Archive for September, 2010
eReader & Tablet News – 9/30/2010 no comments
Infinity Publishing announced today that it has struck a deal with Sony to sell its books through Sony’s Reader Store. Infinity specializes in self-published authors and on demand publishing.
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Amazon is giving away five free Wi-Fi Kindle 3 ereaders. To enter, you just need to visit Amazon’s Kindle page on Facebook and become a fan by clicking on the “Like” button. US residents 18 years of age or older are eligible. The contest runs from September 27 through October 18, 2010.
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This Saturday, October 2, will be the 60th anniversary of Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz. As part of the celebrations a social media game will be hosted. One of the prizes is an iPad:
Also this month, PEANUTS fans are celebrating the 60th anniversary of their favorite comic strip via the "Countdown to the Great Pumpkin" (www.greatpumpkincountdown.com) game. This online social media game invites Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Foursquare and YouTube users to join the Anniversary fun by completing a series of daily PEANUTS-themed "to-dos" from early September through Halloween. Players earn points for each task completed—such as sharing a PEANUTS quote with their friends or followers, or changing their profile picture to that of a PEANUTS character—and the winner will take home a special PEANUTS-loaded iPad and have a shot at an extra $25,000. Weekly winners receive prizes throughout the contest and members of the Schulz family—including Charles Schulz’s son Craig, daughter Jill, and widow, Jeannie—are playing along, offering their own PEANUTS memories and suggesting some of the daily to-dos.
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Will we be seeing ereaders and other devices with word definitions powered by Dictionary.com?
Today Dictionary.com (www.dictionary.com), the leading online and mobile dictionary, announced the launch of its API Developer Center (developer.dictionary.com), a user-friendly distribution channel for its easy to integrate open API. The Center demonstrates Dictionary.com’s commitment to shaping the evolution of online, mobile and connected devices by providing ‘information in the moment,’ enabling developers to integrate its content and features into not only digital learning and entertainment platforms, but an endless range of applications across all platforms. Additionally, the Center will offer developers opportunities for heightened visibility via a visual gallery highlighting creative uses of the API.
"People want access to word definitions in context, without navigating away from what they are doing – Dictionary.com’s vision with the API Developer Center is to make this the standard online and mobile experience," said Shravan Goli, President, Dictionary.com. "Now literally every developer of any application that utilizes words can integrate Dictionary.com’s content and features so that their users can effortlessly experience word discovery."
Use of the API will be free for non-commercial use, and Dictionary.com will offer its content and features for commercial use on a revenue-share and fee-based basis.
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Tokyo-based Seirindo Co., Ltd. will be making its manga magazines available as an iPad app. The Garo manga is available now, with Cycle Boys and Tale of Charcoal Burner coming in October. The description of these in the iTunes store is in Japanese, though the info on the app says it is English language – I didn’t buy one ($2.99) so I’m not sure.
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The GoodReader PDF handling app got a major upgrade today. Some of the new features:
- all annotations that you create or edit in GoodReader – notes, highlights, markups, and drawings – are saved in a PDF file, so you will be able to see them later on a computer or in another copy of GoodReader on your colleague’s device
- all notes, highlights, markups, and drawings created outside GoodReader, and properly stored in a PDF file, can be viewed or edited in GoodReader
- types of annotations that you can create and edit in GoodReader: comments ("sticky notes") with 7 different icons, text highlights, freehand drawings, lines, arrows, rectangles, ovals, text underlines, text deletion marks (strikeouts), text insertion marks, text replacement marks. You can freely adjust color of all of the above.
- other types of annotations that you can view in GoodReader: text boxes with callouts, polygons and polylines, squiggly underlines, cloudy shapes, rubber stamps, file attachments. All annotations that can be viewed, can also be deleted. In addition, some of them can be edited in a limited fashion (color, placement, scale).
- you can now extract files from PDF file attachments
GoodReader is $0.99 at iTunes.
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Barclays Capital analyst Douglas Anmuth is predicting that Amazon will sell 5 million Kindles this year and 11.5 million in 2012. Some of the factors contributing to high unit sales include lower pricing and availability at multiple outlets. Anmuth also thinks that Kindles are not in direct competition with tablets anymore, “A bifurcated market has clearly developed between more expensive, multi-function tablets and cheaper, dedicated eReaders.”
You can read more at ZDNet.
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Mary Lou Jepsen writes in the Pixel Qi blog that a 10-inch Pixel Qi screen that connects and is powered by a USB cable is being developed by Display Solutions AG. You could use this as a secondary screen that can be read in sunlight. It would also be possible to power the display with batteries and use a wireless USB connection. Below is a short video of the screen in sunlight.
