A new Pew report on young Americans’ reading habits and library usage finds most of them reading ebooks on cell phones or computers — but the data is nearly a year old. Read more at paidContent »
In the investor call following Yahoo’s third quarter earnings report, new CEO Marissa Mayer laid out her vision for the company going forward. “The best days lie ahead,” she said. “We intend to do great things and we intend to win.” Read more at paidContent »
In its first full quarter with former Google exec Marissa Mayer as CEO, Yahoo reported Q3 revenues of $1.08 billion with net income of $0.23 per share. Earnings were in line with analyst expectations, and shares rose in after-hours trading. Read more at paidContent »
Technology blog ReadWriteWeb, which was acquired by Say Media last December, has hired “Fake Steve Jobs” author Dan Lyons as editor-in-chief. The site is also getting a tablet-friendly redesign and a new name, ReadWrite. Read more at paidContent »
Amazon has apparently discontinued the Kindle Touch, which started at $99, in favor of the new Kindle Paperwhite, which starts at $119 and is still experiencing 4- to 6-week shipping delays. The company also discontinued the 9.7″ Kindle DX this month. Read more at paidContent »
Among the digital trends at the Frankfurt Book Fair this year: Startups selling ebooks, self-publishing developments, and an emphasis on mobile phones as the ebook revolution goes global. Read more at paidContent »
Amazon is expanding the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, which allows Kindle-owning Prime members to borrow one ebook for free each month, to the United Kingdom, Germany and France. The move comes at a time when Amazon is heavily promoting its self-publishing program in Europe. Read more at paidContent »
Rovio, whose “Angry Birds” app has been downloaded over 1 billion times, announced its first book app, a $0.99 iPad cookbook called “Bad Piggies’ Best Egg Recipes,” at the Frankfurt Book Fair Thursday. “We’re looking for millions of downloads,” CMO Peter Vesterbacka said. Read more at paidContent »
Ebook pricing and device trends that hold in North American countries don’t necessarily work for less developed market. Executives from Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google, France’s FNAC and India’s Indiaplaza discussed similarities and differences between digital reading cultures Wednesday afternoon at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Read more at paidContent »
Startup BookShout lets users import their Kindle and Nook books into its iOS, Android and web-based social reading platform. But the function doesn’t work very well yet, and it seems as if it’s only a matter of time before Barnes & Noble or Amazon shuts it down. Read more at paidContent »
E-reading company Kobo has acquired French digital software company Aquafadas in an effort to develop more digital illustrated content like comic books and magazines. Separately, the company announced new partnerships with New Zealand booksellers. Read more at paidContent »
At the Frankfurt Book Fair on Tuesday, Berlin-based Txtr announced a tiny e-reader that will cost under €10 when subsidized by mobile carriers. With the Beagle, the company aims to convert the 80 percent of global mobile phone users who don’t already read ebooks. Read more at paidContent »
China has a huge publishing industry, with over 367,000 titles published in 2011 — making it a large and lucrative market for foreign publishers who want to sell book rights there. But they may face unique challenges, including an ebook market very different from the one in the West. Read more at paidContent »
New York-based startup Ganxy, which is officially launching today at the Frankfurt Book Fair, gives authors and publishers a straightforward set of tools to let them sell ebooks and control marketing and promotions online. Read more at paidContent »
As North American ebook retailers Barnes & Noble and Kobo expand their presence abroad, they are seeing their businesses change. Representatives from both companies spoke about some lessons learned on Monday at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Read more at paidContent »
Friday marks the official launch of former ReadWriteWeb editor Marshall Kirkpatrick’s data-based discovery startup Littlebird (formerly known as Plexus Engine). The company, which aims to automate discovery and vetting of experts and influencers on any given topic, has also raised $1 million in funding. Read more »
Barnes & Noble and Microsoft have finalized their previously announced partnership, which spins B&N’s digital and college businesses off into a subsidiary that will now be called Nook Media. Microsoft is investing $300 million in the new company and retains a 17.6 percent stake. Read more »
With many ebook buyers set to receive small payments as a result of the $69 million settlement between 49 states and three publishers, the states have slightly modified the way those payments will work. Read more at paidContent »
Amazon’s new e-reader, the Kindle Paperwhite, started shipping on Monday but is already sold out. Customers who order one today won’t receive it for four to six weeks. Read more »
Book discovery startup Libboo, a TechStars Boston graduate, has raised $1.1 million in a seed round led by MassVentures. The company aims to build online buzz around books and is working with publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Read more at paidContent »
