Thursday, October 3, 2013

Good e-Reader Launches New Blackberry 10.2 App Store

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The Good e-Reader App Store has been going really strong for the last two years and we now have over 30,000 games and apps available for Android and Blackberry. Towards the end of the month Blackberry will be pushing our their fabled 10.2 update that will upgrade the Android emulator from 2.3 to 4.3. This is huge news because you will now be able to run most mainstream apps on your Z10, Q10, Q5 and other phones running the Blackberry 10 operating system.

In order to prepare everyone for the launch of the new firmware for Blackberry 10 we have created a brand new section in our Good e-Reader App Store. Every day we will be uploading a copious amount and apps with the intention of keeping Blackberry relevant.

Since we opened up the new section 48 hours ago we have uploaded popular games such as Clash of Clans, Candy Crush Saga, Angry Birds Star Wars 2, Simpsons Tapped Out and tons more! If you would like to request an app we don’t have, you can do so on our official Crackberry Request Station Thread.

Good e-Reader Launches New Blackberry 10.2 App Store is a post from: E-Reader News

HarperCollins India Introduces Harper21 On Its 21st Birthday

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HarperCollins India, which happens to be the second largest English Language publisher in the country (second to Penguin Random House), has turned twenty-one years old, and what better way to celebrate the occasion than by launching a collection of twenty-one  short stories that has been appropriately named Harper 21. The stories, which are less than twenty pages, are generally based on romance, though other topics include business, cinema, crime, poetr, and more.

“It includes a fairly nimble collection of titles,” says V.K. Karthika, publisher of HarperCollins Publishers India. “We wanted to test the waters before venturing out with an e-book imprint, and felt this was a suitable occasion to do so.”

The titles can be downloaded from Amazon India and have also been suitably priced at Rs.21. What should add to the appeal of the collection of stories is that the content is fresh, with just about fifteen percent of it being reworks of existing texts.

HarperCollins India became a wholly owned subsidiary of HarperCollins Wordwide in 2012, a move that enabled it to adopt the HarperCollins 360 program. This in turn ensured authors don't remain restricted to the market they started with, but are able to reach other regions and territories where Harper Collins maintains a presence.

“As a global publisher, my goal is to make sure that our books are available in every market we operate in and put them up for sale on as many platforms as possible,” said Murray. “The retail prices for these books are different for each of these markets and are fixed by sales teams specific to each region.”

Murray also expressed satisfaction in the manner that the ebook market is growing in the country.

“In India, we've seen growth rates between 12-20% in the last five years,” says Murray, “which is very healthy compared to other local and international programmes.”

HarperCollins India Introduces Harper21 On Its 21st Birthday is a post from: E-Reader News

The MagPi issue 17, out now

October’s edition of The MagPi, the Raspberry Pi community magazine, which is written, edited and produced by Pi users for Pi users, is available for free download now.

If you’re a robotics hobbyist, you’ll find lots to occupy yourself in this month’s issue: there’s a thorough discussion of the BrickPi, a new addon from Dexter Industries which will allow you to connect your Pi to LEGO NXT motors, and pointers to projects you can make yourself with the setup, interfacing with Python and with Scratch.

My favourite project this month is from Jonathan Chetwynd (who posts here as Peepo). He’s used a head-mounted Raspberry Pi camera board to make an eye-tracking device. (I will not spoil this month’s best MagPi photo for you, which demonstrates what Jonathan calls “load balancing issues” when trying to use a pair of glasses as a mount for a Pi and its accessory bits and pieces.) It’s a mad, brilliant project, and I’m looking forward to seeing more of you replicate it and find out what you use it for.

This only scratches the surface: this month you’ll find tips and projects on games programming, sensors, and much more. (Cannon ball physics for your Scratch games from Will Bell is a real winner – if you’re a kid who wants to make an Angry Birds-type game, you’ll want to read this.)

If you’re new to the Raspberry Pi and don’t know where to start, the MagPi’s back catalogue is a great place to begin. It’s always free to download, it’s made by people who love the Pi and want to help you to get the most out of it, and it’s always a highlight of my month. Head over and get downloading!

France Passes New Law to Combat Free Amazon Book Shipping

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Amazon is one of the primary forces to disrupt the digital book ecosystem and they tend to sell them at a 3:1 ratio compared to tangible ones. It is the physical books now that has France all up in arms because Amazon discounts them compared to the brick and motor stores and often mails them out for free.  France’s ruling Socialist Party and the opposition UMP Party approved a new bill banning the company and other online retailers from shipping discounted books for free.

Traditional book sellers in France, including small independent shops, have complained that Amazon's combined practices of offering books at a 5% discount and dispatching them to customers at no additional charge undermine their already struggling business.

The new amendment now bars retailers from offering free shipping on a new book sold at a discounted price. It remains to be seen how Amazon will respond to this as it already dodges paying taxes in France because they have their center of business operations in Luxemburg.

Book sales dropped by 4.5% in 2012 compared to the previous year, according to the latest government figures. Data also showed that 17% of all book purchases in France were now online, and that figure was growing.

France Passes New Law to Combat Free Amazon Book Shipping is a post from: E-Reader News

Kindle Paperwhite 2 Has Much Improved Frontlight, But Difference with Carta Screen is Marginal

My Kindle Paperwhite 2 arrived yesterday so I’ve had a few hours to analyze the new screen and frontlight. The first thing that jumps out about the new Paperwhite is that from the outside it is pretty much an exact replica of last year’s Paperwhite. The only noticeable difference is the new one says “Amazon” […]

Readmill Releases eReading App for Android

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In February of this year, Berlin-based two-year startup Readmill launched its e-reading app for iOS and was met with such response that the team decided an Android app was needed. Moreover, after getting feedback on how Readmill users–and staffers–were using the app, the developers decided that an app that was optimized for smartphone reading was in order as well.

Readmill co-founder and CPO David Kjelkerud said in a press release today: “After releasing our iPhone app back in February, we discovered something really interesting about reading behavior. First, we noticed it in the office: our tablets collected dust as people started reading more on their phones. The phone is simply more convenient. You always have all your books with you, and with the new high-resolution mobile screens, the typography is really great. Later, we started to see this in our numbers as well: People reading with our iPhone app are much more engaged, are reading more books and read more frequently. That’s why we decided to bring Readmill to Android.”

Some of the features of the Readmill for Android app include the ability to start and finish titles entirely in offline mode while still letting the location in the book sync through the Readmill app when wifi becomes available, the ability to important titles from the library of another reading app, and the option to start reading or simply browse with the swipe of a finger.

Readmill also announced today that it has forged two new partnerships to provide reading content: with popular romance ebook site All Romance and German publisher Holtzbrinck’s self-publishing platform, Epubli. While Readmill for Android was built specifically with smartphone reading in mind, it will work on any device running Android 4.0 or higher. The app is available starting today from the Google Play store or Amazon app market.

Readmill Releases eReading App for Android is a post from: E-Reader News

4 Free Alternatives to Microsoft Office

Can't afford Microsoft Office? That's okay! There are several great, free alternatives that you can use for almost all your home and office needs.

Making the most of your OverDrive digital collection