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Top 10 Bestselling Kindle Singles

Laura Hazard Owen — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 17:59:02 +0000

Overall top 10 bestselling Kindle Singles, by units sold. Traditional publishers were reluctant to tell me how many copies their singles had sold, but any info they did share is below.

Position	Title / Author (pub date)	Publisher	Price	Units Sold
1	“Second Son” / Lee Child (8/11)	Random House	$1.99	“Hundreds of thousands of copies” across platforms**
2	“Mile 81″ / Stephen King (9/11)	Simon & Schuster	$2.99	Over 300,000 across platforms**
3	“No Time Left” / David Baldacci (5/11)	Hachette	$0.99	N/A
4	“The Moonlit Mind” / Dean Koontz (11/11)	Random House	$2.99	“Hundreds of thousands of copies” across platforms**
5	“Thorn In My Side”* / Karin Slaughter (8/11)	Kindle Singles	$1.99	“Around 100,000″
6	“Leaving Home”* / Jodi Picoult (1/11)	Kindle Singles/Laura Gross Literary Agency	$2.99	“Around 10,000 copies a month”
7	“Three Cups of Deceit” / Jon Krakauer (4/11)	Byliner	$2.99	Downloaded “nearly 150,000 times” including free downloads
8	“Murdered”* / Paul Alexander (3/11)	RosettaBooks	$0.99	Roughly 50,000 copies in 2011
9	“The Long Run”* / Mishka Shubaly (10/11)	Kindle Singles	$1.99	60,567
10	“My Mother’s Lover” / David Dobbs (6/11)	The Atavist	$1.99	Over 40,000 (on Kindle only)

Title exclusive to Kindle Singles
** Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, Kobo and other e-bookstores

Big Drop: TechCrunch Pageviews 2011-2012

Amanda Natividad — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 01:10:47 +0000

TechCrunch, the long-time darling of the digerati, is smashed to bits and all of AOL’s horses and men will be hard-pressed to put it together again. The site has lost almost every one of its top writers and traffic has fallen off a cliff, dropping by 35 percent from a year ago. Read more on paidContent.org…

	Total Unique Visitors (000)	Total Pages Viewed (MM)
Jan-2011	5,189	23
Feb-2011	3,665	21
Mar-2011	4,676	24
Apr-2011	4,675	21
May-2011	4,791	22
Jun-2011	4,696	25
Jul-2011	3,953	19
Aug-2011	4,963	26
Sep-2011	4,380	26
Oct-2011	4,594	18
Nov-2011	3,551	15
Dec-2011	3,609	16
Jan-2012	3,539	15

Source: comScore
Produced by: Amanda Natividad
Published: February 28, 2012

Facebook Executive Officers’ Compensation for 2011

Amanda Natividad — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 06:41:42 +0000

Executive Officer	Salary	Bonus	Stock Awards	All Other Compensation	Total
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO	483,333	220,500	–	783,529	1,487,362
Sheryl K. Sandberg, COO	295,833	86,133	30,491,613	–	30,873,579
David A. Ebersman, CFO	295,833	86,133	18,294,952	–	18,676,918
Mike Schroepfer, VP, Engineering	70,833	63,000	24,393,295	–	24,727,128
Theodore W. Ullyot, VP, General Counsel, Secretary	220,500	478,750	6,098,317	110,644	6,958,544

Comparing Social Game Publishers | January 2012

Amanda Natividad — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 04:45:44 +0000

Social games like FarmVille and Bejeweled seem ubiquitous, as requests for new farming equipment flood across friends’ Facebook pages and smartphones. Plus, the social and mobile gaming space has proven to be a hot sector: Zynga confirmed in January its recent purchases of four mobile gaming companies. But how widespread is the popularity of these games? We’ve charted the most popular social gaming publishers to compare them across a range of important metrics, from how many games they offer, to how many monthly users they have, to their revenues. Most of the information comes from the publishers themselves, but we’ve relied on AppData for much of the stats on monthly users. Check it out…

