnes & Noble (in the USA)

Condé Nast prepare to take on the eReader market...

magdesigner — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:11:10 +0000

Last week saw an announcement that posh publishers Condé Nast and Adobe are teaming up to build an online eReader platform specifically for magazines, most notably a digital launch of Wired next year.

Wired UK already had a digital presence on the Ceros platform for at least the first few issues. Now however it doesn’t seem to be continuing or at least I can’t find it. Maybe this is in preparation for next years launch?

I find this whole idea very intriguing. Condé Nast have been quite slow on jumping aboard the digital magazine bandwagon. We had Wired UK and now have a digital GQ which has received a lot of praise despite it being very average. And eReaders? Does anyone really think by the middle of next year eReaders will be capable of displaying rich media interactive magazines? They can’t even do colour yet.

And what of Adobe’s investment? Are they finally fed up of waiting for Apple to release Flash on the iPhone? Do they know more than rumors of Apple’s impending Silverlight competitor, and have decided to beat them to the punch?

Conde Nast have declined to speculate on their cash investment, but could it be linked to Hurst Publishing’s $200 million investment in eInk? And the subsequent development of their own magazine reader…

There are a lot of questions, to which I have bugger all answers. Obviously Condé believe portable technology is nearly good enough to make their dreams a reality. I don’t. Unless of course their dreams are quite dull.

I think eReaders are still 2 years away from being viable portable magazine readers. I think Hurst are the ones to watch and I think a real change could be instigated by the rumored Apple Tablet and whether that supports Flash or their own, new alternative.

One thing I do agree with however and thoroughly support is Condé Nast Chief Executive Chuck Townsend’s comment “We can’t sit back and wait for somebody else to do this.” A step in the right direction can only ever be welcomed and any investment by publishing companies is absolutely necessary. I just wish someone could shed some light on this…

Kindle Global Wireless User Review

admin — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 20:24:38 +0000

4,910 of 5,041 people found the following review helpful:
First Impressions from a Kindle 1 owner, February 25, 2009.
By P. Inhofer.

On the one hand I love my Kindle 1… I use it everyday, I subscribe to my favorite newspaper, I mark up my books with annotations, highlights and bookmarks.

On the other hand my Kindle 1 annoys me… unintended page changes, the awkward way I sometimes have to hold it to keep from hitting buttons, the sometimes slow page refresh, and the screen freezes that now has me traveling with a paper clip lest I need to do a reset while commuting on the train.

I’ve had the Kindle 2 in my hands for almost a day and have carried it on one commute. What follows is my “first impressions” review of the Kindle 2 from the perspective of an owner of the original K1. What’s different, what’s better and what’s worse?

5 big things I immediately noticed as different:

First, when taking the K2 out of the box I immediately noted that the back cover is not easily removable (if at all) and won’t slip off in my hands – as was frequent with the K1. The keyboard is also much much smaller and less obtrusive.

The second thing I noticed is power management. No longer do I have to press and hold two buttons to put the device to sleep. The switches for On/Off and Wireless On/Off are gone. There’s a single small switch at the top of the K2 that handles Sleep.

The third thing I noticed – where’s the silver strip? In fact, the entire navigation structure has been completely revised – I’m still getting used to it but it’s a huge step forward. The silver strip has been replaced by a 4-way rocker that can also be pressed for “OK” commands, creating bookmarks, and doing highlighting.

The fourth thing I noticed – while page changing doesn’t seem to me to be particularly faster – almost every other interaction on the screen is vastly accelerated… scrolling the cursor, looking up words, highlighting text, and typing text.

The fifth thing I noticed – a new power cable. This unit uses USB cables that are not compatible with K1. It’s a bit of a bummer since I was hoping my wife and I could share power cables (she’s taking over my K1).

What’s better:

Navigation is a huge improvement. Moving the cursor to a word and having the definition of the word immediately pop up on the bottom of the screen is terrific. Using the rocker to move between articles in a newspaper makes scanning the paper much faster and enjoyable. Calling up the Menu strip is much faster and interactive. Clearly, Amazon was hard at work to make navigation quicker and easier. The hard work is apparent.

Buttons: The K1 was a constant struggle with inadvertent page changes. The design was flawed from the beginning. The single best improvement in the K2 took a few minutes of concentrated reading to realize… the button hinges are on the outside – at the edge – of the K2. You need to press on the interior of the button to get it to click. This change alone has saved me from several inadvertent page changes. Combine that with the smaller button sizes and one major source of frustration has been instantly eliminated!

Size: The K2 is thinner than the iPhone. It feels denser and maybe a tad heavier – although I did buy the premium cover which snaps into the K2 and adds to the weight (btw, I love the premium cover and think it’s worth the investment).

Network Speed: The K2 can use G3 cellphone connections and when it’s activated it makes a considerable difference in interactivity to the Kindle Store and when downloading Archived content.

Power Management: The little power button at the top of the Kindle is really a power slide. That is, slide it to toggle Sleep mode on and off. Slide and hold to do a full power down. And the K1’s wireless on-off switch has been replaced by a menu choice in software. Works for me. Also, compared to the K1 waking from sleep is super-fast.

What’s worse…

There isn’t much I liked better in the K1 than the K2. One thing: calling up clippings and notes. In the K2 these items only list the first sentence or two of my highlights. In the K1 it displays the entire highlight – which makes reading through them much easier and more like reading Cliff Notes. The new interface in K2 is annoying and makes the feature much less useful. I’ll be writing to Amazon to see if we can get that changed.

Closing thoughts…

The K2 is a big refinement over the K1. It feels as easy to read as the K1 but doesn’t seem any crisper to my eyes (I usually read at point sizes 3 & 4). In this regard, as a book, the K1 and K2 are comparable. I wouldn’t run up my credit card to buy the K2 from a belief that it’s fundamentally easier to read. However, in my short time with the K2 it’s a more enjoyable device to use. The change in the hinging and size of the buttons is major plus and would make it hard to go back to the K1. Amazon broke a few paradigms that K1 users are accustomed to and I found myself going to the K2 User Guide to figure out some content management issues that have been changed in this release.

Why 4 stars and not 5? The Kindle will never get 5 stars from me until Amazon implements the notion of a lending library where I can lend another Kindle user a book; which would have the book would disappear from my Kindle and appear on theirs. After x number of days the book would automatically be returned to me and taken off the other person’s Kindle. Amazon says they want the device to disappear and content to stand out. I say: Until I can lend a friend a book the Kindle will never quite live up to that standard and will be, in my book, stuck at 4 stars.

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