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Is the eReader Revolution Over? #FED_ebooks #ebook #ereader #tablet #author #writer #kindle

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The E-Reader Revolution: Over Just as It Has Begun?

 

The e-reader era just arrived, but now it may be ending.

Dedicated devices for reading e-books have been a hot category for the past half-dozen years, but the shrinking sizes and falling prices of full-featured tablet computers are raising questions about the fate of reading-only gadgets like Amazon.com Inc.’s original Kindle and Barnes & Noble Inc.’s first Nooks.

Market-researcher IDC recently estimated 2012 global e-reader

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There’s a new wave of tablets including this model from Toys R’ Us.

shipments at 19.9 million units, down 28% from 27.7 million units in 2011. By contrast, IDC’s 2012 tablet forecast is 122.3 million units.

Specialized devices for reading e-books have been hot sellers for five years – but one market-research company forecasts a significant decline in 2014. The WSJ’s Greg Bensinger explains why the introduction of lighter tablets may spell the end of the e-reader era.

IHS iSuppli comes up with different totals, but it sees a similar trend. It estimates that shipments of dedicated e-readers peaked in 2011 and predicts that 2012 shipments slid to 14.9 million units, down 36% from a year earlier. By 2015, it expects unit sales of dedicated e-readers to be just 7.8 million.

One problem is that some users who bought e-readers see no particular urgency to buy another. Julie Curtis, a substance-abuse counselor in Stow, Ohio, says she is devoted to her two-year-old Kindle. “It works fine, I really have no reason to get a new one,” she says. “If I did ever want to upgrade, it would probably be to a tablet, like the Kindle Fire,” she adds.

E-readers seemed revolutionary when they came into vogue in 2007. They allowed users to store and read hundreds of books on a device that was lighter than many hardcovers and took up much less space. In addition, digital books cost less to buy.

 

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What is the future for Sony’s eReader released in 2012?

In the intervening years, e-reader designs improved. The devices looked sleeker, they were easier to read, they weighed less, their pages turned faster, and they held more books. Wireless capability allowed users to download novels, magazines and newspapers wherever they were, whenever they wanted, and now the devices allow for reading in the dark.

From humble beginnings to a bookselling behemoth, Barnes & Noble has seen ups and downs over the decades as it tried to straddle the world of paper books and e-books.

“The real innovation in e-readers has been giving consumers a convenient way to buy books, wirelessly, without even having to use their computers,” says Sarah Rotman Epps, a Forrester Research analyst. “Giving consumers a digital storefront right in their hands, that’s what really made e-readers a phenomenon.”

But tastes and technology have moved on. People haven’t stopped reading. They are just increasingly likely to read e-books on tablets rather than e-readers, according to a recent Pew Research Center report. The polling firm found that 23% of Americans said they had read e-books in 2012, compared with 16% in 2011.

And ever cheaper tablet computers can be used not just as sophisticated readers but also as Web browsers, game consoles and cameras. “For most consumers, a multi-use tablet is a better fit, particularly at the price points at which tablets can now be had,” says Tom Mainelli, IDC’s tablet research director. “E-readers will eventually become a niche product.”

The trend away from dedicated e-readers stems, in part, from their more-limited capabilities, which often include monochrome screens and rudimentary Web surfing. Tablet computers, such as Apple Inc.’s iPad, Amazon’s Kindle Fire and other devices using Google Inc.’s Android operating system, have color displays, full Web browsing.

The price gap for many tablets has also narrowed, making them even more attractive to consumers. Google, for instance, sells a version of its Nexus 7 tablet for just $199, and Amazon now offers a $159 model of its Fire device, which is $20 less than the most expensive Kindle e-reader and $40 more than the priciest Nook. And the arrival of the iPad Mini recently brought the entry price of Apple tablets to $329, down from $499 at the original iPad size.

Not that all tablets are being embraced by consumers. Some data have shown a slow start to such devices powered by Microsoft Corp.’s new Windows 8 software.