Year Launched	Total Free Games	Total Paid Games	Most Popular Social Games	Number of Users	Platforms Available	Revenue / Funding	Deals	Comments
2007	18	0	CityVille; FarmVille; Texas HoldEm Poker; Adventure World	About 223 million monthly users.	Facebook; MySpace; Yahoo; Farmville.com; iPhone/iPad; Android.	Zynga filed for a $1 billion IPO in July 2011. In 2010, Zynga made $27.9 million profit on revenue of $597.5 million.	Most recently, Zynga confirmed the purchase of four small gaming companies. It also bought mobile game developer Newtoy in December 2010 for $53.3 million. Zynga purchased 12 other companies since 2010, paying a total of $123 million in cash and stock as of 2011.	Zynga has set the standard for socially oriented games, but needs to find a long-term strategy that doesn’t leave it so dependent on Facebook.
1982	65+	Most social and mobile games are free; some console games are paid.	The Sims Social; Zuma Blitz; Bejeweled; Peggle; Plants vs. Zombies; Pet Society	About 49 million monthly users (which includes users of PopCap and Playfish games).	Facebook; iPhone/iPad; Android; PC; Xbox 360; PlayStation 3; Nintendo Wii	For the period ending September 30, 2011 EA reported $715 million in revenue, with a net loss of $340 million. During its Q2 2012 results, the company reported full game downloads were 26 million, up 44% year-over-year, driven primarily by Sims 3 and PopCap Games.	EA has made some acquisitions in 2011. It bought PopCap for a staggering $750 million in July 2011, and mobile games maker Firemint in May 2011. It also bought Playfish for $275 million in cash, as well as $25 million in equity retention arrangements in November 2009.	EA is the granddaddy of mass-market gaming but hasn’t adjusted quite as well to the social era. Still, with franchise titles like Madden and Tiger Woods in its arsenal and the cash to buy its way into the market, its presence will be felt.
2003	191+	Most social and mobile games are free; some console games are paid.	Brick Breaker Revolution series; Mini Golf Castles series; Tornado Mania! series	About 7 million monthly users.	Facebook; Android; BlackBerry; WIndows 7; Windows Mobile; PC; Xbox	Previously, it raised a fourth round of $12 million in in February 2011. Digital Chocolate has raised $54 million to date.	Digital Chocolate bought casual games developer Sandlot Games in August 2011 for an undisclosed amount.	The company recently made three promotions, two new hires and plans to expand its branches in Barcelona.
2009	6	0	Diamond Dash; Bubble Island	About 36 million monthly users.	Facebook	Berlin-based Wooga raised $24 million second round May 2011. It has raised $31.5 million to date.	None.	Wooga faces the same problem as Zynga–reliance on Facebook–without as much cash to figure out another path.
2007	3	0	Backyard Monsters; Battle Pirates; Desktop Defender	Over 3 million monthly users.	Facebook	Kixeye raised an $18 million third round in August 2011. It has raised $23.5 million to date.	None.	Though for now, all of Kixeye’s games are for Facebook, the company is experimenting with Google+ games, SVP of marketing Brandon Barber recently told Games.com.
2008	19+	0	Gardens of Time; Wild Ones; GnomeTown; World Series of Poker; Sorority Life	Over 14 million monthly users.	Facebook; MySpace; iPhone/iPad; Android.	in Q3 2011, the acquisition of Playdom contributed to lower operating results in Disney’s Interactive Media segment. During this quarter, Disney’s net income was up 11% on a 7% revenue increase.	Disney bought Playdom for $763.2 million in July 2010. Prior to the acquisition, Playdom made a string of acquisitions, which included: social games startup Metaplace, Hive7, Aclaim Games, Three Melons, and Offbeat Creations.	Playdom has the backing of an entertainment giant, but the fact that it is so strong on MySpace says an awful lot. And the company has also faced inquiries from the U.S. government about its privacy policies and children, one of which resulted in a $3 million fine.
2007	3,200+	0	Bubble Atlantis; Snake; Epic Coaster	Over 3 million monthly users.	Facebook; Web; iPhone/iPad	MindJolt raised a first round of funding from Austin Ventures in March 2010. Though the company doesn’t disclose financial information, it has said one-third of its revenues come from mobile games.	MindJolt bought developer and social mobile game publisher SGN in April 2011. Former MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe and MySpace co-founders Colin Digiaro and Aber Whitcomb, and Austin Ventures bought MindJolt in March 2010.	In a recent Pocketgamer interview COO Colin Digiaro said MindJolt is working on HTML5 games and sees Amazon as being a strong growth area, particularly because of the Kindle Fire.
2003	200+	0	Bubble Saga; Mahjong Saga	About 23 million monthly users.	Facebook; Web	King.com raised a $43 million first round in July 2007.	None.	It’s growing fast, but not as well known as some of the other players and needs to keep the hit-making machine going.

Sources: Based on company information, additional reporting, and metrics from AppData.
Produced by: Amanda Natividad
Additional Reporting by: Tom Krazit
Published: January 18, 2012

Premier League Broadcast Rights, 2010/11, 2011/12 & 2012/13

Robert Andrews — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 20:19:51 +0000

Premier League’s 2013-16 broadcast negotiations are expected to start this summer. Here’s who currently owns rights for the 2010/11, 2011/12 and 2012/13 seasons…

Package	Rights	Holder	Use
UK Live A, B, C, E, F	5 x 23 live matches	BSkyB	Sky Sports (pay-TV), Sky Go (tablet, mobile)
UK Live D	1 x 23 live matches	ESPN	ESPN channel (pay-TV)
UK Highlights	Up to 30 mins per game	BBC	Match Of The Day live, MOTD2, MOTD on iPlayer
UK Online Highlights	Clips	Yahoo	Yahoo Sport UK, Eurosport site
Overseas	All 380 matches live, on-demand, all platforms.	Different in 211 countries See full list US: Fox Sports, with sub-licence to ESPN	Various
UK Mobile Highlights	Clips from all 380 matches, minutes after live action	ESPN	ESPN Goals mobile app, free
UK Near-Live	(1) Full replay of a 3pm game (rightsholder choice) (2) 50-minute replay of day’s games (viewer choice)	BSkyB	Sky Sports’ Saturday-night Football First TV show, inc. in-show Red button

How Publishers' Digital Revenues Stack Up

Laura Hazard Owen — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 20:53:11 +0000

Here’s our chart comparing the most recent earnings from a variety of publishers. Not all publishers break out their digital revenues, but I hope more will start to do so.

