Sunday, September 29, 2013

Worlds Largest e-Paper Sign Displayed at UN Headquarters

eWall_press_release_1

e-Ink has set a worlds record for the latest e-Paper sign that is installed at the UN Headquarters in New York. The eWall is an intricate combination of architectural, display and network engineering. It stands about 6 meters wide with 231 tiled 7.4″ displays arranged in a grid of 33 displays across by 7 displays high. With an overall resolution of 26,400 x 3,360 pixels, it is perfect to read at long and short distances.

The essence of the eWall is to provide delegates with scheduling, news and other information. One of the more interesting aspects is the design mode that will show giant high resolution images; or can fade seamlessly into an unobtrusive wall when turned off.

“The eWall is a perfect example of E Ink enabling designers to deliver information where they never thought possible before,” said Harit Doshi, head of signage business and director of business development for E Ink Holdings. “This project further demonstrates E Ink’s diversification into different markets – specifically the digital signage market – as a key focus market segment.”

E-ink is hoping for strong promotional value with the sign at UN Headquarters. Currently 70% of their total revenue stems from e-paper displays and signage only accounts for 5%. They are hoping to increase brand awareness in this new segment to offset the cumulative financial loses the last few quarters.

Worlds Largest e-Paper Sign Displayed at UN Headquarters is a post from: E-Reader News

Digital Comics Best-Sellers for September 29, 2013

saga 14

This is a very interesting week for digital comics best-sellers, for two reasons: It’s the first week without a new issue of the perennial best-seller Injustice: Gods Among Us, which has dominated the charts since we started compiling these lists, and three platforms (comiXology, Kindle, and Nook) had a 99-cent sale on Fables with varying effects on their lists. Let’s take a look at how this played out.

ComiXology

1. Saga #14
2. Wolverine and the X-Men #36
3. Avengers, vol. 5 #20
4. Sex Criminals #1
5. Batman/Superman #3.1: Featuring Doomsday
6. Guardians of the Galaxy, vol. 3 #6
7. Uncanny Avengers #12
8. Justice League #23.4: Featuring Secret Society
9. The Wake #4
10. Batman #23.4: Featuring Bane

ComiXology looks pretty much like it does every week, with every comic on the Top Ten a new release for this week. There are two Image titles, which is a bit unusual; one is the top-selling Saga and the other is the first issue of Sex Criminals, which is a generous 39 pages for $2.99. Plus, as we all know, sex sells, and Sex Criminals promises plenty of it. Marvel and DC have four comics each in the top ten. No back issues of Injustice, and no 99-cent issues of Fables, make the list. In fact, the first issue of Fables to make the comiXology best-seller chart is at number 39. The readers of comiXology will not let low prices lure them away from this week’s new releases!

Kindle

1. Injustice: Gods Among Us #36
2. Fables #1
3. Injustice: Gods Among Us #35
4. Fables #2
5. Fables #3
6. Injustice: Gods Among Us #34
7. All New X-Men, vol. 1: Yesterday’s X-Men
8. Injustice: Gods Among Us #1
9. Stephen King’s N
10. Injustice: Gods Among Us #33

Amazon customers are a different bunch, and the Fables sale does change the list somewhat. In fact, it’s a stark illustration of the comics maxim that each issue sells less than the one before, as issues #1, 2, and 3 fall down the list in numerical order. Injustice: Gods Among Us reverses that, perhaps because there are no more new issues so everyone is playing catch-up. That X-Men graphic novel is on sale at the moment, which may be why it’s doing so well; it’s not a new book. It’s tempting to conclude, from looking at this list, that Kindle customers are pretty price-sensitive; eight of the ten comics are 99 cents each, and another one is on steep markdown.

Nook

1. It’s a Dog’s Life, Snoopy
2. The World According to Lucy
3. Sandman #1
4. Snoopy at the Bat
5. The Walking Dead, vol. 1
6. Injustice: Gods Among Us #1
7. The Walking Dead, vol. 2
8. Big Nate: Game On
9. The Walking Dead, vol. 3
10. Injustice: Gods Among Us #35

The loss of Injustice: Gods Among Us doesn’t bode well for Nook. You can’t see it from this chart, because I strip out the free titles, but it looks like folks aren’t buying. The first non-free book to show up is at number 7 on the overall list, which means six free books were downloaded more often. The last book is at number 40, which means three times as many books were downloaded for free as were purchased. Also, with no more Injustice issues to download, the reading habits of Nook users are laid bare: Peanuts and other comic strips, and The Walking Dead. It’s an interesting mix.

iBooks

1. My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic #11
2. Injustice: Gods Among Us #36
3. My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic #10
4. Injustice: Gods Among Us #4
5. Injustice: Gods Among Us #5
6. Injustice: Gods Among Us#6
7. Injustice: Gods Among Us #7
8. Injustice: Gods Among Us #9
9. Injustice: Gods Among Us #35
10. Injustice: Gods Among Us #10

Meanwhile, in the iBookstore, time stands still, as folks continue to buy the early issues of Injustice: Gods Among Us alongside the two newest issues of My Little Pony. It’s sort of the exact opposite of comiXology, where people are only buying the freshest comic-shop comics.

So there you have it. The Fables sale only made an impact on Kindle users, and now that Injustice is gone, Nook users have practically given up on paying for comics. With the exception of My Little Pony on iTunes, comiXology is the only place where people are queuing up to pay full price for this week’s new releases. And that’s why, despite yesterday’s article, they probably have little to fear from the competition, at least for now.

Digital Comics Best-Sellers for September 29, 2013 is a post from: E-Reader News

eBook Review: How Not to Be a D*ck by Meghan Doherty

How-Not-to-Be-a-Dick_9781936976027
Verdict: 4 Stars

The dubiously inappropriate title aside, How Not to Be a D*ick: An Everyday Etiquette Guide (censorship mine) is like Emily Post for normal people, people who don’t go around presenting their calling cards to household butlers and waiting in the drawing room for their lady friends to descend the stairs. No, this book features actual daily life application social norms. It contains important chapters on topics like how to get along with peers and co-workers, how to cook your food in the office microwave so as not to offend people, even little reminders like get in the bathroom, do your business, and get out…don’t tweet while chatting to someone using the facility. And don’t forget to wash your hands.

Doherty’s guide is a fun, tongue-in-cheek look at the manners that we all just assume everyone learned at home but in truth–if the comments section on YouTube or Yahoo! News is any indication–they didn’t. Part of the fun of the guide is the appearance of Dick, Jane, and Spot-era line drawings of the characters in these exact social scenarios, acting out the right and wrong way to behave for our reading pleasure.

Published by Zest Books, whose titles are distributed by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, is known for publishing edgy-but-instructional non-fiction for teens. Doherty’s title definitely speaks to a broad age range, covering cliques and bullies at school and the appropriate way to ask someone to the dance, as well as how to behave on an airplane or little things to keep in mind if you’re using your local Starbucks as a temporary office. Perhaps most important of all are the many reminders of how to not get drunk at the office party and snatch your boss’s toupee before running around the room with it and declaring it to be a flying cat. If the worst should happen and you do, in fact, snatch the toupee, there is also information on how to recover from that little faux pas gracefully the next day, all while hoping you still have a job.

How Not to Be a D*ck will be available on October 1st.

eBook Review: How Not to Be a D*ck by Meghan Doherty is a post from: E-Reader News