After Amazon Publishing titles showed up in Barnes & Noble stores around the country, I’m hearing the bookseller told the stores to pull the books. Barnes & Noble insists that its policy not to carry Amazon titles in its stores has not changed. Read more at paidContent »
Penguin is working with digital distributor 3M to make ebooks available to some libraries again — first through a previously announced pilot program with the New York and Brooklyn Public Libraries, and then through about 70 other libraries nationwide by the end of the year. Read more at paidContent »
Barnes & Noble had claimed it wouldn’t carry Amazon Publishing titles in its “store showrooms,” but it looks as if the chain has capitulated: At least two of Amazon New York’s titles are in stock in Manhattan-area stores now. Read more at paidContent »
I spent a week testing Amazon’s new e-reader, the Kindle Paperwhite, which starts at $119. The verdict: The front-lit screen improves the reading experience all day long, not just at night, making this a big step up from the Kindle Touch. Here are my review and video. Read more »
Fans who preordered the ebook edition of J.K. Rowling’s new book, “The Casual Vacancy,” are in for a disappointment today: Due to a file formatting mishap, It’s basically unreadable on e-readers. Read more at paidContent »
A new study led by researchers at the University of Cincinnati looks at the lessons engineers can learn from color-changing animals like squid, octopus and cuttlefish. They find the secrets of a cuttlefish’s skin could be key to helping build a better e-reader. Read more »
Why is the ebook edition of J.K. Rowling’s new novel, “The Casual Vacancy,” $17.99? Thank the fact that publisher Hachette is in a sweet spot between the ebook settlement’s approval and the time that it actually takes effect at non-Apple retailers. Read more at paidContent »
Barnes & Noble’s new Nook HD tablets, priced starting at $199, aim to stand out from the pack with reader-centric features and enhanced reading experiences for magazines and catalogs. The company’s goal is to drive book discovery and purchasing through the tablets in new ways. Read more »
With the launch of Nook Video, Barnes & Noble will begin selling digital movies and TV episodes across devices. The company plans to release Nook Video apps, and the service will be available in the US and UK. Pricing and other details are unclear. Read more at paidContent »
Google added new Japanese reading features to its ebooks app yesterday and is now selling the Nexus 7, ebooks and movies through the Google Play store in Japan. Kobo expanded to Japan in July, and Kindle is expected to launch there in October. Read more at paidContent »
Google is adding some new features to its Android ebooks app, including highlighting and annotation, translation, dictionary definitions and geographic information. Google Play Books for iOS lacks these features for now. Read more at paidContent »
Digital subscription platform Press+ says 39 percent of its client publishers now offer fewer than 10 articles free per month before a reader hits a paywall. On average, the company says, publishers offer 11 free articles per month, down from 13 at the beginning of 2012. Read more at paidContent »
In a move to increase community and social networking and decrease reliance on paid editors and writers, Aol’s struggling hyperlocal site Patch is rolling out a redesign today in five Long Island towns. The redesign will spread to 50 more communities this year. Read more at paidContent »
Walmart has announced that it will stop selling Kindles in its stores and on its website, suggesting that as it beefs up its own e-commerce strategy it does not want to turn sales over to a competitor. Target also stopped carrying Kindles in May. Read more »
Private social networking apps like Path and the SMS-based GroupMe are trying to capitalize on the fact that most people only communicate regularly with a relatively small set of contacts. That requires thinking about social networking and content in a new context. Read more »
With the ebook pricing settlement recently approved, and the Department of Justice’s trial against Apple, Macmillan and Penguin set to begin next June, Apple has subpoenaed Amazon in a Washington State court. Read more at paidContent »
Barry Diller, Scott Rudin, publishing exec Frances Coady and Brooklyn publishing startup Atavist are working together to form an ebook publisher. Many details are sketchy, but it seems clear that Diller is willing to put a lot of money into the venture. Read more at paidContent »
Evernote’s image-annotating app Skitch is now available for iPhone and has a few new features. It has also gotten rid of a couple of features, including some sizing, color and font options. Read more »
Last December, the European Commission began investigating Apple and five book publishers for allegedly conspiring to set ebook prices. Now the EC, Apple and four of the publishers have reached a preliminary agreement that largely mirrors the terms of the ebook settlement in the U.S. Read more at paidContent »
Book publisher Simon & Schuster is ramping up video distribution, creating content channels and signing with partners like Roku, Blinkx and Taboola. For now, the videos are intended to promote books and authors, not to drive advertising revenue. Read more at paidContent »