Publisher (Parent Company)	Date (Earnings Period)	Book Publishing Revenues (Change*)	Digital Revenues (Change*)	Digital As %Age Of Total Book Sales	Release
Simon & Schuster (CBS)	Q3 2011	$220 million (+1%)	Not broken out (“more than doubled”)	17%
HarperCollins (News Corp.)	Q3 2011	Not broken out	Not broken out	N/A. Print books sold in brick-and-mortar stores accounted for 71% of sales in the U.S., 77% worldwide
Penguin (Pearson)	First 9 months of 2011	Not broken out; “level with 2010.” First 6 months of year: ?457 million	Not broken out. First 6 months of year: Up 128%	In first 6 months of year, e-book sales represented 14% of sales worldwide
Harlequin (Torstar)	Q3 2011	C$115.7 million (-1.5% due to foreign exchange rates)	Increased by C$7.5 million	15.8% worldwide
Bloomsbury	6-month period ending 8/31/11	?44.9 million (+16%)	?2.5 (+564%)	5.5% (U.S. and UK)
Scholastic children’s trade books	Q1 2012 (ending 8/31/11)	Children’s trade books: $59.6 million (+10%)	Not broken out	N/A
John Wiley & Sons professional/trade books	Q1 2012 (ending 7/31/11)	Professional/trade books: $100 million (+0.4%)	$11 million (+175%)	11%
Hachette Book Group (Lagardere)	First half of 2011	Lagardere Publishing worldwide (U.S., UK, Australia, France, Spain): ?900 million (-7.7%)	Not broken out	20% (U.S.), 8% (UK); 5% of Lagardere Publishing revenues worldwide
Random House (Bertelsmann)	First half of 2011	Random House worldwide: ?787 million (-0.5%)	Not broken out, but “triple-digit percentage sales growth in e-books”	Over 20% in the U.S.
Hachette Book Group (Lagardere)	Q3 2011	Lagardere Publishing worldwide (U.S., UK, Australia, France, Spain): €601 million (-2.5% on like-for-like basis)	Not broken out	21% (U.S.), 9% (UK)
John Wiley & Sons professional/trade books	12/8/2011 (Q2 2012)	$112 million (-1%)	$9 million (+145%)	8%	release
Sourcebooks	2011	N/A	N/A but up 795% over 2010	28%	release
Hachette Book Group (Lagardere)	Q4 2011	Lagardere Publishing worldwide (U.S., UK, Australia, France, Spain): €537 million (-3.8% on like-for-like basis). Hachette U.S. +12.8%. Hachette UK -4.8%.	Not broken out	20% (U.S.), 10% (UK). Across all of Lagardere in full year 2011, e-books accounted for 6% of total net sales.	release

*Change from same period last year
Sources: paidContent.org, publishers’ financial reports, PublishersWeekly.com
Compiled by Laura Hazard Owen. Updated 1/18/2012

Comparing The New Aggregators: Flipboard, Pulse, Zite, Float And More | December 2011

Amanda Natividad — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 03:00:00 +0000

For consumers, there are now so many of these next-generation RSS readers that it can be daunting to keep them straight. But they have distinct differences. Some curate content with an algorithm, while others use a team of editors. Some have made partnerships with publishers, while some are charging ahead without them. And there are other differences too, in areas like customization, sharing and price. To see how some of the new aggregators stack up, check out our chart below.

