With the rise of mobile devices, digital audiobooks have proven to be popular among users. But the vast majority of books are never turned into audiobooks because of high production and marketing costs. Now, Audible.com, the digital audiobook provider and Amazon.com (NSDQ: AMZN) subsidiary, is launching ACX, an online audiobook…

Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) posted much less profit than expected during the most recent quarter, reporting earnings per share of 44 cents, far short of the 61 cents per share analysts had expected on average and down from the 66 cents per share the company had reported during the same period…

		EPS*	Rev. vs Q0110	Net Inc. vs Q0110
Amazon	Release		38%	33%

* vs. Analysts' Estimates: Beat Met Missed

If you bought the first 3G Kindle at $399 or even the third one at $189 from Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN), $114 is a heckuva price. That’s less than some Kindle newspaper subscriptions. But $25 off the $139 WiFi-only model in exchange for being served ads doesn’t sound that hefty. Not…

Consider it an inauguration of sorts, a celebration of the e-book industry becoming a member of the major media club just as digital music and online video have before them. When you influence a billion dollars, people have to take you seriously. In the book business, it means that traditional…

Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) is pushing further into downloadable media: the company is acquiring spoken-word digital audio firm Audible (NSDQ: ADBL) for $300 million or $11.50/share, a premium of more than 22 percent from yesterday’s closing price. The acquisition, which comes a day after Amazon reported quarterly numbers that disappointed Wall…

While Google has been using Audible Magic’s sonic technology tools to identify and filter copyrighted music on YouTube, the company as opted for its own video solutions and promises to begin testing next month. Time Warner and Disney are taking part in the trial, Google told the WSJ. If all…

Did you hear that sigh of relief? An important moment for Audible as the company announces the extension of its exclusive deal with Apple’s iTunes Music Store; iTunes was responsible for 22 percent of Audible’s revenue in 2Q06. Audible will continue to make 105,000-plus hours of audiobooks and other spoken…

Audible’s stock price rose nearly 7 percent Monday after a note from ThinkEquity Partners analyst Darren Aftahi suggesting the digitial audio company as a takeover candidate for the likes of Apple or Real networks. Aftahi: “We believe that Apple makes sense, given its exclusive relationship with Audible. However, since Apple…