Sales of Windows notebooks and tablets fell 13% in the Oct. 21 to Dec. 8 time period, compared with the same stretch in 2011, according to NPD Group. The market-research firm says the Windows 8 tablet sales it measured were immaterial. (It hasn’t tracked sales of Microsoft’s new Surface tablet.)

On Thursday, Barnes & Noble said that revenue at its Nook segment—which includes both tablets and e-readers, as well as digital content and accessories—fell 13% from a year earlier to $311 million for the nine-week holiday period ended Dec. 29. The company doesn’t detail sales for specific devices.

A Barnes & Noble spokeswoman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. An Amazon spokeswoman declined to comment.

Despite the trends, dedicated e-readers have some selling points. They tend to be lighter than most tablets, and a different style of display improves their battery life. Barnes & Noble says the low-end Simple Touch version of its Nook line can operate up to two months on a battery charge, compared with around 10 hours of reading on its Nook HD tablet.

There have also been major improvements in e-readers, including touch-screen technology and self-lighting screens. “E-readers are dramatically better today than they were even two years ago,” says Avi Greengart, an analyst at Current Analysis.

Moreover, e-reader prices have fallen sharply, with Kindles starting as low as $69 for a model that comes with ads.

Source: http://www.WSJ.com  By Greg Bensinger—Shira Ovide contributed to this article.

 

About First Edition Design Publishing:

Ebook Publishing Design Edition First Graphic Aggregators Ebooks Publishers Distribution POD Designing Approved Aggregator How Services Academic Distributor Chapter Submission Professional Firsteditiondesignpublishing.com published book market First Edition Design Publishing is the world’s largest eBook and POD (Print On Demand) book distributor. Ranked first in the industry, First Edition Design Publishing converts and formats manuscripts for every type of platform (e-reader). They submit Fiction, Non-Fiction, Academic and Children’s Books to Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, Sony, Google, Kobo, Diesel, 3M, Ingram, Baker and Taylor, Nielsen, EBSCO, and over 100,000 additional on-line locations including retailers, libraries, schools, colleges and universities. The company’s POD division creates printed books and makes them available worldwide through their distribution network. First Edition Design Publishing is a licensed and approved Aggregator and holds licenses with Apple and Microsoft.

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Best eBook Readers for Christmas 2012 #FED_ebooks #ebook #ereader #kindle #kobo #sony

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Best eBook readers for Christmas 2012

 

The book has been Christmas stocking staple throughout all our lives, predating the electronic gadgets and toys that now dominate most of our seasonal wish lists.

But despite the popularity of these high-tech gifts, the traditional pastime of reading has been spared an unceremonious demotion to the history books thanks to the advent of eBooks.

Showing that tech can marry old and new, eBook readers have won over sceptics to become the default literary consumption vehicle for millions of people worldwide. So rather than buy someone just one book or two this Christmas, why not push the boat out further and get a device that can store thousands of books? Here’s our guide to the top eBook readers you should be considering for your festive shopping this year.

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite 3G

Ebook Publishing Design Edition First Graphic Aggregators Ebooks Publishers Distribution POD Designing Approved Aggregator How Services Academic Distributor Chapter Submission Professional Firsteditiondesignpublishing.com published book market It would be churlish to begin an eBook reader guide without first acknowledging the offerings from Amazon and its ubiquitous Kindle line. Although there are now plenty of challengers to its eBook hegemony, Kindle remains the go-to brand for so many and will undoubtedly feature on Christmas lists penned by the old and young alike this year. If you’re discounting the fully-fledged tablets (Kindle Fires) – which I am – then it’s the newly-launched Paperwhite that tops the Kindle pile.

Unlike its predecessors, the Paperwhite features a built-in light so you can read in the dark, and it enhances all other areas of the Kindle armoury too. The letters are unbelievable crisp thanks to the 758 x 1024-pixel 6in touchscreen, which also has a claimed 25 per cent better contrast. You also get faster page refreshes, and an eight week battery life – even with the light on.