Price	How Content Is Aggregated	Official Content Partners	Social Networks Used As Content Sources	Customization Options	Sharing Options	Platforms	How It’s Different	Funding
Free	Content is pulled from tens of thousands of publications. Each section identifies the top 20 most influential and well-known sources. It is prioritized based on your interests.	None.	None.	Users can add their own content sources; can customize the colors of their Edition; can select and re-order from 18 different sections.	E-mail; Facebook, Twitter; can save for offline reading.	iPad	Because Editions links directly to the source, it doesn’t need content partners. Also, because Aol is a publisher, it can fully show content from its entities within the app. Editions is also available in Canada and the UK.	None.
Free	Content comes from the user’s social network and Flipboard’s content partners. Flipboard curates featured content in its Content Guide. Users can search for a specific feed, group, list, hashtag or account.	ABC News, All Things Digital, Bon Appetit, Lonely Planet, SB Nation, The Economist, Oprah, Forbes, National Geographic and over 30 others.	Facebook; Twitter; LinkedIn; Flickr; Instagram; Tumblr; photo service 500px.	Users can browse and view social feeds, and add favorited items into separate panes or “tiles” and the Content Guide.	E-mail; Facebook; Twitter; LinkedIn; Tumblr; can save for offline reading via Instapaper, Read It Later.	iPhone/iPad	Content is based on what’s popular in your social network and around the web — not your past behavior. Also, with Flipboard Accounts, users can manage multiple profiles on shared devices.	Raised two rounds of funding for a total of $60.5 million. It raised $50 million at a $200 million valuation in April 2011.
Free	Full content from partners are shown. Social feeds are filtered for reading activity so users can see what their friends are reading across the web, and sources are curated by interest. Users can add web content via Float bookmarklet.	250 content partners (and counting) is shown, including: AP, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, CBS, CNET, Entertainment Weekly, Fortune Tech, Huffington Post, Mashable, Slate, SB Nation, Time, Wired and more.	Scribd; Facebook; Twitter.	Users can favorite publications; customize reading lists; select personal reading styles. Can read up and down; left and right; now or later.	E-mail; Scribd; Facebook; Twitter; can save for offline reading with bookmarklet and in the app.	iPhone; Web; iPad and Android coming soon.	Float offers ability to read formatted content like books, reports and other PDFs. And, like Ongo, the app syncs across its platforms.	Parent company Scribd has raised about $25.8 million in total funding raised in the past four years. It raised a $13 million third round in January 2011 for mobile expansion.
Free	The app uses semantic personalization and your social networks to curate content based on your interests.	Over 10,000 newspapers and magazines	Facebook; Twitter; Google+; Google Reader; Evernote	Users can filter content by topic; use their device’s GPS to search for local news; the app offers a timeline so users can see when articles have been published.	E-mail; Facebook; Twitter; can save for offline reading via ReadItLater and Instapaper.	iPhone/iPad; Android; Windows Phone 7; Playbook; desktop app; Web	News360 uses the browser plugin Periscope that shows photos, videos and tweets relevant to whatever you are currently browsing.	News360 received a $1.5 million grant from the Skolkovo Foundation in November 2011.
Free. (Until recently, it was a subscription service.)	Content is shown from what is popular in the News.me network, what’s popular in your Twitter network, as well as content based on what you have read or shared in the past.	Dozens including New York Times, The Boston Globe, Associated Press, Forbes, AOL News, Gawker, GigaOm, Mashable, RedWriteWeb and SB Nation.	Twitter	Users can view content in either Web (full view) or Streamlined (only text and selected images) view.	E-mail; Facebook, Twitter; can save for offline reading within the app or via Instapaper.	iPad; daily e-mail digest	You can see what other News.me users are reading.	Funded by Betaworks and the New York Times.
$2.99	Content is pulled from your social network and RSS feeds, shown mostly in chronological order.	None.	Facebook; Twitter; Google Reader and RSS feeds	Users can view photos and video in separate sections and create and choose magazine cover page;	E-mail; Facebook; Twitter; can save for offline reading via Instapaper	iPad	Users can comment on and like Facebook posts within the app.	Parent company, Switzerland-based Sobees, raised an angel round in 2009.
Free	Uses a cloud-based semantic engine to match user interests and most popular content.	Over 250 media content partners globally.	None.	Users can find related articles to original ones; can toggle between top news and news curated by their interests; can search by topic or keyword	E-mail; Facebook; Twitter.	iPhone/iPad; Android; Windows Phone; BlackBerry; Nokia; Samsung Apps (BADA); Google TV	The app is optimized for Google TV.	Bordeaux, France-based parent company Mobiles Republic received angel funding in 2009. It is currently raising a first round.
$5.99 / month to access content from official content partners. Beyond those partners, it is 99 cents per title.	Full content from partners with large images and columns in an ad-free layout. Articles are also curated by Ongo’s editorial team and complemented by the company’s algorithm to highlight important stories.	Dozens of content partners, including: AP, NYT, FT, USA Today, LA Times, Washington Post, Reuters, ProPublica.	None.	Users can create personal news playlists with “My Topics”; can add any RSS feed.	E-mail; Facebook; Twitter; can save for offline reading.	iPad; Web; Mobile Web.	You can add any RSS feed you want. Ongo shows full articles within the app, rather than linking to the sources. Like Float, the app syncs across its platforms. And, like Trove, a team of editors curates top news/stories.	Raised $12 million total.
Free	Users add their content sources; Pulse also offers suggested sources.	More than 200 content partners, including ESPN, The New Yorker, USA Today, NBC News, Al Jazeera, among others. Pulse also suggests sources.	Facebook; Twitter; Google Reader.	Users add their own sources; can rename sources and pages.	Facebook; Twitter; can save for offline reading via Pulse.me, Instapaper, Evernote, Read it Later.	iPhone/iPad; Android; Web; Barnes & Noble Nook Color.	You add content by source — not by topic.	Raised its first round of $9 million in June 2011.
Free	The most popular content is aggregated from around the web from over 1 million sources.	Most major media companies. Publishers can also submit their content to SkyGrid.	Facebook; Twitter; YouTube.	Users can follow various sources and topics/keywords. Sources can also be full Custom Streams, or backplanes.	E-mail; Facebook, Twitter; can save for offline reading via Instapaper.	iPhone/iPad; Android.	SkyGrid shows the most popular content around the web – not necessarily what the people in your social network are reading. It also allows the ability to follow multiple sources on one topic.	Raised two rounds of funding, $13.3 million total.
Free	Content is taken from Washington Posts’s sister sites; content partners. It is prioritized based on your consumption.	About 10,000 sources, including WaPo’s sister sites and other content partners.	Facebook.	Aside from adding topics of interest, users can search keywords to get more suggested topics.	E-mail; Facebook; Twitter.	iPhone/iPad; Windows Phone; Windows 7 Tablet; BlackBerry.	Trove users can connect with others who have shared interests. Also, like Ongo, a team of editors curates top news/stories.	None.
Free	Content is curated by Yahoo, featuring its own entities as well as media partners. It is prioritized based on your consumption.	Over 100 media partners, including: ABC, Consumer Reports, Forbes, Scientific American.	None.	Users can topics of interest.	E-mail; Facebook.	iPad	Most of the app utilizes HTML5, resulting in sleek depth and animation effects. Users can manage up to 4 profiles. Yahoo also offers interactive advertising packages.	None.
Free	Content is pulled from your social network, then prioritized based on your interests. Zite analyzes users’ past behavior on their social networks and/or Google Reader feeds to pull initial content.	None.	Facebook, Twitter; Google Reader.	Users can vote “thumbs up” or “thumbs down”. Zite uses this information to filter content in order to send the user only info that interests them.	E-mail; Facebook; Twitter; LinkedIn; can save for offline reading via Instapaper, Read It Later, Delicious, Evernote.	iPad	Content is prioritized based on your own past behavior. The app supports multiple profiles, a plus for households with shared iPads. It also allows you to block sources you don’t like so they don’t appear on in your feed.	Bought by CNN in August.
Free	Google aggregates trending, or popular content. Users can also add subscriptions from available content partners and from their RSS feeds.	150 content partners, including Huffington Post, PBS, Forbes, Slate, CNET, All Things Digital, SB Nation, Eater and more.	Google Reader; Google+	Users add subscriptions from Google Currents’ content partners and can also add RSS feeds.	E-mail, Facebook; Twitter; Google+; Tumblr; can save for offline reading via Instapaper, Pinboard	Android; iPad/iPhone	Publishers can link their Currents editions to their Google Analytics accounts.	None.

Source: Based on company information, additional reporting.
Produced by: Amanda Natividad
Edited by: Ernie Sander, Staci D. Kramer
Published: December 8, 2011

Comparing The New Aggregators: Flipboard, Pulse, Zite, Float And More | November 2011

Amanda Natividad — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 02:00:31 +0000

