| Pocketbook has just come out with the Color Lux, which is the first e-reader in the world to use e-Ink Triton 2 and a front-lit display! This means it will easily display over 4600 colors and allow you to read in the dark. Many people are starting to purchase this device and want to know how to load in your own eBooks. Today, we show you how to load them in yourself, whether you have purchased them from another online retailer, or just downloaded from the internet. The first program we look at is Calibre. This is a free download and one of the best for e-Reader management. Often, when you download books from the internet they do not have cover art, or is the wrong one. In other cases you want to edit the authors name and title. Calibre allows you to not only do this, but also convert eBooks from one format to another. I will show you exactly what you need to do to accomplish all of this and then send the book over to your Pocketbook. Next, Adobe Digital Editions is a fairly popular program to load in books that you purchased from other retailers. The Pocketbook Color Lux has the ability to read books you purchased in EPUB or PDF format from companies like Kobo, Barnes and Noble, Sony and Smashwords. I will show you exactly how to use this program and offer advice on setting up an account. When it comes to storing your eBooks in the cloud, Dropbox makes it easy. Since the Pocketbook has a built in internet browser, you can access any of the music files, books, or pictures you have in your cloud locker and then have them instantly downloaded to your e-Reader. Since we live in a world where the average person has a number of devices, this is a good service to use. Finally, as a bonus feature, we check out the internal directory structure of the Color Lux. You can get a sense of how it is all managed and know exactly where you want to copy your books, mp3′s, pictures and other stuff! How to Load eBooks on the Pocketbook Color Lux is a post from: E-Reader News |
Thursday, August 15, 2013
How to Load eBooks on the Pocketbook Color Lux
Overdrive Unveils New eBook in Big Library Read Program
| Overdrive Big Library Read program originally launched in May and had libraries all over North America to give away an eBook with no lending restrictions. The first title was Michael Malone's 'Four Corners of the Sky' and was checked out more than 44,000 times in less than three weeks—quite impressive compared to its 200 total checkouts prior to the Big Library Read. The Read program really showed that if you take a solid book and give it away for free, it will drive sales to the authors other titles. To capitalize on the momentum of the first title Overdrive announced the next eBook in the program today. HarperCollins is contributing author Jane O'Connor, with her title 'Fancy Nancy: Nancy Clancy, Super Sleuth'. The juvenile fiction title is the first in the Fancy Nancy: Nancy Clancy series and will be available in both eBook and audiobook format from September 16-30 at participating libraries that do business with Overdrive. O'Connor brings us back to the glamorous world of our favorite fancy girl. Nancy Clancy may be a bit older and more sophisticated, but she hasn't lost her love for fancy words, outrageous fashion and dramatic flair. This title is perfect for generating excitement among young readers just in time for back to school. Overdrive may see more success with this eBook, because the original program launched super quickly and did not give libraries enough time to prepare to promote it or even opt into the offer. Interested in learning more? We conducted a massive interview with Sourcebooks and Overdrive at Book Expo America, where the two sides talked about the formation of Big Library Read and where it is going in the future. Overdrive Unveils New eBook in Big Library Read Program is a post from: E-Reader News |
The Toronto Star Launches New Digital Paywall
| The Toronto Star unveiled a new digital paywall program to charge for access to their website and online news service. The price for digital access is about $5 if you subscribe to the newspaper and $10 if you do not. The newspaper will allow ten article views per month, until they prompt you to subscribe. Earlier in the year the Toronto Star implemented the first phase of their new digital strategy with a freshly designed website. It introduced exciting features that enhance the reading experience for their subscribers and address the needs of advertisers. These include more videos, live blogs, chats and breaking news, as well as the in-depth journalism. Subscribers to the Toronto Star Digital Access program will receive full access to thestar.com, including all the news articles, columnists, investigative reports, profiles, sports, blogs, multimedia features and much more. The Star is just the latest major Canadian newspaper to develop and implement a paywall. The Globe and Mail already has one in place, as do Postmedia papers, including the National Post and Montreal Gazette, and the Quebecor-owned newspapers including the Toronto Sun. Newspapers are embracing this model due to the success of the New York Times. The Toronto Star Launches New Digital Paywall is a post from: E-Reader News |
