eReader and Tablet News – 8/2/2010 no comments
Research in Motion Tablet in the Works?
Bloomberg reports that it has been told by sources that RIM is planning on introducing a tablet this coming November. Reportedly the tablet will be called the BlackPad.
The device is said to have a 9.7-inch display, and will include both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for connectivity. Users will be able to connect to the Internet via their BlackBerry phones. Pricing is said to be similar to the iPad.
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Random House Expects Ebook Sales to Surge
Reuters reports that Random House CEO Markus Dohle says that Random House ebook sales could account for more than 10 percent of the company’s revenue by next year. Currently in the US ebooks represent about eight percent of revenue. Dohle made the remarks in an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel.
Dohle also seems skeptical of predictions that ebooks will overtake pbooks within the next five years, "I don’t share this view, that’s too aggressive, too much hype for my taste," he said. "The share will probably be somewhere between 25 and 50 percent by 2015, even in the United States."
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Kindle eBook Gifting on the Way?
Before the official announcement of the Kindle 3, Amazon executives conducted private showings of the new devices with technology reporters and some of the larger blogs. The Amazon reps are well schooled on what not to let slip out and are generally tight-lipped when it comes to releasing information that Amazon is not ready to disclose yet.
Lance Ulanoff writes at PCMag.com that in his private meeting with Amazon VP of Kindle Content Russ Grandinetti he brought up the issue of not being able to gift ebooks, which draws a lot of complaints from ereader users. Ulanoff reports that Grandinetti may have hinted at good things to come:
"Stay tuned, we know gifting is important," he said. "We have a long experience with trying to make people’s holidays really good." And, he added, Amazon is working on making this year’s holidays good.
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