Price	How Content Is Aggregated	Official Content Partners	Social Networks Used As Content Sources	Customization Options	Sharing Options	Platforms	How It’s Different	Funding
Free	Content is pulled from tens of thousands of publications. Each section identifies the top 20 most influential and well-known sources. It is prioritized based on your interests.	None.	None.	Users can add their own content sources; can customize the colors of their Edition; can select and re-order from 18 different sections.	E-mail; Facebook, Twitter; can save for offline reading.	iPad	Because Editions links directly to the source, it doesn’t need content partners. Also, because Aol is a publisher, it can fully show content from its entities within the app. Editions is also available in Canada and the UK.	None.
Free	Content comes from the user’s social network and Flipboard’s content partners. Flipboard curates featured content in its Content Guide. Users can search for a specific feed, group, list, hashtag or account.	ABC News, All Things Digital, Bon Appetit, Lonely Planet, SB Nation, The Economist, Oprah, Forbes, National Geographic and over 30 others.	Facebook, Twitter; LinkedIn; Flickr; Instagram; Tumblr; photo service 500px.	Users can browse and view social feeds, and add favorited items into separate panes or “tiles” and the Content Guide.	E-mail; Facebook; Twitter; LinkedIn; Tumblr; can save for offline reading via Instapaper, Read It Later.	iPhone/iPad	Content is based on what’s popular in your social network and around the web — not your past behavior. Also, with Flipboard Accounts, users can manage multiple profiles on shared devices.	Raised two rounds of funding for a total of $60.5 million. It raised $50 million at a $200 million valuation in April 2011.
Free	Full content from partners are shown. Social feeds are filtered for reading activity so users can see what their friends are reading across the web, and sources are curated by interest. Users can add web content via Float bookmarklet.	250 content partners (and counting) is shown, including: AP, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, CBS, CNET, Entertainment Weekly, Fortune Tech, Huffington Post, Mashable, Slate, SB Nation, Time, Wired and more.	Scribd; Facebook; Twitter.	Users can favorite publications; customize reading lists; select personal reading styles. Can read up and down; left and right; now or later.	E-mail; Scribd; Facebook; Twitter; can save for offline reading with bookmarklet and in the app.	iPhone; Web; iPad and Android coming soon.	Float offers ability to read formatted content like books, reports and other PDFs. And, like Ongo, the app syncs across its platforms.	Parent company Scribd has raised about $25.8 million in total funding raised in the past four years. It raised a $13 million third round in January 2011 for mobile expansion.
Free. (Until recently, it was a subscription service.)	Content is shown from what is popular in the News.me network, what’s popular in your Twitter network, as well as content based on what you have read or shared in the past.	Dozens including New York Times, The Boston Globe, Associated Press, Forbes, AOL News, Gawker, GigaOm, Mashable, RedWriteWeb and SB Nation.	Twitter	Users can view content in either Web (full view) or Streamlined (only text and selected images) view.	E-mail; Facebook, Twitter; can save for offline reading within the app or via Instapaper.	iPad; daily e-mail digest	You can see what other News.me users are reading.	Funded by Betaworks and the New York Times
$5.99 / month to access content from official content partners. Beyond those partners, it is 99 cents per title.	Full content from partners with large images and columns in an ad-free layout. Articles are also curated by Ongo’s editorial team and complemented by the company’s algorithm to highlight important stories.	Dozens of content partners, including: AP, NYT, FT, USA Today, LA Times, Washington Post, Reuters, ProPublica.	None.	Users can create personal news playlists with “My Topics”; can add any RSS feed.	E-mail; Facebook; Twitter; can save for offline reading.	iPad; Web; Mobile Web.	You can add any RSS feed you want. Ongo shows full articles within the app, rather than linking to the sources. Like Float, the app syncs across its platforms. And, like Trove, a team of editors curates top news/stories.	Raised $12 million total.
Free	Users add their content sources; Pulse also offers suggested sources.	More than 200 content partners, including ESPN, The New Yorker, USA Today, NBC News, Al Jazeera, among others. Pulse also suggests sources.	Facebook; Twitter; Google Reader.	Users add their own sources; can rename sources and pages.	Facebook; Twitter; can save for offline reading via Pulse.me, Instapaper, Evernote, Read it Later.	iPhone/iPad; Android; Web; Barnes & Noble Nook Color.	You add content by source — not by topic.	Raised its first round of $9 million in June 2011.
Free	The most popular content is aggregated from around the web from over 1 million sources.	Most major media companies. Publishers can also submit their content to SkyGrid.	Facebook; Twitter; YouTube.	Users can follow various sources and topics/keywords. Sources can also be full Custom Streams, or backplanes.	E-mail; Facebook, Twitter; can save for offline reading via Instapaper.	iPhone/iPad; Android.	SkyGrid shows the most popular content around the web – not necessarily what the people in your social network are reading. It also allows the ability to follow multiple sources on one topic.	Raised two rounds of funding, $13.3 million total.
Free	Content is taken from Washington Posts’s sister sites; content partners. It is prioritized based on your consumption.	About 10,000 sources, including WaPo’s sister sites and other content partners.	Facebook.	Aside from adding topics of interest, users can search keywords to get more suggested topics.	E-mail; Facebook; Twitter.	iPhone/iPad; Windows Phone; Windows 7 Tablet; BlackBerry.	Trove users can connect with others who have shared interests. Also, like Ongo, a team of editors curates top news/stories.	None.
Free	Content is pulled from your social network, then prioritized based on your interests. Zite analyzes users’ past behavior on their social networks and/or Google Reader feeds to pull initial content.	None.	Facebook, Twitter; Google Reader.	Users can vote “thumbs up” or “thumbs down”. Zite uses this information to filter content in order to send the user only info that interests them.	E-mail; Facebook; Twitter; LinkedIn; can save for offline reading via Instapaper, Read It Later, Delicious, Evernote.	iPad	Content is prioritized based on your own past behavior. The app supports multiple profiles, a plus for households with shared iPads. It also allows you to block sources you don’t like so they don’t appear on in your feed.	Bought by CNN in August.
Free	Content is curated by Yahoo, featuring its own entities as well as media partners. It is prioritized based on your consumption.	Over 100 media partners, including: ABC, Consumer Reports, Forbes, Scientific American.	None.	Users can topics of interest.	E-mail; Facebook.	iPad	Most of the app utilizes HTML5, resulting in sleek depth and animation effects. Users can manage up to 4 profiles. Yahoo also offers interactive advertising packages.	None.
Free	The app uses semantic personalization and your social networks to curate content based on your interests.	Over 10,000 newspapers and magazines	Facebook; Twitter; Google+; Google Reader; Evernote	Users can filter content by topic; use their device’s GPS to search for local news; the app offers a timeline so users can see when articles have been published.	E-mail; Facebook; Twitter; can save for offline reading via ReadItLater and Instapaper.	iPhone/iPad; Android; Windows Phone 7; Playbook; desktop app; Web	News360 uses the browser plugin Periscope that shows photos, videos and tweets relevant to whatever you are currently browsing.	News360 received a $1.5 million grant from the Skolkovo Foundation in November 2011.
$2.99	Content is pulled from your social network and RSS feeds, shown mostly in chronological order.	None.	Facebook; Twitter; Google Reader and RSS feeds	Users can view photos and video in separate sections and create and choose magazine cover page;	E-mail; Facebook; Twitter; can save for offline reading via Instapaper	iPad	Users can comment on and like Facebook posts within the app.	Parent company, Switzerland-based Sobees, raised an angel round in 2009.
Free	Uses a cloud-based semantic engine to match user interests and most popular content.	Over 250 media content partners globally.	None.	Users can find related articles to original ones; can toggle between top news and news curated by their interests; can search by topic or keyword	E-mail; Facebook; Twitter.	iPhone/iPad; Android; Windows Phone; BlackBerry; Nokia; Samsung Apps (BADA); Google TV	The app is optimized for Google TV.	Bordeaux, France-based parent company Mobiles Republic received angel funding in 2009. It is currently raising a first round.