Harlequin Announces New Digital First eBooks
| Harlequin, one of the world's leading publishers of books for women, announced that they are doing quite a number of digital first eBooks. The Harlequin, Harlequin TEEN, Harlequin MIRA and Harlequin HQN imprints will all introduce original digital first titles in the coming months. Harlequin will extend its iconic series brand with Harlequin-E, a digital first series program that allows writers the chance to turn out-of-the-box ideas that don't fit into existing series romance lines into ebooks. Harlequin-E will initially focus on mystery, romance, erotic romance, young adult, fantasy, fantasy romance, sci-fi and sci-fi romance categories. Harlequin-E will launch its first digital story in fall 2013 and feature stories with a minimum word count of 10,000. Harlequin TEEN will launch its digital first program on October 1, 2013, with Stir Me Up by debut author Sabrina Elkins, a contemporary young adult novel with New Adult crossover appeal. With a demographic that increasingly reads, shops and interacts digitally, the Harlequin TEEN digital first platform is a natural extension of the existing program and allows the young adult imprint to introduce fresh new voices to readers and to let no great book go unpublished. Harlequin MIRA and Harlequin HQN will launch their digital first programs in the first quarter of 2014 and begin by publishing a select number of titles, including I See London, a New Adult novel by debut author Chanel Cleeton (Harlequin HQN), and Wonder Girl, a women's fiction novel by Rebecca Coleman (Harlequin MIRA). "We're thrilled to further expand our reach in the digital space," said Loriana Sacilotto, EVP, Global Editorial at Harlequin. "In a retail environment that's increasingly challenging for new and emerging authors, digital publication and promotion allows us to continue to encourage author discovery and growth, bring books to market more quickly, leverage popular digital trends and offer authors an outlet for their nontraditional and ancillary streams." Harlequin Announces New Digital First eBooks is a post from: E-Reader News |
Kobo Discounts their Arc Tablet Product Line
| Kobo has severely discounted the price of their 2nd generation e-Reading tablet, the Arc. The 16GB model now starts at $130, while the 32GB model is selling for $180 and the 64 GB edition for $200. Many of Kobo’s retail partners have also started to abide by the new pricing scheme, including Chapters/Indigo. The Kobo Arc features a seven inch HD display with a resolution of 1280×800 pixels and 215 PPI. The screen features IPS screen technology, which is an industry-leading display optimized for 178 degree viewing angles and ultra-durable glass, resistant to damage, scratches, bumps, and drops. Underneath the hood is a Texas Instruments OMAP 4470 1.5 GHZ dual core processor and 1 GB of RAM. It currently runs a fairly modern version of Google Android, with 4.1.1. The Arc even by today’s standards is fairly relevant with the hardware specs and overall performance. We consistently compare it against new tablets that come out on a monthly basis and it still keeps up. The big draw about this model is the focused attention on the entire e-Reading experience. There are a number of core features, such as Reading Life, and eBook discovery that are prominently displayed on the home screen. Kobo Discounts their Arc Tablet Product Line is a post from: E-Reader News |
Kindle Fire’s Silk Browser Gets First Major Update
| Remember the Silk browser that Amazon first introduced with the Kindle Fire about two years ago? You might be forgiven if you don't for the browser clearly lacked much of an appeal. Things though seem to be different this time round post a healthy dose of update that the browser has been provided with. Most of the update concerns ease of use for the users what with the brand new user interface to look forward to. Navigation has been made simpler while the new Reading View which presents a single page view of contents that is devoid of any sort of distractions in the form of ads and such. The new tab opens with an empty address bar as well as a list of the most visited sites, something that we have become used to with mainstream browsers such as the Firefox or the Chrome. Meanwhile, the update has also made the active tab more distinguishable than before, which is another nice aspect, it must be said. The same can also be said of the Full Screen view that does away with the top and bottom toolbar to open up more visible area. This apart, links to some of the most visited sites by other users of the Kindle Fire device can be reached via a tab on the top left corner. Similarly, other usual browser features such as Downloads, Bookmarks or the Most Visited section open up from the left. There are some enhancements meted out to the browser's rendering engines as well to allow for a smoother and faster performance. Overall, the Silk is now a lot more matured than what it was even just a year ago and while all of the improvements do make a positive change to the browser, it's still a work in progress sort of thing with the Silk. "We're in the early days of Amazon Silk, and there's plenty of work still to do," the team behind the browser revealed.
