| Simon and Schuster has just reached a new agreement with online bookseller Amazon, and empowers the publisher to once again establish their own prices on eBooks. The deal has been in the works since July of 2014, and has remained under the radar, as the Hachette saga has taken center stage. One of the benefits of the new contract is that the royalties that authors earn will remain the same. It also allows S&S to determine the pricing of eBooks and print titles, but allows Amazon to give discounts as they see fit. Simon & Schuster titles also will be well promoted on Amazon's website, a source close to the situation has said. The contract that had been in place previously was set to expire in two months. Amazon on Monday evening confirmed the deal, adding, "The agreement specifically creates a financial incentive for Simon & Schuster to deliver lower prices for readers." Over the course of 2015, Amazon has new contracts to negotiate with Penguin Random House, Macmillan, and HarperCollins. The Hachette dispute has been ongoing since May of 2014, and has still not been resolved. Simon and Schuster Signs New eBook Deal with Amazon is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Monday, October 20, 2014
Simon and Schuster Signs New eBook Deal with Amazon
Kobo Aura H2O vs Kindle Paperwhite Comparison Review (+Video)
| The Kobo Aura H2O is the latest ebook reader from Kobo, and while the Kindle Paperwhite isn’t new, it’s still apart of Amazon’s lineup moving forward, so let’s do a comparison review between the two today, and then compare them with the Kindle Voyage when it gets released tomorrow. The Kobo Aura H2O and Kindle […] |
Kobo Aura H2O PDF and Comics Review (+Video)
| The Kobo Aura H2O is mainly an ePub and Kobo ePub (.kepub) ebook reader, but it also supports PDF files as well as CBR and CBZ comic files. When it comes to PDFs and comics, Kobo ereaders don’t offer a lot of features but they do offer enough to be functional. A tablet or something […] |
How to Enable Full Screen Mode on Kobo eReaders
| While working on the Kobo Aura H2O review, I came across a tip mentioned at MobileRead that enables the option to turn off the header and footer from displaying to enter full screen reading mode. The full screen option works with both Kobo ePubs (.kepubs) and regular sideloaded ePubs. Personally I’ve always been annoyed by […] |
Barnes and Noble Unveils the Newsstand Awards
| Barnes and Noble is orchestrating the first annual the Readers’ Choice Newsstand Awards. This new program looks at the best magazines published over the last year and allows users to vote on the most compelling ones. Each category has four nominees to choose from and all nominated content will be available to be read for free online with a browser based reader or on your smartphone or tablet. All of the magazines that Barnes and Noble has selected for the Newsstand Awards will receive a special in-store promotional display at Barnes & Noble stores nationwide for the print edition during the open voting period. If you have a Nook branded tablet, upon visiting the newsstand you will get a chance to check out all of the nominees. Throughout the voting period, which occurs from October 20th to November 19th, readers can enter into a sweepstakes for the chance to win a fantastic grand prize of a trip for two to New York City and a $500 Barnes & Noble Gift Card, as well as other great prizes including $100 Barnes & Noble Gift Cards and Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 NOOK devices. I think organizing a contest centered around magazines is a solid idea. There is certainly no shortage of movie, music and television awards. Once in awhile we have awards for the best author or best book, but seldom do we see anything for magazines. The Newsstand Awards will accomplish a few things. It will give people a chance to discovery the online web-browser to read digital magazines, giving people a reason to subscribe. It also serves as an introduction to the Nook ecosystem of magazines, something that is rarely promoted. Finally, it is interesting simply to check out the shortlist of magazines that the editorial staff at Barnes and Noble has selected. Barnes and Noble Unveils the Newsstand Awards is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Regional literature collections
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I'm going on a trip to the south next month so I've been reading a collection of stories by Flannery O'Connor and plan to re-read The Heart is a Lonely Hunter before I leave. Even when I'm not planning a trip, works of regional literature can make for a fantastic armchair vacation. Below you will find a collection of lists focused on U.S. regional literature. Are there any other categories you would like to see on this list? Do you have title recommendations we should add to any of the collections? We would love your input!
Midwest and Rust Belt Literature New England / Atlantic Literature
We're always happy to create any custom lists. Email collectionteam@overdrive.comfor more information today!