You have over a million eBooks to choose from in the Kindle book store (including 200,000 Kindle exclusives, helping to make it the strongest eBook store in the market) while the Paperwhite itself can hold up to 1,100 titles at a given time. The Paperwhite pulled in an impressive 8/10 in our review – and as we’re talking top of the eBook reader market here, we’ve gone the whole hog and popped the full 3G version of the device in our stocking of recommendations, at £169.

Amazon Kindle

Accept our apologies for pandering to the eBook behemoths with a double Kindle salvo, but at £69, the latest version of the entry-level Kindle simply has to feature on our list. Not distracted by launching the Paperwhite and the new Kindle Fire tablets back in September, Amazon refreshed the old E Ink favourite too – and at just 8.7mm thick and 170g, it is sure to slip into your pocket easier than any paperback book.

This is what the Kindle is all about. The out-and-out practicality that lets it slot into you daily life with the minimum of fuss. Of all the expensive, dazzling gadgets that arrive at ITProPortal HQ, it is still the Kindle that remains one of the most popular and respected devices in the office. Even die-hard material-book loyalists have been converted by the Kindle, with its 6in non-glare screen (with 167ppi pixel density) and crystal-clear text that is actually more comfortable to read than your average ink on a page.

Accessing the same library as the Paperwhite, as many as 650,000 titles are available for £3.99 or less, with the device’s built-in Wi-Fi downloading books in just 60 seconds. It’s also super-simple to use, meaning you can buy it for the oldest and youngest members of your family, at a price that doesn’t break the bank.

Barnes & Noble Nook Simple Touch GlowLight

Ebook Publishing Design Edition First Graphic Aggregators Ebooks Publishers Distribution POD Designing Approved Aggregator How Services Academic Distributor Chapter Submission Professional Firsteditiondesignpublishing.com published book market The Kindles no longer have things all their own way, however. Probably their biggest rival is the Nook line from Barnes & Noble, of which the Nook Simple Touch GlowLight is its strongest proposition right now. With a built-in light for in-the-dark reading, this device goes head-to-head with the aforementioned Paperwhite, and matches the £109 price point of the non-3G version of Amazon’s device. Its digital library boasts 2.5 million books, newspapers and magazines, showing Barnes & Noble means business with its UK arrival earlier this year.

Unlike some its rivals, the Nook Touch GlowLight sports a rubberised bezel which may make you feel a little more confident leaving it in the hands of children. It also offers seven different font sizes on its 6in 600 x 800-pixel touchscreen, has battery life of over a month, and is 12mm thick, with a weight of 197g. Its overall performance warranted a 9/10 score in our recent review, so if you’re comfortable straying outside the Amazon ecosystem, the Nook Simple Touch GlowLight could be the ideal eBook reader for your Christmas list.

Kobo Glo

Another eBook reader you shouldn’t be ignoring is the Kobo Glo. It joins the burgeoning lit-screen club which sets it apart from earlier devices, and its ComfortLight technology promises to bring readability in a wider range of lighting conditions. With the user able to open a brightness slider and choose between around 12 levels of illumination, it’s not a simple case of light and dark with the Kobo Glo, enabling you to set its impressive 1,024 x 768-pixel screen to optimum levels, whatever your surroundings.

Ebook Publishing Design Edition First Graphic Aggregators Ebooks Publishers Distribution POD Designing Approved Aggregator How Services Academic Distributor Chapter Submission Professional Firsteditiondesignpublishing.com published book market The books available in the Kobo collection and affiliated WHSmith store may not quite boast the Kindle library’s repertoire, but including all publications the company can still tout over three million eBooks, with one million free titles up for grabs. Plenty to get you started. The Kobo Glo also comes with its Reading Life feature, which lets friends know what you’re reading and allows you to share passages through Facebook – making the reading experience that bit more social.