Kindle Fire’s Silk Browser Gets First Major Update is a post from: E-Reader News |
Rumor: LG Might Announce G Tab During IFA
| LG so far seems to have been over shadowed by its more illustrious domestic rival, Samsung though things seems to be poised for a change post the launch of the G2. LG's latest flagship smartphone device has garnered some positive reviews and the company now is training its gun on the tablet segment where it has largely been a non-player so far. However, as per the details that have emerged, it could be a very unusual 8.3 inch tablet that LG might be readying for a launch. The tablet though will still be handy given the extremely thin bezels that the tablet is reported to come with. With pixel count assuming just as importance as other aspects of the device, it's good to see LG considering no less than a full HD 1920 x 1200 pixel display for the tablet that is believed to have been named the G Pad. The source, which incidentally is a Greek website by the name Techblog further claim the tablet will be thin and light which again is another quality that manufacturers are eager to go after. LG is also said to offer voice calling capability to the device which if true will ensure the G Pad won't be relevant for a US release unless a modified version is introduced. Unfortunately, that's about all that is known of the device so far, leaving us to guess what chip the tablet will come powered with. However, given that the G2 has under its hoods the Snapdragon 800 chip, chances are that the G Pad too will benefit from the same as well, more so since the G Pad too is being projected to have voice calling feature. A 2 GB RAM is being touted to go with the quad core chip. More details are missing though with the IFA event coming up next month itself, chances are that we could be blessed with even a working prototype during the IFA.
Rumor: LG Might Announce G Tab During IFA is a post from: E-Reader News |
Next Big Library Read title unveiled!
| In May, OverDrive launched the Big Library Read program, designed to demonstrate the valuable role libraries play in connecting readers with books and authors. It was the first-ever global book club, connecting readers around the world who read the same book at the same time. Thousands of libraries embraced the program making it a huge success for its initial pilot. Users checked out Michael Malone's 'Four Corners of the Sky' more than 44,000 times in less than three weeks—quite impressive compared to its 200 total checkouts prior to the Big Library Read. Additionally, Malone's other titles experienced a sales increase, and checkout rate growth of more than 100%. Michael Malone trended on Goodreads long after the event as readers added his titles to bookshelves and provided reviews of 'Four Corners of the Sky'.
With the success of the first Big Library Read, OverDrive is excited to announce the next Big Library Read thanks to HarperCollins Publishers and author, Jane O'Connor: 'Fancy Nancy: Nancy Clancy, Super Sleuth'. The juvenile fiction title is the first in the Fancy Nancy: Nancy Clancy series and will be available in both eBook and audiobook format from September 16-30 at participating OverDrive-powered digital collections. O'Connor brings us back to the glamorous world of our favorite fancy girl. Nancy Clancy may be a bit older and more sophisticated, but she hasn't lost her love for fancy words, outrageous fashion and dramatic flair. This title is perfect for generating excitement among young readers just in time for back to school.
You can learn more about Big Library Read here . To participate in the Big Library Read, simply contact your Account Specialist today for more details.
You can access marketing materials in OverDrive's Partner Portal to promote Big Library Read to your community. Stay tuned for information about a Facebook chat with the author. Until then, you can join the conversation in our Facebook forum or on Twitter using #BigLibraryRead.