These should be in production by the end of this year or the beginning of 2011.
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Onkyo has launched three new Windows 7 – based tablets. Two will have 10.1-inch multitouch screens while the third will have a 11.6-inch display. All come with a 32GB SSD, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Battery life doesn’t look that good (at least when compared to the iPad’s 10 hours) — ranging from 3.8 hours to 6 hours depending on the model.
Prices range from ¥49,800 ($597 USD) to ¥69,800 ($836). Onkyo expects to begin shipping in mid-October.
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Free Kindle Books – 9/30/2010 no comments
We are ending the month with a bunch of freebies in the Kindle Store:
The 7th Victim by Alan Jacobson (3 1/2 stars/25 reviews) Thriller.
25 Language Phrasebook: German, French, Spanish, Catalan, Portuguese, Italian, Greek, Danish, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Czech, Polish, Hungarian, … Chinese, Indonesian, Malay, and Thai. by MobileReference (4 stars/10 reviews).
The New World by Patrick Ness (not yet rated) Prequel to the Chaos Walking Trilogy,
Enchanting the Lady by Kathryne Kennedy (4 1/2 stars/32 reviews) Fantasy.
First Things First by Brenda Warner (4 1/2 stars/21 reviews) Family.
Velocity by Alan Jacobson (5 stars/1 review) Crime fiction.
Ransom X (Legacy Series) by I. B. Holder (4 1/2 stars/9 reviews) Crime fiction. NOTE: At the moment this title is showing up in the free list even though it is priced at $1.00. It may be free soon — check before you hit the buy button.
According To Jane by Marilyn Brant (4 stars/60 reviews) Romance.
Elvis and The Dearly Departed by Peggy Webb (4 stars/9 reviews) Mystery.
Raising Jake by Charlie Carillo (4 1/2 stars/80 reviews) Contemporary.
Get a Life, Not a Job: Are Multiple Career Acts Right for You? by Paula Caligiuri (not yet rated) Career.
For more freebies see my Free Kindle Books page or the UK Kindle Store Free Books page. To see what new ebooks are coming out this month, see the New eBook Releases page, which I have updated with new ebooks being released in October.
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Kobo Unleashes eReader with Wi-Fi no comments
Kobo has introduced a new version of its ereader with upgraded hardware. Besides adding Wi-Fi, Kobo says that the new ereader is faster, has a more contrasty screen and longer battery life.
Some of the features of the new Kobo eReader:
- 6-inch Pearl e-ink screen. Update: Looks like I was being overoptimistic; this is apparently the older e-ink screen – the grayscales have just been upgraded to 16.
- Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
- Supported formats: ePub, PDF, Adobe DRM
- Can borrow ebooks from the library
- Built-in dictionary
- Three colors: Porcelain/Pearlized Lilac, Onyx, Porcelain/Metallic Silver
- 5 font sizes & 2 styles
- 1GB internal memory; SD card slot
- Battery life: up to 10,000 page turns
- Size 184mm x 120mm (7.24 x 4.72 inches); weight 221g ( 7.8 ounces)
- Comes preloaded with 100 public domain ebooks & poker game
The new Kobo eReader puts Kobo back in the race. After Amazon and B&N lowered the prices of their ereaders the older Kobo model seemed rather lacking in comparison.
Kobo, like other ereader makers that support ePub with Adobe Digital Editions (ADE) DRM, always stress the fact that their ereaders are “open” and do not lock you into purchasing content from only one provider. While it is true that you may be able to buy content from different ebookstores — which is nice, keep in mind that for most contemporary ebooks you will still be locked into the pool of available titles with DRM by ADE, which is smaller than the number of titles available at the Kindle Store. To a large extent this claim to openness is just hype in my opinion. You still have to choose which DRM system you will lock yourself into.
The new Kobo Wi-Fi eReader does look like a big improvement and if you were planning on purchasing Kobo’s reader I would definitely recommend the new model over the old, even if the older model can be had for a few bucks less.
The new Kobo eReader Wi-Fi is available at Kobo.comfor $139.99 USD. It will be available in Borders Stores by the end of October, and can be pre-ordered from the Borders website.
For a limited time, Kobo is offering two free ebooks from Random House of Canada with the purchase of the new ereader from either Kobo or Indigo Books & Music in Canada. The two ebooks are Fear the Worst by Linwood Barclay and When My World Was Very Small by Ruth Rakoff. I’m not sure if this offer is extended to customers ordering the eReader for shipment outside of Canada.
