Just in time for the holidays, Apple has finally added the option to send e-books from its iBookstore as gifts.…
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New F.A.A. rules on use of electronics could be tricky to enforce
Restrictions on the use of portable electronics may be soon relaxed but how will the rules be enforced? It's a sticky situation since phone sizes are getting close to tablets and you simply can't tell what people are doing with their devices.…
Read MoreDefending the Apple way
The crux of the government's case against Apple is that it acted as the "ringmaster" of a conspiracy among the publishers to raise the price of ebooks above what Amazon was selling them for. But what the government calls a conspiracy in restraint of trade, Apple calls standard operating procedure for entering a concentrated media market.…
Read MoreTablets surge past e-readers as ebook reading grows
The Pew Research Center reported that almost a quarter of Americans are reading ebooks. But more of the growth in ebook reading devices is happening on tablets than dedicated e-readers.…
Read MoreEbook Bestsellers Breakdown: October 26, 2012
This weekly feature (back after a brief hiatus) looks at the books that are selling better in digital format than in print. This week’s picks: Two books from self-published author Michelle Leighton, who's just signed a deal with traditional publisher Penguin.…
Read MoreIn digital textbook transition, device availability is just the beginning
In the past year, leading technology companies have made big strides in bringing tablet computers into classrooms across the country. But while the availability of new devices is certainly critical, the successful transition to digital textbooks relies on many interconnected factors.…
Read MoreOyster gets $3M to become the Spotify of books
Oyster, a new startup that wants to be the Spotify of books, announced it has raised $3 million led by Founders Fund. The money will help Oyster build a library that allows members to access an unlimited number of books for a monthly fee.…
Read MoreLawyer files Hail Mary request to stop ebook price changes
A surprise ruling last week will force publishers to tear up their e-book contracts with retailers. The ruling is scheduled to go into effect in the next few days and, if it does, Amazon and others will be allowed to slash the price of e-books. A prominent lawyer has filed a Hail Mary brief to stop the process.…
Read MoreAmazon’s disruptive timing
The synchronous timing of the court's approval of the settlement agreement between the government and a group of publishers in the e-book price-fixing case, and the Amazon's news conference to unveil the new Kindles was obviously coincidental. But it couldn't have been more fitting had Jeff Bezsos been able to arrange it all himself.…
Read MoreWhat the ebook settlement means for publishers, Apple and you
States want to give consumers $69 million worth of refunds to compensate them for overpriced ebooks. How much will you get? And how will this affect the publishing industry? Here's a simple guide to what's really going on.…
Read MoreEbook buyers will get $0.25 to $1.32 per book in Apple price-fixing case
State governments, which are suing publishers and Apple for fixing e-book prices, have finally said just how much each consumer will get in a proposed $69 million settlement. We have all the details.…
Read MoreEbook Bestsellers: A newspaper’s longform experiment pays off
Many newspapers have tried ebooks as a new revenue stream, but the Minneapolis Star Tribune's "In the Footsteps of Little Crow" stands out. Curt Brown's extensively researched narrative of the 1862 U.S.-Dakota War is #13 on the NYT ebook bestseller list this week.…
Read MoreEbook Bestsellers Breakdown: Nordic noir (but it’s not Stieg Larsson)
This weekly feature looks at the books that are selling better in digital format than in print. This week's pick: Nordic noir title "The Boy in the Suitcase."…
Read MoreSony outs new Reader PRS-T2 with Evernote, Facebook sharing
Sony's newest e-reader, the Reader PRS-T2, may appeal mainly due to the $129 price tag. But the ability to share passages on Facebook and integration with Evernote make it even better. Evernote is superb for clipping web content for viewing later on nearly any device.…
Read MoreThe e-book lending wars: When authors attack
An incident in which an e-book lending site was shut down by a horde of angry authors with takedown notices -- most of whom misunderstood the site's purpose -- is another example of how the publishing industry is fighting the same battles as the music industry.…
Read MoreEbook Bestsellers Breakdown: Apple gives books a boost
This weekly feature examines certain ebooks’ paths to bestseller-dom, and highlights bestselling titles on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists that are selling more copies in digital than in print. Featured this week: R.L. Mathewson's "Playing for Keeps" and "Perfection."…
Read MoreReporter shield protects Jobs biographer in Apple e-book case
Class action lawyers want Steve Jobs' biographer to hand over his source material to help them prove that Apple and publishers fixed e-book prices. But a judge has agreed that the author can refuse under a law that protects journalists and their sources.…
Read MoreEbook Bestsellers Breakdown: One-day sale moves a series up the charts
This weekly feature examines certain ebooks' paths to bestseller-dom, and highlights bestselling titles on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists that are selling more copies in digital than in print. Featured this week: Bella Andre's "Sullivans" series and Courtney Walsh's "A Sweethaven Summer."…
Read MoreToday in Connected Consumer
Apropos my Weekly Update this week on the Justice Department’s price-fixing case against Apple and two leading publishers, the department has now…
Read MoreEbook Bestsellers Breakdown: Flappers and chaperones
This weekly feature examines certain ebooks' paths to bestseller-dom, and highlights bestselling titles that are selling more copies in digital than in print. This week: Flappers, chaperones and the power of the Kindle Daily Deal.…
Read MorePenelope Trunk: Publishers’ revenue model “assumes authors are going to flake”
Popular blogger and Brazen Careerist founder Penelope Trunk has a new book, "The New American Dream," and she's gotten a lot of attention because of a post that she wrote about that book last week. This attention, she said, surprises her.…
Read MoreEbook Bestsellers Breakdown: Young adult romance is big
This weekly column examines certain ebooks' paths to bestseller-dom, and highlights bestselling titles that are selling more copies in digital than in print. This week: Self-published young adult romance takes off again.…
Read MoreEbook Bestsellers Breakdown: Self-published romance climbs the lists
Good way for a book to become a NYT bestseller: Have Jeff Bezos write about it on Amazon's homepage. That's what happened to Jessica Park, whose self-pubbed "Flat-Out Love" got a Bezos shoutout on June 18. This week, it hits the NYT ebook list at #25.…
Read MoreMedia store wars: iTunes vs Amazon vs Google Play
Google now activates one million Android devices per day and has 400 million devices in the wild, but its media store efforts have lagged. Google Play now has more digital content types, so here's a look at how it compares to iTunes and Amazon's digital store.…
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