Amazon acquires Samsung color display unit Liquavista
Amazon has acquired Samsung’s color screen display technology, Liquavista. The technology could be used to create low-power color screens for Kindles. Read more »
Book review: Former Kindle exec on Kindle flaws, Nook strengths and Google’s future in ebooks
In a new book, former Kindle exec Jason Merkoski examines where e-reading platforms are now and how they could change in the future. If you’re looking for secrets about Jeff Bezos, though, you’re in the wrong place. Read more »
The deal Goodreads should’ve struck (hint: it wasn’t with Amazon)
photo: Vitchanan Photography/Shutterstock
Goodreads, the popular social network and review site for book lovers, is now part of Amazon. Imagine if it had instead paired up with Readmill, which offers a superior user reading experience. Read more »
Amazon launches “Send to Kindle” button for web publishers and WordPress blogs
Amazon launched a “Send to Kindle” button that publishers can add to their websites. The Washington Post and Time are among the first to sign up. “Send to Kindle” is Amazon’s answer to read-it-later services like Pocket and Instapaper. Read more »
Amazon slashes price of 4G Kindle Fire HD by $100, expands tablet to Europe & Japan
Amazon announced Wednesday that it’s dropping the price of the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD in the United States, and is also rolling out the tablet in Europe and Japan. Read more at GigaOM »
Three e-reading tools I wish existed
A book club reading app that supports Kindle, and two other e-reading tools I’d love to see. Read more »
Authors face change as Amazon tightens affiliate policy on free Kindle books
photo: Flickr / Alan O'Rourke
Amazon is cracking down on a policy that allows blogs and websites to earn money when users download free ebooks through their affiliate links. That means big changes in the ways that some self-published ebooks are promoted online. Read more »
Four companies that are changing digital reading in Africa
photo: Flickr / worldreader
The digital reading revolution is not going to look the same in developing countries as it has in the developing world, but several companies are working on ways to bring digital reading to the African continent. Read more »
Here’s the problem with book publishers’ discovery problem
photo: Shutterstock / Thomas Bethge
When it comes to discoverability and walled gardens, there’s a flip side. Read more »
Why Apple is the stumbling block in Amazon’s ebook transition
As the ebook transition moves forward, Amazon should worry that Kindle is not going to be the device leading the revolution. Read more »
Battling Kobo, Amazon launches Kindle e-readers and store in Canada
In an effort to compete against Toronto-based Kobo, Amazon announced Wednesday that it is releasing the Kindle Paperwhite in Canada for the first time and will also sell the basic Kindle there. Amazon launched a Canadian Kindle store in December. Read more »
Ebook 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 more »
A healthy reminder from Amazon: You don’t buy ebooks, you rent them
Although it’s not clear exactly why, an Amazon customer in Norway has lost access to all of the books she bought with her Kindle — a healthy reminder of how with ebooks, we have very little actual control over something we have theoretically purchased and own. Read more at GigaOM »
Kindle Paperwhite is a big step forward for eReaders (Review & video)
photo: Getty Images / Spencer Platt
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 at GigaOM »
J.K. Rowling’s new ebook: Literally unreadable
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 »
Why J.K. Rowling’s new ebook is $17.99
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 »
Amazon Publishing shares some sales numbers in email to agents
photo: Amazon
In a letter to literary agents, Amazon Publishing VP Jeff Belle shares sales numbers for some of the company’s titles and says that authors who previously worked with other publishers — like Barry Eisler — are doing better under Amazon. Read more »
Waterstones CEO: Amazon partnership great, except for the “bear traps”
photo: Shutterstock
At an event in the UK on Tuesday, Waterstones CEO James Daunt shared a few more details on how the bookstore’s partnership with Amazon will work, but admitted that working with “a major competitor” is not easy. Read more »
Ebook price drops begin — and Apple is discounting, too
photo: Shutterstock / Thomas Bethge
Just a few days after the approval of the DOJ’s ebook settlement, HarperCollins has entered into new contracts with ebook retailers, and they’re already discounting its titles. What kinds of deals will you get? Read more »
Why e-readers evolved a lot today: Kindle Paperwhite and Kobo Glo
With the releases of the Kindle Paperwhite and Kobo Glo today, we saw an evolution in e-readers. The devices don’t have more tablet-like features, but they should still provide much better reading experiences than older models. Read more at GigaOM »
Amazon’s September harvest: new HD Kindle Fires, Paperwhite ereader