Source: Based on company information, additional reporting.
Produced by: Amanda Natividad
Edited by: Ernie Sander, Staci D. Kramer
Published: November 29, 2011

Comparing E-Readers — And Tablets | November 2011

Staci D. Kramer — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 03:42:09 +0000

This chart’s a lot bigger than it used to be. Each brand here has introduced at least one new e-reader in the past six months, and Kindle, Nook and Kobo are all launching tablets this month, in competition with the iPad and with each other. Barnes & Noble gave us a preview of the trend when it launched the Nook Color in 2010, but that device is primarily a glorified e-reader with color. The Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet aim to be true media tablets, combining video, web browsing and apps with e-reading functionality, while the Vox is reminiscent of the Nook Color in its focus on reading over other forms of media consumption. It remains to be seen whether consumers will consider the Fire, Nook Tablet and Vox to be e-readers and tablets in one, or if they’ll save their serious book time for dedicated e-readers, whose prices are dropping by the day.

	Kindle	Kindle Touch	Kindle Keyboard	Kindle Fire	Barnes & Noble Nook Simple Touch Reader	Barnes & Noble Nook Color	Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet	Sony Reader WiFi	Kobo eReader Touch

LINK	Kindle	Kindle Touch	Kindle Keyboard	Kindle Fire *	Nook Simple Touch	Nook Color	Nook Tablet *	Sony Reader WiFi	Kobo eReader Touch
AVAILABILITY	Now	Available November 15, 2011. (Originally available for pre-order for November 21, 2011)	Now	Available now. (Originally available for pre-order for November 15, 2011)	Now	Now	Available for pre-order for November 18, 2011 release	Now	Now
PRICING	With Special Offers: $79 Without Special Offers: $109	WiFi with Special Offers: $99 WiFi without Special Offers: $139 3G/WiFi with Special Offers: $149 3G/WiFi without Special Offers: $189	WiFi with Special Offers: $99 WiFi without Special Offers: $139 3G/WiFi with Special Offers: $139 3G/WiFi without Special Offers: $189	$199	$99	$199	$249	$129.99. Readers can get an additional $50 off by trading in any brand e-Reader for a new Sony Reader WiFi through December 31, 2011	$139.99
SIZE	6.5″ x 4.5″ x 0.34″	6.8″ x 4.7″ x 0.40″	7.5″ x 4.8″ x 0.34″	7.5″ x 4.7″ x 0.45″	6.5″ x 5″ x 0.47″	8.1″ x 5.0″ x 0.48″	8.1″ x 5.0″ x 0.48″	6.61″ x 4.68″ x 0.38″	6.5″ x 4.5″ x 0.4″
WEIGHT	5.98 ounces	WiFi: 7.5 ounces 3G/WiFi: 7.8 ounces	WiFi: 8.5 ounces 3G/WiFi: 8.7 ounces	14.6 ounces	7.48 ounces	15.8 ounces	14.1 ounces	5.9 ounces	7.05 ounces
SCREEN SIZE	6″ (diagonal)	6″ (diagonal)	6″ (diagonal)	7″	6″ (diagonal)	7″	7″	6″ (diagonal)	6″ (diagonal)
DISPLAY	E Ink Pearl	E Ink Pearl	E Ink Pearl	Vibrant Color IPS	E Ink Pearl	VividView Color Touchscreen	VividView Color Touchscreen	E Ink Pearl	E Ink Pearl
TOUCHSCREEN/ROTATE	No/Yes	Yes/Yes	No/Yes	Yes/Yes	Yes/No	Yes/Yes	Yes/Yes	Yes/No	Yes/No
BATTERY LIFE	1 month	2 months	2 months	Up to 8 hours of continuous reading or 7.5 hours of video playback, with WiFi off.	WiFi off: 2 months	WiFi off: 8 hours	WiFi off: Up to 11.5 hours of reading or 9 hours of video	3-4 weeks with WiFi on. Up to 5 weeks with WiFi off	1 month
STORAGE/EXPANDABLE	2 GB/No/Free unlimited cloud storage for Amazon content	4 GB/No/Free unlimited cloud storage for Amazon content	4 GB/No/Free unlimited cloud storage for Amazon content	8 GB/No/Free unlimited cloud storage for Amazon content	2 GB/Up to 32 GB (microSD)	8 GB/Up to 32 GB (microSD)	16 GB/Up to 32 GB (microSD)	1.3 GB/Up to 32 GB (microSD)	2 GB/Up to 32 GB (microSD)
INPUT	Five-way controller	Touchscreen	Keyboard	Touchscreen	Touchscreen	Touchscreen	Touchscreen	Touchscreen; stylus; buttons	Touchscreen
3G/WIRELESS	WiFi	3G through AT&T/WiFi-only option	3G through AT&T/WiFi-only option	WiFi	WiFi	WiFi	WiFi	WiFi	WiFi
DEVICE AVAILABLE INTERNATIONALLY	Yes/Yes	No/No	Yes/Yes	No/No	No/No	No/No	No/No (U.S. only)	Available in Switzerland; Italy; Spain; Belgium; Denmark; Finland; Norway; Sweden; Australia; New Zealand; Japan; Russia (launch planned in this coming winter)	Available in Canada, U.S., U.K., Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and for pre-order France