At £99.99, the Kobo Glo undercuts both the Kindle Paperwhite and Nook Simple Touch GlowLight by a tenner, yet still matches its rivals in performance – as demonstrated in our Kobo Glow review. Choose between black, silver, blue and pink to add the personal touch to your model.

Sony Reader PRS-T2

Heading back to work after the Christmas period, some may be worried about pulling out their shiny new eBook reader on the Tube and realising everyone else has the same one. Opting for the Sony Reader ahead of the competition outlined above should lower the chances of such a disastrous scenario, but the smaller reputation doesn’t equate to a less worthy device.

The Sony Reader is a touch taller than your average model but is the lightest on our list at 164g, so you should be free of the dreaded mid-read arm ache. E Ink Pearl technology is splashed across its 6in, 800 x 600-pixel, anti-glare touchscreen .

Sony’s roomy model has 1.3GB of storage which can handle up to 1,300 books at a time, allowing the user to carry a sizeable library wherever they go. For those with really expansive collections, the Reader also includes a handy microSD card slot which pushes the boundaries to an additional 32GB of storage. Annotations are enabled and Evernote compatibility further enhances the note taking capabilities.

Priced £119, yes the Sony Reader is a little pricey for a non-lit model, but we think it’s one of the most attractive designs on the market.

Source: www.itproportal.com By: Will Dalton November 2012

 

About First Edition Design Publishing:

Ebook Publishing Design Edition First Graphic Aggregators Ebooks Publishers Distribution POD Designing Approved Aggregator How Services Academic Distributor Chapter Submission Professional Firsteditiondesignpublishing.com published book market First Edition Design Publishing is the world’s largest eBook and POD (Print On Demand) book distributor. Ranked first in the industry, First Edition Design Publishing converts and formats manuscripts for every type of platform (e-reader). They submit Fiction, Non-Fiction, Academic and Children’s Books to Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, Sony, Google, Kobo, Diesel, 3M, Ingram, Baker and Taylor, Nielsen, EBSCO, and over 100,000 additional on-line locations including retailers, libraries, schools, colleges and universities. The company’s POD division creates printed books and makes them available worldwide through their distribution network. First Edition Design Publishing is a licensed and approved Aggregator and holds licenses with Apple and Microsoft.

Visit: www.firsteditiondesignpublishing.com

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Barnes and Noble to Offer Digital Content In UK #FED_ebooks #ebook #Nook #Author #UK

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Barnes & Noble to Offer Its Award-Winning NOOK® Products and Digital Content in the UK Starting This Autumn

 

Available Through nook.co.uk in Mid-October; Partnerships with Leading UK Retailers to be Announced

 

NEW YORK , NY  (Businesswire) Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the leading retailer of content, digital media and educational products, today announced that its award-winning NOOK reading experience and leading digital bookstore are coming to the United Kingdom this autumn through a new www.nook.co.uk online storefront, marking the first time the company will expand its business internationally. The world’s largest bookseller will also offer its highly sought-after NOOK digital products and content to UK reading and entertainment lovers through partnerships with leading retailers expected to be announced shortly. These well-known UK partners are expected to support the NOOK offering there through both established physical and online channels.

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NOOK Simple Touch (TM)

The first products to be available when the company begins offering its products in the UK in mid-October include Barnes & Noble’s line of critically acclaimed E Ink® Readers, NOOK Simple Touch and NOOK Simple Touch with GlowLight, the top-ranked eBook readers in the US.

“We are proud to be able to offer our top-rated line of NOOK reading devices and our award-winning digital bookstore to the discerning and highly educated consumers in the UK,” said William J. Lynch, Chief Executive Officer at Barnes & Noble. “We’re confident our award-winning technology, combined with our expansive content – including books, children’s books, magazines, apps, movies and more – will bring UK customers the option they’ve been waiting for.”

