| Yahoo's recent acquisition of Tumblr, the popular blogging site, presents an interesting scenario now prevalent in the tech scene. Yahoo is eager to pay a premium and remain competitive in the long run, even if the investment does not guarantee much profit right away. To attempt this, Yahoo shelled out $1.1 billion for Tumblr, which not too long ago was valued at about $800 million. However, the deal does make sense when seen from Yahoo's perspective. For one, Yahoo is seen as a company that is popular with an older generation. It could be risky for Yahoo to keep operating with that image. That Yahoo's revenue has more or less remained stagnant around the $5 billion mark is another reason for Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer to start pushing for new revenue streams. Also, another big advantage that Ms. Mayer believes the buyout will bring to Yahoo is that it will open up to a new user segment comprising mainly of the younger generations that are among Tumblr's biggest user base. Perhaps the biggest advantage that Tumblr's acquisition will mean for Yahoo is that it will introduce the company to the thriving social networking medium. Companies like Google and Facebook have already proven there are boatloads of money to be made by way of ad revenue when there is enough of an audience enjoying a free service. The fact that Tumblr right now is on a steeper growth curve than Yahoo cannot be ignored, either. Also, with Tumblr under its belt, Yahoo will have the much needed presence in the mobile computing devices segment, where it has relinquished the lead to companies like Apple and Google. Mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablet PCs, have seen maximum activity in recent times, so much that companies are required to reorganize their operations to be centered around these in order to survive. As for Tumblr, it has been in operation for six years and boasts of a user base of 100 million, a figure that is ever growing. However, that does not translate to big profits right now, given its CEO's David Karp's abject dislike to plastering ads and risk the experience of its users. The company that operates out of New York is run by 175 employees and boasts of some 108 blogs. The company recorded 117 million core users in March, which has nearly doubled from the 58 million users it had just a year ago, thereby making it among the faster growing start-ups. Apart from allowing users to create their own blogs, a unique aspect of Tumblr is that it also enables one to follow other’s blogs and share ideas. It's somewhat like a marriage between blogging and social media. Speaking of the acquisition, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer said, “Tumblr is redefining creative expression online,” before also adding: “On many levels, Tumblr and Yahoo! couldn't be more different, but, at the same time, they couldn't be more complementary. Yahoo is the Internet's original media network. Tumblr is the Internet's fastest-growing media frenzy. Both companies are homes for brands – established and emerging. And, fundamentally, Tumblr and Yahoo! are both all about users, design, and finding surprise and inspiration amidst the everyday.” Yahoo has stated it will remain out of the way of Tumblr, which will continue to operate as a separate entity. However, Yahoo does expect Tumblr to generate more revenue by way of ads. This could be tricky given Karp's insistence of having just the bare minimum ads, as he believes the opposite could irk its core user base. Karp will continue to be at the helm of affairs at Tumblr while also being the biggest shareholder as well. There is much for Tumblr to gain from the deal; it can make the best of “Yahoo's personalization technology and search infrastructure to help its users discover creators, bloggers, and content they'll love,” the PR stated. “Our team isn’t changing. Our roadmap isn’t changing. And our mission – to empower creators to make their best work and get it in front of the audience they deserve – certainly isn’t changing. But we’re elated to have the support of Yahoo! and their team who share our dream to make the Internet the ultimate creative canvas. Tumblr gets better faster with more resources to draw from,” Karp stated to the Tumblr community. Ads began appearing at Tumblr from last year while the revenue that the company generated last year stood at a measly $13 million. A former Google Executive, John Saroff, believes the figure could easily be in excess of $108 a year. Such a venture has paid off big for Google after it acquired YouTube. The mega video sharing site had cost Google $1.65 billion, but is estimated to earn Google about $4 billion in sales. Similarly, the ad revenue that Facebook generated in the first quarter stood at $219 million, while the same for Twitter has been $288 million.