NATIVE FORMATS	Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively; HTML, DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP through conversion	Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, Audible (Audible Enhanced (AA, AAX)), MP3, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively; HTML, DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP through conversion	Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, Audible, MP3, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively; HTML, DOC, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP through conversion	Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively, Audible (Audible Enhanced (AA, AAX)), DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, non-DRM AAC, MP3, MIDI, OGG, WAV, MP4, VP8.	EPUB, PDF, JPG, GIF, PNG, BMP	EPUB, PDF, XLS, DOC, PPT, PPS, TXT, DOCM, XLSM, PPTM, PPSX, PPSM, DOCX, XLX, PPTX, JPG, GIF, PNG, BMP, MP3, AAC, MP4	EPUB, PDF, XLS, DOC, PPT, TXT, DOCM, XLSM, PPTM, PPSX, PPSM, DOCX, XLX, PPTX, JPG, GIF, PNG, BMP, MP3, AAC, AMR, WAV, OGG, MP4, Flash	EPUB, PDF, JPG, PNG, GIF, BMP, TXT, MP3, AAC	EPUB, PDF, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF, TXT, HTML, RTF, MOBI, CBZ, CBR
AVAILABLE CONTENT	Over 1 million books; 1.8 million public domain books; newspapers; magazines; blogs	Over 1 million books; 1.8 million public domain books; newspapers; magazines; blogs	Over 1 million books; 1.8 million public domain books; newspapers; magazines; blogs	Over 1 million books; 1.8 million public domain books; newspapers; magazines; blogs; 11,000 videos free for Amazon Prime members $79/year; movies, TV shows, apps, games, songs	Over 2.5 million titles	Over 2.5 million titles, magazines, Nook Book Enhanced Collection, kids’ books. Apps, e-mail, Pandora, some games, some websites.	Over 2.5 million titles, magazines, Nook Book Enhanced Collection, kids’ books. HD Video, Netflix, Hulu Plus, Pandora, e-mail, apps, some games	Over 2 million titles	Over 2.2 million titles. 1 million titles are free. E-books are available through OverDrive (Adobe format)
BOOKSTORE	Kindle Store	Kindle Store	Kindle Store	Kindle Store	Nook Book Store	Nook Book Store	Nook Book Store	Sony Reader Store	Kobo Store
FREE E-READING APPLICATIONS	iOS, Blackberry, Android, PC, Mac	iOS, Blackberry, Android, PC, Mac	iOS, Blackberry, Android, PC, Mac	iOS, Blackberry, Android, PC, Mac	iOS, Blackberry, Android, PC, Mac	iOS, Blackberry, Android, PC, Mac	iOS, Blackberry, Android, PC, Mac	Android, PC, Mac	iOS, Blackberry, Android, PC, Mac
BOOK SHARING/LIBRARY LENDING	14 days on eligible titles. Can also borrow Kindle boooks from 11K-plus local libraries through OverDrive.	14 days on eligible titles. Can also borrow Kindle boooks from 11K-plus local libraries through OverDrive.	14 days on eligible titles. Can also borrow Kindle boooks from 11K-plus local libraries through OverDrive.	14 days on eligible titles. Can also borrow Kindle boooks from 11K-plus local libraries through OverDrive.	Yes/Yes. Read any Nook book in B&N stores free up to 1 hour/day	Yes/Yes. Read any Nook book in B&N stores free up to 1 hour/day	Yes/Yes. Read any Nook book in B&N stores free up to 1 hour/day	No/Yes	No/Yes
SOCIAL NETWORKING FEATURES	Share passages via Facebook and Twitter; view other users’ annotations and notes	Share passages via Facebook and Twitter; view other users’ annotations and notes	Share passages via Facebook and Twitter; view other users’ annotations and notes	Share passages via Facebook and Twitter; view other users’ annotations and notes	Nook Friends reading recommendations and activity feed	Nook Friends reading recommendations and activity feed; can see what B&N readers “like” when shopping on Nook Color	Nook Friends reading recommendations and activity feed; can see what B&N readers “like” when shopping on Nook Color	No	Reading Life technology with Facebook and Twitter integration, badges and awards; ability to share passages with friends via Kobo Pulse
PAIDCONTENT COVERAGE	Kindle	Kindle	Kindle	Kindle Fire	Nook	Nook	Nook	Sony	Kobo
YOU SHOULD KNOW	The ad-supported version is Amazon’s cheapest Kindle (and cheapest e-reader on this chart); no touch or keyboard, just buttons	The newest Kindle, and the first ever with a touchscreen	The only Kindle with a keyboard	Comes with a free 1-month Amazon Prime title, good for testing Prime Instant Video offerings	A free software update this month allows for faster page turns, crisper text	More of a color e-reader than a tablet, now getting a price drop and some more “tablet-like” features as a free update	More storage space than the Kindle Fire, but there’s no Barnes & Noble store for video or music	Since Pottermore postponed their e-book store launch until 2012, the first book download coupon is not currently available, as was previously planned.	Kobo focuses on social features, “gamification” of reading

* Although the Amazon Kindle Fire and the Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet are tablet devices, we’ve included them in this e-reader chart to see how they compare to the other Kindle and Nook devices as well as other e-readers.