With its highly acclaimed NOOK offering, Barnes & Noble has been a leader in creating innovative products that provide the best digital reading and entertainment experience for millions of NOOK customers. The company’s many groundbreaking advancements in the digital reading space include creating the 7-inch Reader’s Tablet category, and the world’s first E Ink device with a built-in light for reading in the dark. NOOK products are currently sold in the US at NOOK Digital Shops™ and counters in more than 1,300 Barnes & Noble and Barnes & Noble College Bookstores, and through top US retailers.

The popular NOOK Simple Touch and NOOK Simple Touch with GlowLight are set to launch in the UK in time for the holiday shopping season. NOOK Simple Touch is the easiest-to-use Reader with the world’s best, most paper-like reading screen and longest battery life. NOOK Simple Touch with GlowLight adds a patent-pending lighting technology for reading in the dark, so it’s like two devices in one, as amazing at the beach as it is in bed. Both of the lightweight devices feature built-in access via WiFi® to Barnes & Noble’s leading digital catalog and an ergonomic form with a soft-touch back that’s comfortable to hold for hours.

Starting this autumn, UK customers will be able to shop an expansive NOOK Store™ featuring more than 2.5 million digital titles – including top-selling UK books, newspapers and magazines – plus comics, exciting NOOK Apps and more. UK NOOK customers will be able to “Read what they love, anywhere they like” on NOOK devices as well as their favorite mobile and computing devices using free NOOK reading apps. Purchased NOOK content is always safe and available through NOOK Cloud. UK residents wishing to learn more about NOOK can visit www.nook.co.uk.

Further product, pricing and availability details will be announced in the coming weeks.

About First Edition Design Publishing:

Ebook Publishing Design Edition First Graphic Aggregators Ebooks Publishers Distribution POD Designing Approved Aggregator How Services Academic Distributor Chapter Submission Professional Firsteditiondesignpublishing.com published book market First Edition Design Publishing is the world’s largest eBook and POD (Print On Demand) book distributor. Ranked first in the industry, First Edition Design Publishing converts and formats manuscripts for every type of platform (e-reader). They submit Fiction, Non-Fiction, Academic and Children’s Books to Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, Sony, Google, Kobo, Diesel, 3M, Ingram, Baker and Taylor, Nielsen, EBSCO, and over 100,000 additional on-line locations including retailers, libraries, schools, colleges and universities. The company’s POD division creates printed books and makes them available worldwide through their distribution network. First Edition Design Publishing is a licensed and approved Aggregator and holds licenses with Apple and Microsoft.

Visit: www.firsteditiondesignpublishing.com

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How to: Give #eBooks As Gifts #FED_ebooks #Author #Writer #Indieauthor

How to: Give eBooks As Gifts
Source: cnet.com

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First Edition Design PublishingFirst Edition Design Publishingbased in Sarasota, Florida, USA leads the industry in eBook distribution. They convert, format and submit eBooks to Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, Sony, Google, Kobo, Diesel, 3M, Ingram, Baker and Taylor, Nielsen, EBSCO, scores of additional on-line retailers and libraries, schools, colleges and universities. The company also has a POD (Print On Demand) division, which creates printed books and makes them available worldwide through their distribution network. The Company is a licensed Apple Developer and a Microsoft Solution Provider.

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Microsoft Squares Off Against Amazon & Apple in #eBooks #FED_ebooks #Author #Writer

Source: Forbes.com

Microsoft Squares Off Against Amazon & Apple in eBooks

Microsoft has invested $300 million in a new subsidiary floated by Barnes & Noble, which will include its Nook business and its educational College business.  Microsoft’s cash infusion will get it a 17.6% equity stake, valuing the subsidiary at $1.7 billion. With this move, Microsoft is jumping into the e-books business, in which it will compete with the likes of AmazonApple and Google.