Yahoo Buys Tumblr is a post from: E-Reader News |
Monday, May 20, 2013
Yahoo Buys Tumblr
iPad 5 Production to Begin Soon, Shipment Starts in September
| As per news coming from Taiwan, trial production of the 5th gen iPad is set to kick off soon with volume production expected to begin in July. Initial plans call for the shipment to stabilize at around 2-3 million by September. As for the iPad 5′s specifications, Digitimes has some interesting bits to share. For instance, the site is claiming the new iPad will come with the same display resolution of 2048 x 1536, though the differences lie elsewhere. This being that the glass substrate to be used in iPad 5 will be thinner by 0.2mm from the 0.25mm thickness as is seen in the iPad 4. The touch panel to be used in the iPad 5 will be based on GF2 tech, which employs 1 layer of glass and two layers of ITO film, whereas the same in case of iPad 4 was based on G/G bonding technique. The sources further claim iPad 5 will be using “one LED light bar for backlighting” whereas the iPad 4 used two LED light bars. The report also confirms what has always been rumored, that the next gen iPad will be lighter and sporting thinner bezels. The two South Korean companies, LG Display and Samsung Display, alongside Sharp are among those believed to have been contracted to supply the iPad 5 display. iPad 5 Production to Begin Soon, Shipment Starts in September is a post from: E-Reader News |
The Next Stephen King Book Will Forgo a Digital Edition
| Digital readers may find themselves unable to read the next Stephen King novel. The author has announced today that his upcoming June 4th release, Joyland, will only be available via traditional bookstores. Stephen King is no stranger to digital and released a novel in 2000 called Riding The Bullet, that was only available as an ebook. Last year, he released a Kindle Single exclusive that was basically an essay. Today, King told the Wall Street Journal: “I have no plans for a digital version. Maybe at some point, but in the meantime, let people stir their sticks and go to an actual bookstore rather than a digital one.” Many publishing industry experts are surmising that this book may draw people into their local bookstores, but people who prefer to read digital may end up pirating the book. If you look at the Harry Potter case study, when the books were unavailable in electronic form, it created a wellspring of book piracy, with some torrents having hundreds of thousands of seeders. Many people we spoke with at the time felt no remorse about downloading the books, because they were being ignored as digital readers. In the absence of a true digital copy that people can buy, it is only a matter of time before this book is scanned and posted online, stinging the very bookstores Stephen King is trying to help. Amazon is also selling the physical book at a very steep discount and in most cases will sell it for less than you can buy in a physical bookstore. The Next Stephen King Book Will Forgo a Digital Edition is a post from: E-Reader News |
Simon & Schuster Hires Doug Stambaugh to be Vice President, Global eBook Market Development and Strategy
| Simon & Schuster has created a new position within the company to focus on the growing popularity of ebooks. Doug Stambaugh has been named to the newly created position of Vice President, Global eBook Market Development and Strategy, reporting to Dennis Eulau. S&S released an internal email confirming the news saying, “Doug’s responsibility will be to help us further develop our ebook business in a manner that best positions us for success in all our markets around the world. He will work with sales colleagues from each of our companies to identify and evaluate opportunities for retail expansion, and new partnerships, digital channels, and publishing initiatives. He will develop company-wide strategies, policies, and best practices for all our domestic and international publishing units in areas ranging from terms and pricing to digital rights management, technology platforms and new business models. He will assist our teams from legal, sales, technology, and operations in opening up new accounts and in negotiations with existing retailers, and will help all our divisions around the world to work in a unified fashion with our common retailers. We will also look to Doug to assist us in tapping the potential for ebooks in nonretail channels, such as special sales and the school, library, and academic markets.” The statement went on to say “Doug is ideally suited for this position. He has been with Simon & Schuster Digital since 2007, most recently as Vice President, Business Development, and has been a central figure in establishing our presence in the digital marketplace. He has worked with colleagues across the company to finalize ebook agreements with all our major retailers in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Open Market. Most recently, he was instrumental in launching our pilot e-lending program with three New York area libraries that were our entry into this important channel.” Doug will serve as the point of entry into the company to assess these new prospects, and will advise senior management in our publishing and operations groups on the many opportunities and issues that will inevitably arise in this exciting and ongoing transition. Simon & Schuster Hires Doug Stambaugh to be Vice President, Global eBook Market Development and Strategy is a post from: E-Reader News |
Summer Marketing Materials: Now Available!
| Summer is just around the corner. Time for road trips, the beach, vacations, and lazy summer days! I can think of nothing I'd rather do today (one of the first days above 70 degrees here in Cleveland) than read library eBooks on my NOOK outside in the sun!
To help you promote your digital collection inside the library, we've created a Summer Marketing Kit. You can help your community cool off by getting crafty with these promotional materials. We've designed the smart guides with plenty of empty space at the bottom – perfect for gluing a popsicle stick to and creating an instant fan. There are also summer posters you can display around your library.
Don't forget about reaching out to your community with ways other than inside your library doors. Post status updates of new titles via Facebook or Twitter, start a Summer Reading Digital Book Club, and be sure to promote at any festivals or community events your library attends.
Check out the Marketing & Outreach section of the Partner Portal or reach out to your Account Specialist for more great marketing ideas.