* * For features and specs on the Kindle DX, check out our previous e-reader chart from October 2011.

Source: Based on company information, additional reporting.
Produced by: Amanda Natividad
Edited by: Staci D. Kramer
Additional Reporting by: Laura Hazard Owen
Published: November 14, 2011 // Last updated: 2:15 PM ET, December 2, 2011
We’ll update the chart as warranted.

How The Kindle Fire, Nook Tablet And Kobo Vox Stack Up Against iPad

Amanda Natividad — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 23:18:02 +0000

It’s strange to think of the iPad as old, but it is indeed a tried-and-true device in its second generation. Here’s how it ranks against the up-and-comers from Kindle, Nook and Kobo.

	Apple iPad	Kindle Fire	Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet	Kobo Vox
.
LINK	iPad	Kindle Fire *	Nook Tablet *	Kobo Vox
AVAILABILITY	Now	Available now. (Originally available for pre-order for November 15, 2011)	Available for pre-order for November 18, 2011 release; U.S. only	Now
PRICING	WiFi: 16GB: $499 32GB: $599 64GB: $699 WiFi + 3G: 16GB: $629 32GB: $729 64GB: $829	$199	$249	$199.99
SIZE	9.5″ x 7.31″ x 0.34″	7.5″ x 4.7″ x 0.45″	8.1″ x 5.0″ x 0.48″	7.57″ x 5.06″ x 0.53″
WEIGHT	WiFi: 1.33 pounds WiFi/3G: 1.35 pounds	14.6 ounces	14.1 ounces	14.2 ounces
SCREEN SIZE	9.7″ diagonal	7″	7″	7″ diagonal
DISPLAY	LED-backlit glossy widescreen	Vibrant Color IPS	VividView Color Screen	Vivid Color Screen
TOUCHSCREEN/ROTATE	Yes/Yes	Yes/Yes	Yes/Yes	Yes/No
STORAGE/EXPANDABLE	16GB; 32GB; 64GB/No	8 GB/No/Free unlimited cloud storage for Amazon content	16 GB/Up to 32 GB (microSD)	8 GB/Up to 32 GB (microSD)
3G/WIRELESS	Yes/Yes	WiFi	WiFi	WiFi
INTERNATIONAL	Available in 22 countries	No	No	Available in Canada
NATIVE FORMATS	EPUB; PDF; Audible; Kindle (through app); iTunes; additional formats N/A	Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively, Audible (Audible Enhanced (AA, AAX)), DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, non-DRM AAC, MP3, MIDI, OGG, WAV, MP4, VP8.	EPUB, PDF, XLS, DOC, PPT, TXT, DOCM, XLSM, PPTM, PPSX, PPSM, DOCX, XLX, PPTX, JPG, GIF, PNG, BMP, MP3, AAC, AMR, WAV, OGG, MP4, Flash	EPUB, Enhanced EPUB, PDF, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF, TXT, HTML, RTF, MOBI, CBZ, CBR
AVAILABLE CONTENT	Over 200,000 books; over 140,000 apps; browser, e-mail, iBooks, FaceTime, Photo Booth, Reminders, iTunes, Maps, YouTube, GameCenter, apps	Over 1 million books; 1.8 million public domain books; newspapers; magazines; blogs; 11,000 videos free for Amazon Prime members $79/year; movies, TV shows, apps, games, songs	Over 2.5 million titles, magazines, Nook Book Enhanced Collection, kids’ books. HD Video, Netflix, Hulu Plus, Pandora, e-mail, apps, some games	Over 2.2 million books, 1 million titles are free; over 15,000 apps; e-books are available through OverDrive (Adobe format). Comes pre-loaded with 3 glossy color books, 12 magazines and 7 newspapers. Open access to Android 2.3, web, e-mail and apps
BOOKSTORE	iBookstore	Kindle Store	Nook Book Store	Kobo Store
FREE E-READING APPLICATIONS	iPhone/iPod Touch	iOS, Blackberry, Android, PC, Mac	iOS, Blackberry, Android, PC, Mac	iOS, Blackberry, Android, PC, Mac
BOOK SHARING/LIBRARY LENDING	No/No	14 days on eligible titles. Can also borrow Kindle boooks from 11K-plus local libraries through OverDrive.	Yes/Yes. Read any Nook book in B&N stores free up to 1 hour/day	No/Yes
SOCIAL NETWORKING FEATURES	None	Share passages via Facebook and Twitter; view other users’ annotations and notes	Nook Friends reading recommendations and activity feed; can see what B&N readers “like” when shopping on Nook Color	Reading Life technology with Facebook and Twitter integration, badges and awards; ability to share passages with friends via Kobo Pulse
PAIDCONTENT COVERAGE	Apple	Kindle Fire	Nook	Kobo
BATTERY LIFE	Up to 10 hours of surfing the web on WiFi, watching video, or listening to music	Up to 8 hours of continuous reading or 7.5 hours of video playback, with WiFi off	WiFi off: Up to 11.5 hours of reading or 9 hours of video	Up to 7 hours
CAMERA	Back camera: Video recording, HD (720p) up to 30 frames per second with audio; still camera with 5x digital zoom Front camera: Video recording, VGA up to 30 frames per second with audio; VGA-quality still camera	None	None	None
VIDEO VIEWING	Can broadcast live to your HDTV and speakers via wireless AirPlay	Supports HD video	Supports HD video	Video player
BROWSER	Safari	Amazon Silk	Native browser enhanced with video via Adobe Flash Player	Native browser

Source: Based on company information, additional reporting.
Produced by: Amanda Natividad
Edited by: Staci D. Kramer
Additional Reporting by: Laura Hazard Owen
Published: November 14, 2011 // Last updated: 3:53 PM ET, November 14, 2011
We’ll update the chart as warranted.