Barnes & Noble is the second largest player in the e-book space, but much smaller than Amazon, which completely dominates the market. Apple has been trying to get a foothold in the space and recently found itself in the middle of an antitrust investigation by the DoJ against major book publishers.

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First Edition Design Publishing http:www.firsteditiondesignpublishing.com, based in Sarasota, Florida, USA leads the industry in eBook distribution. They convert, format and submit eBooks to Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, Sony, Google, Kobo, Diesel, 3M, Ingram, Baker and Taylor, Nielsen, EBSCO, scores of additional on-line retailers and libraries, schools, colleges and universities. The company also has a POD (Print On Demand) division, which creates printed books and makes them available worldwide through their distribution network.

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Barnes & Noble, #Microsoft Do #eReader Deal #FED_ebooks #ebook #BN #Nook #Author

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Barnes & Noble, Microsoft ink $300M deal on e-reading

The software giant will invest $300 million in a new Barnes & Noble subsidiary, giving it a 17.6 percent equity stake in the company. The Nook digital bookstore will be bundled with Windows 8.

Source: news.cnet.com

by 

Barnes & Noble and Microsoft at one time couldn’t get along. Now, they’re partners.

The companies announced today that Microsoft has invested $300 million into a new Barnes & Noble subsidiary, known as Newco until the company can come up with a name. The $300 million investment will give Microsoft a 17.6 percent equity stake in the firm. Barnes & Noble, which assumed a $1.7 billion valuation on the subsidiary, will retain 82.4 percent ownership.

Newco will combine Barnes & Noble’s digital and college businesses, meaning the retailer’s Nook operations and its Nook Study software for students and educators will be a part of the undertaking.

As part of this deal, Barnes & Noble will include its Nook digital bookstore with Windows 8, the next generation of Microsoft’s operating system, which launches later this year. In addition, the companies have settled all of their patent litigation related to use of Android on the Nook tablet, and have formed a “royalty-bearing license under Microsoft’s patents for its Nook e-reader and Tablet products.”

The partnership between Microsoft and Barnes & Noble is a rather surprising one. For over a year, the companies have been battling in the courts, with the software giant accusing Barnes & Noble of patent infringement. Barnes & Noble has responded with venom, saying that Microsoft was misusing patent law for its gain, and last year went as far as asking the Justice Department to investigate the Windows maker.

“Microsoft is attempting to raise its rivals’ costs in order to drive out competition and deter innovation in mobile devices,” Barnes & Noble lawyer Peter T. Barbur wrote in an October 17 letter to Gene I. Kimmelman, the chief counsel for competition policy in the Justice Department’s antitrust division. “Microsoft’s conduct poses serious antitrust concerns and warrants further exploration by the Department of Justice.”

Barnes & Noble is among a host of companies that have been targeted by Microsoft for their use of Android. The software company argues that Android violates patents it holds, and has inked a slew of licensing deals with vendors. Barnes & Noble had been one of the few companies attempting to battle it out.

Although the Microsoft-B&N deal is surprising, the bookseller’s decision to spin off its Nook unit isn’t. Back in January, the company released a statement saying it was exploring the possibility of spinning off the operation so it could “unlock” the value of the Nook unit. In today’s statement, Barnes & Noble said that Newco is still a work in progress, adding that it can provide “no assurance that the review will result in a strategic separation or the creation of a standalone public company.”

Regardless, Barnes & Noble investors couldn’t be more pleased. The company’s shares are up a whopping 83 percent to $25 in pre-market trading.

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First Edition Design Publishing First Edition Design Publishingwww.firsteditiondesignpublishing.com, based in Sarasota, Florida, USA leads the industry in eBook distribution. They convert, format and submit eBooks to Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, Sony, Google, Kobo, Diesel, 3M, Ingram, Baker and Taylor, Nielsen, EBSCO, scores of additional on-line retailers and libraries, schools, colleges and universities. The company also has a POD (Print On Demand) division that creates softcover and hardcover printed books and makes them available worldwide through their distribution network.