*Please note that title availability may vary by geographic location and platform. Rachel Kray is a Collection Development Analyst at OverDrive.  |
Sony Releases Fat Princess: Piece of Cake Android Game
| In a sea of mobile games with the now traditional match-3 styling (think Bejeweled), Sony has released its Fat Princess: Piece of Cake game. By matching gems (showing either cake or images corresponding to the four character classes: sporting warrior swords, ranger muskets, worker bombs, and priest healer) you can work to defeat the invading army using the attacks they bring about. It’s the kind of game that could be addictive, but it’s not quite there yet. While many games feature a brief tutorial-mode when you first begin, I found that the intro to this game is so slow it’s almost painful; you have to complete quite a number of levels before the handy hints and descriptions stop interrupting your flow. If they could speed up the pace, it would be a lot of fun to play. As an added bonus for those with a Sony Playstation 3: reach level 15 with your princess and you will get a code that gives you access to download Fat Princess for your console at no additional cost (as long as you also have vaid Facebook and Sony Entertainment Network accounts). Fat Princess: Piece of Cake is free to download and play, but there are a number of in-app purchases like power-ups and character upgrades that will help you rescue the princess a little faster.
Sony Releases Fat Princess: Piece of Cake Android Game is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Disney Big Hero 6: Bot Fight Game Coming to Android
| Only true fans of Marvel comic books will be familiar with Big Hero 6, at least until Disney releases their upcoming animated film based on the series next month. Based in imaginary city of San Fransokyo, Big Hero 6 is based on a team of crime-fighters led by Hiro Hamada and Baymax (his robot). Ahead of the movie, Disney Interactive has built a Big Hero 6-themed mobile game that will be available for Android, iOS, and Windows Phone on November 3. When you hear that the game allows players to collect hundreds of bots and evolve them into higher forms, it’s possible you won’t need to hear more before you move to the edge of your seat. Using a match 3 style, players will do battle with their enemies by matching colored blocks together. It may sound exceedingly simple, but Disney Interactive producer Scott Humphries promises that the game will involve “strategy and depth,” making it complex (and probably addictive). Plus, it stars robots. If you want a sneak peek into the game, as well as the Big Hero 6 franchise, check out the game-play video from TouchGameplay below.
Disney Big Hero 6: Bot Fight Game Coming to Android is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Apple Selling iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3 Via Online Store
| Unlike the intensely flawed process for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus a few weeks back, Apple is successfully offering pre-orders for their recently announced iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3 tablets. Of course, calling it a pre-order is a bit misleading when customers can expect their tablets to ship within 2-4 days, arriving as early as October 23. Pricing for the new iPads really hasn’t changed from previous versions, with a starting cost of $499 for the 16GB Air 2 and $399 for the 16GB Mini 3 models. If you want a little more storage, 64GB and 128GB models are also available in both sizes –all of which appear to still be available with a quick shipping time (and for once, colour doesn’t seem to play a part in how quickly you get your new device: with the silver, gold, and space grey all ready to go). First impressions of the new iPads were pretty underwhelming, but it will be interesting to see if this changes at all once they are actually in our hot little hands. If nothing else, having Touch ID would be really nice –it’s amazing how that feature makes you wonder how you ever lived without it once you’ve given it a try. It is pretty clear that Apple wanted these tablets out the door as soon as they were able, and while it seems they have done a good job… it may not be sitting as well with the hoards of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus customers who are still waiting for their smartphones to arrive after pre-ordering the devices over a month ago.
Apple Selling iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3 Via Online Store is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Seeking the next Alan Turing – the Brebras Computational Thinking Challenge
| Last week saw the London Film Festival open with the premier of The Imitation Game, a film which chronicles the awe-inspiring work of Alan Turing cracking the German naval Enigma machine at Bletchley Park, Britain's code breaking centre during WWII. Alan Turing was a man of startling intellect and one of the founding fathers of computer science. After his work at Bletchley, Alan Turing went on to make significant contributions to the development of ACE (Automatic Computing Engine) at National Physical Laboratory (NPL), and later on the Manchester Mark 1 at Manchester University. Turing was a mathematician, logician, cryptanalyst, philosopher, computer scientist, mathematical biologist, and also a marathon and ultra-distance runner (all qualities to which I can only aspire and fail to measure up on every count). Of course, the tragedy of his life is how he was persecuted and prosecuted for his sexuality, which ultimately led to him taking his own life. This injustice was eventually recognised by the British Government in 2012, leading to a posthumous pardon by HM Queen Elizabeth in 2013. To this day Alan Turing remains one of the most notable figures in the development of computing in the UK. As an undergraduate at King's College Cambridge, Alan Turing studied mathematics. It was during this time he did his seminal work on computation. Turing devised a methodology of describing hypothetical abstract machines, and demonstrated such machines are capable of performing any mathematical computation if it could be represented as an algorithm. Turing machines are a central object of study in the theory of computation. Building on this earlier work in 1949 Turing proposed an experiment, the Turing test. In this test