Adam Sockel is a Marketing Communications Specialist with OverDrive
 |
4 Things I’d Like to See on the New Kindle Paperwhite
| It’s the middle of August and that means new Kindles are just around the corner. There have been numerous reports online about what features and specs the new Kindle Fire HD tablets could have, but there’s been nary a whisper about what Amazon plans for the next generation Kindle Paperwhite. Don’t let the lack of […] |
Chegg Offers Subscription-Based Textbook Rentals to College Students
| A significant number of startups have tried–and for the most part, failed–to entice readers and publishers with a Netflix-style subscription model for reading. Users would pay a monthly fee or adhere to the freemium model of ads within the texts in order to get to read; the publishers would then receive compensation for the books that were consumed during that month, either in full or in page-view portions. This model hasn’t caught on in a global way, as access to inexpensive ebooks make it far too easy to find great books without paying a monthly fee. In addition, publishers have been wary of releasing digital copies of their authors’ works without a firm contracting stipulating the return. But one publishing arena that has had some success with subscription models for digital editions is the academic publishing sphere, specifically for digital textbooks. The difference in the two kinds of book consumption is what makes the model more attractive. Rather than paying a monthly fee for the right to technically borrow a book, something that hasn’t appealed to a lot of pleasure readers, students who consume textbooks are for the most part only doing so because it was required in order to participate in a college class. Even students who needed additional content for a better understanding of the concepts sought out expensive textbooks because they had to, not because they wanted to. This model is doing so well for one company, Chegg, that the group has just filed for IPO status with the Securities & Exchange Commission and is hoping to raise an additional $150 million dollars to grow its current offering as a digital textbook rental and online student learning hub into a much bigger entity. In the report on its filing with the SEC, Chegg stated, “In 2010, 2011 and 2012, we generated net revenues of $148.9 million, $172.0 million and $213.3 million, respectively. During the same periods, we had net losses of $26.0 million, $37.6 million and $49.0 million, respectively. In the six months ended June 30, 2012 and 2013, we generated net revenues of $92.5 million and $116.9 million, respectively, and net losses of $31.9 million and $21.2 million, respectively." Chegg has already operated with nearly $200 million dollars invested from other companies, but this move will make it a publicly traded company accepting investments from the consumer-level.
Chegg Offers Subscription-Based Textbook Rentals to College Students is a post from: E-Reader News |
This is your brain on Pi
| We’ve only just spotted Mens Amplio, an Indiegogo project which met its target last month. It’s now being put together for the Burning Man festival, where it’ll be displayed in a couple of weeks. Mens Amplio is a fifteen-foot tall, Pi-controlled sculpture: a part-buried, giant human head made from an enormous mesh of steel. And inside, there’s a brain packed full of Endlighten acrylic rods for its neuron branches, which diffuse light from LEDs along their length. Those lights are controlled by the brainwaves of a  Braaaaaains. Flames, also controlled by the Raspberry Pi, will be shooting out of the top of the thing. The Mens Amplio team is made up of people from all the backgrounds you’d need for this sort of thing: doctors, welders, graphic designers, Altzheimer’s and Parkinson’s researchers, electronics engineers, brain imaging specialists, kinetic fire artists – here they are, in the video produced for their (now completed) Indiegogo fundraiser. If you see Mens Amplio at Burning Man this year, be sure to take some video and send it to us. Best of luck to the ladies and gents of the Mens Amplio crew – we hope you have a blast on the Playa! Know about an art project using a Pi that you think we’d be interested in? Please tell us about it: while the hacker community is never backwards about coming forward, we’ve found that artists are curiously shy about approaching us when they’re using a Raspberry Pi, and we often learn about the Pi component of art projects like Mens Amplio too late to put the word out about fundraising or exhibitions. Rachel, our Artist in Residence, is busy doing artist and kids outreach, and we’ve got projects running with the UK Arts Council to introduce the Pi to young artists. We know there’s much, much more out there, but we need you to tell us about it. If you’ve seen something you think we should blog about, you can reach me at the usual address. |