Cassie Renner is a Marketing Specialist at OverDrive  |
Big Library Read Facebook Chat with Michael Malone on May 23rd
| Through their incredible generosity, author Michael Malone and his publisher, Sourcebooks, have invited millions of readers around the world to simultaneously enjoy 'The Four Corners of the Sky' through June 1st as part of the Big Library Read event. This week, readers will have the chance to chat with Michael about his critically-acclaimed novel.
We're expecting a large crowd, so please submit your questions for Michael in the comments section of this blog and we'll make sure they're asked during the chat! Also, keep sharing your thoughts on Twitter by using #BigLibraryRead and be sure to follow Michael's Twitter and Facebook page for updates from the author.
We're looking forward to your questions for Michael and chatting with you this Thursday!
Adam Sockel is a Marketing Specialist at OverDrive  |
Kobo Aura HD Review
| Today I was finally able to get the Kobo Aura HD review posted, which includes some pictures, a couple of videos, and a written review. The video review ended up being really long this time. I was able to cover a lot of details and show some complaints. I also decided to put together a [...] |
Raspberry Jam at the National STEM Centre York, Saturday 8th June 2013
| A post from Mr Raspberry Jam himself, Alan O’Donohoe. This one promises to huge and fabulous, and the National STEM Centre is an outstanding venue. I am strangley drawn to joining the trans-Pennine convoy from Preston. “You may have seen that we are holding a big Raspberry Jam in York on Saturday 8th June, 3 weeks today. Tickets are available here. I’ve been working with the folks at the National STEM Centre there to help establish a presence in Yorkshire for Raspberry Jams. There are a lot of people in Yorkshire who have bought Raspberry Pi computers or who have not bought one but are interested in discovering just what you can do with them and this event is to give them a taste of the Raspberry Pi. This event is going to be much larger than our regular Raspberry Jam events and we know that people are travelling from far across the UK to attend. I will be travelling in a convoy of cars from Preston bringing old friends and new friends on the journey across the Pennines. Road-trips like these add an enormous amount to the whole experience. Our busy programme of talks, demonstrations, stalls and hands-on classes is now filling up. We are delighted to have Pete Lomas of the Raspberry Pi foundation speaking and leading a workshop, he is the gentleman who actually designed the Raspberry Pi. We also have Amy Mather the 14 year old who learnt how to program Conway’s Game of Life on the Raspberry Pi, her film on YouTube has attracted over 27000 views. If you look at our programme , you will see that we have a wide range of classes from how to switch on a Raspberry Pi to building weather stations, interfacing, networking, robotics, game making for all the family and programming in Python. David Whale will be running a workshop on how you can set up an after school Raspberry Pi club.  ‘import random’, the start of great game! A Raspberry Jam programming class. We hope to attract a diverse range of people to attend this family friendly event:
If you have never been to the National STEM centre before, this is a fantastic opportunity to come and discover what is there http://www.nationalstemcentre.org.uk/ |
eBook Review: The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay
| Verdict: 4 Stars The Sea of Tranquility (Atria) has everything I don’t look for in a book. Chapter-by-chapter point of view switches, mysterious story lines that don’t become clear until the last page, and characters so full of raw and deep-seated hurts that you feel like an intruder just for reading about them. So it was surprising to even me that this book was a one-sitting read, something that I couldn’t put down until I’d made my way to the end to see if these people turn out okay. Told in alternating viewpoints from the two main characters, Josh and Nastya, the reader is given only partial glimpses at a time of the endurance race the two teenaged protagonists have had to run. Josh, whose entire family has died before the book’s opening, and Nastya, whose musical prodigy status was ripped apart by a violent attacker who destroyed her hands and her soul, are left holding the pieces of their former lives and slowly learn to let their other carry a piece of the burden. In keeping with the fact that Nastya stopped speaking about a year after her attack, the book doles out the details painfully slowly. While that is part of its allure, I was left occasionally feeling like I didn’t know enough to keep reading. Fortunately, the writing style was so spot-on that I was easily caught back up by the end of the chapter, only to be left disoriented again and repeat the cycle until the very end of the book. Millay’s book could easily blur the lines between young adult and new adult, and effortlessly crosses back and forth between the two genres. The characters’ ages and the high school backdrop speak to younger adults, but the conflicts and plot are not for the fainthearted. The Sea of Tranquility will be available June 4 from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and more.