First Edition Design PublishingAbout:   is a technology columnist who has written about everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don is a member of the CNET Blog Network, posting at The Digital Home. He is not an employee of CNET.

Don’t Believe the eBook Monopoly Ploy #FED_ebooks #ebook #author RT

Don’t Believe the eBook Monopoly Ploy

SOURCE: Huffingtonpost.com

By: Warren Adler

Don’t believe all that hype about government interference that is designed to foster an Amazon monopoly of the ebook business. What the six major publishers were alleged to have done was collude in fixing prices that, if true, was a desperate act that they must have known would fall afoul of anti-trust laws.

The new ploy by book publishers is to characterize Amazon as a monopoly poised to take over and dictate terms and run rampant over those who create ebook content. That is like saying Starbucks is a monopoly because it currently dominates the coffee retail business.

As an author who introduced the SONY reader, the very first reading device at the 2007 Las Vegas Consumer Electronics show to what was then an indifferent audience, I felt certain that one day e-readers would dominate the marketplace. I thought SONY was really on to something and would one day be the imaginative leader of the ebook industry.

Soon after the SONY launch, Amazon introduced the Kindle and followed through with verve and imagination to become, as we speak, the dominant force in ebook content and sales. I was an evangelist for these devices largely because of the ease of purchase, clarity and wide variety of available content and, above all, convenience, especially for those of us to whom reading is an important part of our lives.

Barnes and Noble, a super successful big-box book chain, apparently saw the advantages of getting into the ebook business early on, created an infrastructure and then, in an act of counter-productive bean cutting, abandoned its ebook business entirely. I remember meeting Steve Riggio, Barnes and Noble’s chief honcho, at the home of the late Bill Riley, one of his board members, and politely chastising him for getting out of that business.

Sure, it was light cocktail chatter, but I could tell that he was contemplating getting back into ebooks. It must have soon become apparent that in order to survive, Riggio had to get into that business, and Barnes and Noble did indeed with its excellent reader, the Nook. Unfortunately, they were late and are now playing catch-up. But to dismiss the Nook as a competitor to the Kindle is to sell Barnes and Noble short. Early on, they revolutionized the book business with their big-box stores and merchandising techniques and will undoubtedly ratchet up the ebook competition.

Then there is Kobo, a Canadian company trying to earn its bones in the business. They have to be counted as a future factor in the competition. There are others, as well, trying to crack into the coming e-reader bonanza.

The introduction of Apple’s iPad gave the publishers, as they might have seen it, leverage to fix their ebook prices. You couldn’t blame them since the challenges posed by ebooks are a very real threat to the profitable print publishing business. I have a feeling they believed that Apple would, like everything they touched, eventually dominate the e-book business as well, hence their alleged collusion.

Although I am an Apple guy and a great admirer and loyal user of their products, I did not think that the iPad would dominate the book business. It doesn’t and, in my opinion, will not. My opinion is based on the fact that the tablet concept is too distractive for the customer, to whom reading is a centerpiece of their leisure activities.

Marketers use a cute term called “immersive reading.” It is redundant. All book reading is immersive and requires from its devotees time and, above all, mental concentration.

Somewhere I read that the great Steve Jobs thought that reading, meaning the content that is defined as “books,” would decline against the onslaught of other cyber activities, which he seemed to deem more important. Indeed, he must have fashioned his foray into the book business with that in mind. With a million distractions now available on the iPad, the so-called “immersive reader” is relegated to be merely one of the pack, with “book” content hardly in the same exclusive domain of a solo device.

I am well aware that Amazon is having great success with its “Fire” tablet. My sense is that it will have exceptional value to Apps Aficionados but might not to book content readers. In my view, those who are repetitive “immersive” readers of all ages will stick with the solo reading device.

What could be a worry for Amazon, Nook, and Kobo would be if Apple decides to come out with its own solo reading device.