Turing attempted to understand and define the basis of machine "intelligence". Turing's assertion was that a computational device could be said to be “intelligent” if a human interrogator could not distinguish between the responses from the machine and that of another human being, through conversation alone. To this day the Turing test continues to spark debate around the meaning of artificial intelligence, so in homage of his work we've created an educational resource – a whole scheme of work for KS2 and KS3 – for teachers to explore the Turing experiment. At Bletchley, Turing had a bit of a reputation. He was nicknamed "The Prof" in recognition of his curious mannerism, his intellect and his understanding of computation. Here at Pi Towers, we are keen on all things computing, and we are always looking for ways to grow the next generation of Turings, so in conjunction with ARM Holdings and Oxford University we are proud to support and sponsor the UK Bebras Computational Thinking Challenge. The Bebras Computational Thinking Challenge is open to all schools in the UK, for pupils from Year 2 to Year 13, and runs during the week beginning November 10. The challenge is free to enter, takes about 40 minutes and is completed online. If you are not sure what to expect, you can have a go at questions from previous year's competitions here, but if you are interested in taking part in this year's competition your school must register by October 31. Not in the UK ? Don't worry, this is only the UK chapter of an international competition, so you can find out your national organising body at the Bebras site under countries. |
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In App Purchases Expected to Dominate Apple Pay Transactions
| It doesn’t matter how successful the launch of Apple Pay is, consumers and retailers are going to need some time to see how it works before they fully trust and then adopt the service. It is with this in mind that Apple’s Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue made the statement that he expects the largest portion of Apple Pay transactions will be generated by in-app purchases. This seems less like clairvoyance though, when you consider that the iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3 can only offer Apple Pay for in-app purchases –likely due to the lack of a near-field communication (NFC) antenna… meaning there are lots of iOS devices out there that don’t have any other options. Add to this the fact that most brand-loyal iOS users are already used to paying for in-app purchases on their device without pulling out their wallets, and it seems like a logical way for people to dip their toes in the Apple Pay waters. Initial experiences will mean a great deal when Apple Pay launches today along side iOS 8.1, as they will go a long way toward making consumers either comfortable or nervous. Many credit and debit cards from major payment networks include American Express, MasterCard, and Visa are lined up to participate in the service. In addition, several banks have partnered with Apple including Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and Capital One. Are you excited to try Apple Pay?
In App Purchases Expected to Dominate Apple Pay Transactions is a post from: Good e-Reader |
The Polish eBook Industry is on the Rise
| The Polish eBook industry is starting to see some significant gains and rose 23% in 2013. There are some differing opinions on the exact figures when it comes to digital publishing. Biblioteka Analiz research exclaims that eBooks are valued at $16.3 million USD, while Pricewaterhouse Coopers is more conservative at $8 million USD. Piotr Kubiszewski is an independent expert in digital publishing in Poland since 2005. He notes that there is only 40,000 eBook titles currently in circulation and 80% of new books that come out are digitized. Publishers are not overly concerned with digitizing their backlist titles right now, because there aren’t enough sales to make it financially viable. In 2013 the book selling industry was valued at $800 million USD, and only around $8-%16 million USD derived from eBooks. On a consumer level, one of the barriers of eBook adoption is the VAT. Currently in Poland if you buy a digital title you are paying 23%, meanwhile print books are only taxed at 5%. The lower tax bracket on physical titles might be one of the deciding factors when libraries, schools and academia are establishing book acquisition budgets, it simply goes further with print. One of the bright spots that have really increased the viability of eBooks is the unilateral acceptable of watermarks by the publishing industry. This is a stark contrast to North America, which bogs readers in a mire of Adobe DRM. In North America, the average digital reader is locked into dealing with one particular ecosystem, because of the way they package their encryption. You can buy from Amazon, Barnes and Noble or Kobo, but their formats are not interchangeable. You simply can’t buy an Amazon title and read it on your Kobo. Polish readers benefit tremendously from watermarks, because it does not restrict or hinder your ability to load the book on your e-reader, smartphone or tablet. No third party programs are needed and this makes the entire process more intuitive and encourages the loaning them out to your friends. Piracy is actually reduced because of watermarks, because there is a clear path of ownership and removing the marks is an arduous process, few practice. The Polish eBook industry is dominated by a number of homegrown companies that have managed to flourish in the last five years. Virtualo.pl, Publio.pl, Nexto.pl, Woblink.com and eBookPoint.pl are the current industry leaders. Piotr’s research has noted that when it comes to eBook sales, 90% stem from EPUB or MOBI, while PDF files only account for 10%. Amazon currently does not have an official presence in Poland, but that has not stopped the vast majority of readers from using them regularly. Kindle adoption is at record highs, 84% of all book sales from Publio.pl and 73% of Virtualo.pl are sold in MOBI, which is the main Kindle book format. It is very apparent that people are loyal to the Amazon brand over e-readers that are more common in that part of the world, including Tolino, Pocketbook, or Onyx. The Polish eBook Industry is on the Rise is a post from: Good e-Reader |