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iPad Owners vs Kindle Owners no comments
Nielson published the results for its new Connected Devices Playbook survey today. The survey is of over 5,000 consumers who are owners of a tablet, ereader, netbook, media player or smartphone. The respondents included 400 iPad owners.
The results of the survey indicate that iPad owners are more likely to be male (65 percent) and under the age of 35 (63 percent). The survey found that Kindle owners tend to be wealthier, with 44 percent of them earning over $80,000 per year. This compares to 39 percent of iPad owners and 37 percent of iPhone owners. The survey also found that 27 percent of Kindle owners have Master’s degrees or doctorates. Owners of iPads were also found to be more receptive to advertising.
So there you have it — iPad owners tend to be younger and male and believe everything they see in ads, while Kindle owners are more mature, wiser and have more mulah. 
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AmazonEncore Spring Publishing List & Fall Additions 1 comment
Amazon has announced the spring 2011 publishing schedule for its AmazonEncore imprint. In addition to the eight titles scheduled for spring release Amazon has added four titles to its fall 2010 list.
AmazonEncore uses customer reviews and sales data to identify exceptional books. Titles are available in both print or Kindle editions.
New additions to fall 2010:
- Waiting for the Taliban by Anna Badken. Originally written as a syndicated diary that was published in Foreign Policy magazine, war correspondent Anna Badkhen returns to Northern Afghanistan in search of the friends she made in the early days of the occupation there, back when it was the safest part of an unsafe land. Her journey takes her to an entirely different place than the one she first encountered: blighted, hopeless, still unspeakably beautiful but now overrun by the Taliban. Traveling from village to village, she comes to understand what went so terribly wrong in the north–and, by extension, what she believes is going so terribly wrong in Afghanistan in general. "Waiting for the Taliban" was published on Sept. 9.
- Easily Amused by Karen McQuestion. A lighthearted romantic comedy about a young woman who finds love and friendship where she least expects it: her backyard. Published on Sept. 21, 2010.
- Celia and the Fairies by Karen McQuestion. A middle-grade reader about a young girl who embarks on a quest to save the destruction of fairies’ homes–and her own–from a vengeful developer. Due Nov. 2, 2010.
- An Awesome Book of Thanks! by Dallas Clayton An uplifting book about being thankful for all the things in the world, good and bad, large and small, and welcoming life wholeheartedly. Due Nov. 2, 2010.
The spring 2011 lineup:
- Catcher, Caught by Sarah Collins Honenberger. 15-year old Daniel Landon sees a reflection of himself in the words of J.D. Salinger’s "The Catcher in the Rye" after being diagnosed with leukemia. Due Dec. 28, 2010.
- Get Real and Stop Dieting! by Brett Blumenthal. Cuts through the chaos of fad diets and scientific mumbo jumbo to demystify healthy eating once and for all. Due Dec. 28, 2010.
- Stalina by Emily Runin. A daring twist on the timeless immigrant tale in which a witty and fearless Russian woman will stop at nothing to reconcile the pain of the past and find happiness in America. Due Jan. 4, 2011.
- The Summer Son by Craig Lancaster. Explores the complexities of family dynamics and two men’s turbulent journey toward healing. Due Jan. 25, 2011.
- Regarding Ducks and Universes by Neve Maslakovic.
A novel about a culinary writer who learns that he has an alter ego in an alternate universe and who sets out to snoop around his alter ego’s life, with dangerous consequences. Due Feb. 22, 2011. - Faking It by Elisa Lorello. The author’s first novel introduces 30-something writing professor Andi Cutrone, who meets a male escort at a party she attends after breaking off her engagement. Intrigued, she calls him, and over cheesecake in Brooklyn, he agrees to teach her how to be a better lover in exchange for writing lessons. Due March 15, 2011.
- Ordinary World by Elisa Lorello. Six years after "Faking It" concludes, Andi is blissfully married and living a seemingly perfect existence until her husband dies unexpectedly. She flees to Italy to escape and runs into an old friend who helps Andi see that someday she will be happy again. Due March 15, 2011.
- Nickel Plated from Aric Davis. The life of Nickel, an orphan raised in abusive foster homes, who escapes to make a life as a private investigator. Due March 22, 2011.
- Previously announced on the fall 2010 list, bestselling author J.A. Konrath’s "Shaken"–the seventh book in the Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels series–will be available as a physical book on Feb. 22. The Kindle edition of "Shaken" will be published on Oct. 26.
With the exception of Celia and the Fairies, which is $.99, the Kindle editions range in price from $2.99 to $7.99. For more information, see the AmazonEncore page.
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Amazon Launches Kindle for the Web Beta no comments
Amazon has introduced the beta version of “Kindle for the Web,” which the company first promised some months ago. This new app will let you sample books directly through your web browser without needing to download or install anything.