I have not dealt with the plight of the author, the creator of the content without which the traditional publishing business would have to close its doors. What could happen is that authors might find it more advantageous to create their own self-publishing business models, which has been my choice, join together to create cooperative ventures, or throw their oar in with numerous enterprises serving authors who have the means to self-publish with all the bells and whistles of traditional publishers.

As it stands now, the publishers are busy scratching their heads and trying to come up with measures to assure their future viability. Someone, perhaps far outside the publishing box or an enterprising author might come up with a business plan that will make economic sense. We shall see.

Fear not. Readers must read. Writers must write. It has always been thus. And creative minds will prevail to eventually figure out ways to bring the two together in ways profitable to each.

Warren Adler is the author of 32 novels and short story collections. His books are published in 25 languages worldwide and several have been adapted to movies, including “The War of the Roses” and “Random Hearts.”

Download a free copy of Warren Adler’s The Children of the Roses.

First Edition Design Publishing, the industry’s largest distributor of eBooks, submits eBook titles to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, SONY, Kobo and to over 100,000 distribution points and booksellers in more than 100 countries. They format eBooks for every type of ereader device on the market.

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#Nook in the Dark #BN #Nook #ebooks #Author #BarnesandNoble

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BN Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight

 

First Edition Design Publishing

NOOK Glowlight

If you read your ebook reader a lot at night or in the dark, then throw away those additional lights or lighted cases.  Barnes and Noble have up for pre-order their Nook Simple Touch with Glowlight.  With a click of a switch you can turn on the GlowLight to illuminate the e-ink display.  Brightness is adjustable via a slider switch, and the unit also comes with a pre-installed anti-glare screen protector. With the now standard 6″ e-ink screen, the unit weighs in at 7 ounces.

Pre-orders are expected to ship on May 1 2012. Retail price is $139 USD.

 Source: the-gadgeteer.com  by IAN LIM  

 

Barnes & Noble; Noble says it won’t stock Amazon titles

www.firsteditiondesignpublishing.com

NEW YORK (AP) – Barnes & Noble is attempting to irk its publishing rival Amazon.com by not stocking Amazon-published titles in its stores.
 The largest U.S. traditional bookseller has lost       customers to cheaper online rivals such as Amazon.com (AMZN)and discount stores. To fight back, it has invested heavily in an e-bookstore and Nook e-book readers, which compete with Amazon’s Kindle e-readers.

Amazon, meanwhile, has been steadily expanding its publishing operations, signing exclusive deals with authors such as filmmaker-actress Penny Marshall and best-selling self-help author Timothy Ferris. It also recently started an imprint for science fiction, fantasy and horror.

Publishers and booksellers have been worried about Amazon’s dual roles as client and competitor. Some bookstores have expressed strong reservations about selling books released by Amazon.

Late Tuesday, New York-based Barnes & Noble (BKS) said outright it wouldn’t sell the titles.

Jaime Carey, chief merchandising officer for Barnes & Noble, said Amazon’s exclusive deals with publishers, agents and the authors they represent have hindered Barnes & Noble’s ability to offer some e-books to its customers.

“Their actions have undermined the industry as a whole and have prevented millions of customers from having access to content,” he said in an emailed statement. “It’s clear to us that Amazon has proven they would not be a good publishing partner to Barnes & Noble as they continue to pull content off the market for their own self-interest.”

Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Seattle-based online retailer on Tuesday reported fourth-quarter results which indicated that its recent fast revenue growth might be moderating. Revenue rose 35% to $17.4 billion, but that was nearly a billion short of what analysts had expected. The shortfall was due mainly to a slowdown in Amazon’s media business, which includes books, DVDs and content consumed on its Kindle tablet and e-reader devices.

Its shares dropped $16.79, or 8.6%, to $177.75 in morning trading Wednesday. Barnes & Noble stock dipped 18 cents to $11.88.
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