photo: Courtesy: Amazon
Amazon’s big press event announced four new Kindles, an e-reader as well as a a feature called Kindle Serials, which will bring old-school serialized publications to the e-reader age. Read more at GigaOM »
Live blog: Amazon unveils 4 new Kindles, Kindle Serials
photo: Flickr / William Christiansen
We’re here in Los Angeles for Amazon’s press conference. The company is expected to announce a new Kindle Fire and Kindle e-reader today, and we’ll have all the details for you live from Santa Monica. Read more at GigaOM »
Kobo takes aim at Amazon with two new e-readers and a tablet
Though most eyes are on Amazon’s Thursday press conference, Kobo is angling for early attention with its announcement of two new e-readers and a new 7-inch Android tablet called the Arc. How do the devices stack up to the competition? Read more at GigaOM »
What to expect at next week’s Kindle event: A rumor roundup
photo: Flickr / William Christiansen
What should we expect from next week’s Amazon press conference in Los Angeles? The rumor mill suggest a front-lit Kindle e-reader, a new Kindle Fire with a camera and location technology, and more streaming movie offerings for Prime members. Read more at GigaOM »
Amazon shares some factoids on Prime — but still no member numbers
photo: Flickr / William Christiansen
Amazon shared a few facts about Amazon Prime, which offers unlimited two-day shipping and other perks for $79 a year. The company won’t state how many members Prime has, but says it ships more items with Prime than with its basic free shipping option. Read more »
Ebook 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 more »
Amazon launches standalone Kindle Store in India
photo: Amazon
Twenty-four percent of Indian adults with Internet access have bought an ebook. Now that group could get a lot bigger: Amazon has launched a standalone Kindle Store in India and is selling Kindle exclusively through Indian electronics chain Croma. Read more »
Why the Nook is failing: One chart, four reasons
photo: Barnes & Noble
Microsoft invested $300 million in Barnes & Noble’s Nook business. As the following chart shows, that probably wasn’t a great idea: Production problems, slowing ebook sales and other factors are contributing to the Nook’s troubles. Read more »
B&N’s Nook will finally launch in the UK (but who’s going to sell it?)
photo: Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble will sell its Nook e-readers in the UK starting this October, but at the beginning they will only be available through a website, nook.co.uk. B&N says it will announce partnerships with “leading retailers” soon. Read more »
Hunger Games beats Harry Potter to become Amazon’s bestselling U.S. series
Amazon announced that “The Hunger Games” is now its bestselling series in the United States, beating Harry Potter. Publisher Scholastic said last month that the trilogy has sold over 50 million copies in the United States since its publication in 2008. Read more »
Ebook 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 more »
Should you use Kindle’s new read-it-later feature?
Amazon launched a “Send to Kindle” extension for Google Chrome that lets users send articles to their Kindle. Other services, like Pocket and Instapaper, can do the same thing. Which one should you use? Read more »
Attorney asks DOJ to release findings on Amazon’s “predatory” ebook pricing
In an amicus brief responding to the DOJ’s proposed ebook pricing settlement against Apple and publishers, attorney Bob Kohn says the DOJ unwittingly showed that Amazon used predatory pricing on ebooks, and asks that the DOJ’s investigation of Amazon be turned over to the court. Read more »
The 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 more at GigaOM »
Planning to buy a new Kindle? Wait
photo: Amazon
The current Kindle Touch models are either unavailable or shipping in 8 to 9 days on Amazon, suggesting that new models are coming soon — possibly including a front-lit Kindle to compete with Barnes & Noble’s Nook with GlowLight. Read more at GigaOM »
Amazon adds print textbook rental
photo: Flickr / beautyfromashes
Amazon is now renting print textbooks in addition to Kindle textbooks. In doing so, the company seeks to compete with Barnes & Noble as well as with startups like Chegg and BookRenter. Read more »
Ebook 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 more »
Hiptype wants to be the Google Analytics for ebooks
Mobile analytics companies provide app publishers with data about their users. Hiptype, a Y Combinator startup, wants to do the same thing for ebooks. That could be huge for data-starved book publishers — except that for now, Hiptype only works on platforms that support HTML5. Read more »
Ebook 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 more »
paidContent turns 10: A brief history of digital media
Remember when Friendster was the hot social network, publishers doubted that ebooks would ever sell, and Netflix thought DVDs in red envelopes was the future? We do — that was that state of digital media when paidContent launched in 2002. Read more »