If you want to try Kindle for the Web out, The Passage by Justin Cronin is below. There is a button on the top of the window to toggle full screen. You can also change font size, line spacing, the number of words per line and background color.
For more information see Amazon’s Kindle on the Web page.
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Kobo Gets Social no comments
Kobo was at BlackBerry DEVCON today, where they revealed a new ereading app that integrates BlackBerry Messenger. As you can see in the promo video below the new app will enable real-time social interaction. You can get recommendations from or shop for books with friends, read books in a group, etc.
The new app won’t be out until next year. Kobo will also have its reading app on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet.
Kobo with BBM from Kobo on Vimeo.
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Kno to Launch Single Screen Tablet no comments
It’s raining tablets! Today at the 
TechCrunch Disrupt Conference, Kno announced that it would be introducing a single screen textbook tablet as well as the dual screen tablet already planned.
Kno plans to ship both the single and dual screen tablets by the end of the year. Presumably the single display model will also have the large 14-inch screen.
Pricing has not been disclosed yet for either Kno tablet, although the dual screened model is expected to be under $1000. How much under we don’t know yet.
Cost is no doubt why Kno is taking this step. Kno CEO and co-founder Osman Rashid said that, ‘’Even though the Kno pays for itself in 13 months, the smaller up front investment of the single screen version will allow more students to use our learning platform.”
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Apple Apps vs Android Apps no comments
Industry analyst firm International Data Corporation (IDC) and Appcelerator, an iPad, mobile and desktop application development platform, recently conducted a survey of 2400 international app developers.
The Appcelerator-IDC Q4 Mobile Developer Report found that developers see a long-term strategic advantage in using Android over Apple iOS.
Some of the interesting findings from the survey:
- 72% of developers say Android “is best positioned to power a large number and variety of connected devices in the future”, compared to 25% for iOS. As a result, 59% of developers now favor Android’s long-term outlook, vs. 35% for iOS. This gap has widened 10 points since the June survey.
- However, Apple iOS continues to dominate in all categories relating to market/revenue opportunity and current devices. iPhone continues to lead overall developer sentiment with 91% saying they are "very interested" in developing for the device compared to 82% for Android phones.
- Developers show enthusiasm for connected TVs, with 44% saying they are ‘very interested’ in developing for Google TV vs. 40% for Apple TV. Explained Scott Ellison, VP Mobile & Wireless, IDC, “Apps are poised to help remake the television viewing experience just as they have remade the mobile experience. Television needs new and more effective ways to create immersive experiences, engage audiences with advertisers, integrate social networks, and drive viewership of original broadcasts,” he added. “The television players who most effectively integrate app developers into their connected TV strategies are poised to potentially remake the television experience as we know it.”
- Android tablets are poised for developer lift-off: At 62% expressing strong interest, Android has similar enthusiasm to the iPad at an analogous point in time (last January pegged iPad at 58%). This is great news for Android tablet device OEMs. On the other end, new research shows webOS and BlackBerry tablets currently have little interest from developers (16% for both), indicating HP, RIM, and other tablet platform challengers need to generate significant developer enthusiasm well in advance of upcoming launches.
- Fragmentation remains a key concern for Google, with 74% of developer respondents describing iOS as "least fragmented" but only 11% describing Android as such.
Concerning Oracle’s lawsuit against Google (claiming that Android infringes on its Java related patents), 93 percent of developers surveyed thought it had little or no impact on their enthusiasm for Android. When asked about Apple’s recent easing of iOS development restrictions, 83 percent of respondents said the move has little or no impact on their enthusiasm for iOS.
You can read a summary of the survey at Appcelerator.com.
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VitalSource Launches Bookshelf App for iPad & iPhone 1 comment
Leading etextbook provider VitalSource has announced a free app that lets students and faculty access their full etextbook content as well as notes and annotations from their iDevices.
The VitalSource Bookshelf app is now available for the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. Notes and highlights made on other Bookshelf platforms are synced with the new iOS app.
Using the new VitalSource Bookshelf® iOS app, the full e-textbook, student notes and highlights are downloaded to the device, making it unnecessary to be connected to the Internet to access the full content. VitalSource Bookshelf is the only digital textbook platform providing synchronization across download, online and mobile delivery methods.
The VitalSource Bookshelf e-textbook app supports the full VitalSource library of titles, including popular higher education textbooks, study guides and classics on Apple’s popular iPad™, iPhone®, and iPod Touch® and other mobile devices.
VitalSource currently offers over 60,000 titles from top textbook publishers. The Bookshelf app is free at iTunes.