eBook Review: The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay is a post from: E-Reader News |
Nook Simple Touch Tipped to Get Email and Web-Browser June 1st
| Barnes and Noble is intending on releasing a new firmware update for the Nook Simple Touch and Simple Touch with Glowlight this June. The 1.50 update is poised to bring a new email client and a new internet browser. The e-readers themselves have a web-browser buried in the search function, but most people were completely unaware of it. The ebook store is also undergoing a refresh and will have a new UI. The Nook line of e-readers has seen a wider appeal as of late, due to the recent price reductions in the UK and US. Google Play on the Nook line of tablets has been drawing industry wide attention and many users we talk to are claiming they are buying one for the first time, or switching back to the brand. B&N is hoping that a more accessible e-reader is will appeal to people on the fence. Barnes and Noble has always had internet browsers in the e-readers and I will bet that they will not tweak it very much with the public release. A solid email client should appeal to people who are in book clubs, or need to check in to work every so often. The Nook line of e-readers does run the Google Android operating system, so adding a few new features is really not that hard. Nook Simple Touch Tipped to Get Email and Web-Browser June 1st is a post from: E-Reader News |
Sunday, May 19, 2013
New York Times Plans to Expand via Digital into other Countries
| The New York Times attracts over 40 million readers to their website every month and the company sees it as a drop in the bucket. The newspaper is planning to expand into foreign language markets with a localized edition and unique content written by reporters based in those countries. One of the big reasons why the New York Times is expanding their digital unit outside of the US is because 30% of their internet traffic stems from outside the US. This will increase the amount of advertising revenue they should generate. They generated $191 million via advertisements in Q1 2013 and the expansion into the Portuguese market in the next few months should bolster the bottom line. Other markets of consideration of according to Marc Frons, the senior vice president and chief information officer at The New York Times are “Arabic, Chinese, Korean and Spanish. We don’t know the timing [for launch], these things are a little more complicated than just going abroad.” Currently the NY Times has close to 700,000 active digital subscribers that can read as much as they want on the website every month. Non-subscribers are limited to 10 free articles, and then prompted to take out a subscription. This loyal readership accounts for 45% of the newspapers entire subscription base and should increase to 52% by 2016. New York Times Plans to Expand via Digital into other Countries is a post from: E-Reader News |
Digital Comics: Hunter Gorinson on Valiant’s Digital Strategy
| Valiant Entertainment is the newest incarnation of a legendary comics publisher that was founded in 1989 by former Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter, drew in fans with strong, character-driven stories, and then fell on hard times and ceased publication in the early 2000s. The current owners bought the company in 2005 and began launching comics based on updated versions of the original Valiant comics, including X-O Manowar, Harbinger, Bloodshot, and Archer and Armstrong, last summer. From a digital point of view, Valiant is in an interesting position. They are one of the first publishers to launch a new comics universe in a market in which digital distribution plays a significant part. At the same time, they have both new titles and a substantial backlist. I asked Hunter Gorinson, Valiant’s marketing and communications manager, to explain the company’s digital strategy and how they arrived at some of the choices they made. Good E-Reader: Most comics publishers have a branded app in addition to distributing their digital comics via comiXology’s Comics app. Can you explain to me why Valiant didn’t do that? Hunter Gorinson: We worked diligently to position our launch so that it would attract as many new readers to Valiant as possible. We did this at every level—from the publishing rollout to sales, to marketing and editorial. Launching with a Valiant-dedicated app, however, had the potential to narrow our audience right out of the gate. We weren’t only looking at tapping into fans of the original Valiant Universe, although they were obviously a priority; we also wanted to bring in fans of the medium as a whole, and especially those readers that are continuously interested in quality storytelling and might be willing experiment on a new property. For instance, in the case of a title like X-O Manowar, we knew that readers new to Valiant would be interested in the work of Robert Venditti and that they would be interested in the work of Cary Nord. And in the case of digital specifically, having Rob and Cary’s first issue of X-O Manowar promoted alongside other perennial titles—your Batmans, Amazing Spider-Mans, and so on—would also encourage consumer experimentation. It has been just about a year since you announced an exclusive deal with comiXology. Are you considering expanding to Comics Plus, Diamond Digital, or e-book platforms such as Kindle, Nook, or iBooks? Why or why not? We’re always exploring new developments in the marketplace, but we don’t have any announcements to make on that front quite yet. We’ve been deliberately slow and steady with our growth thus far and that strategy extends into our digital plans as well. What has been your strategy with regard to releasing older Valiant material digitally? Are you releasing any of that material as digital-first or digital-only? The vast majority of the Valiant back catalog is currently available digitally. The original Valiant era predated the rise of the collected market we know today and, with only a handful of exceptions, the material from that period has never been reprinted. Outside of the physical back issues themselves, the bulk of classic Valiant is now digital exclusive. There are indeed some all-time great comics in there—Shooter and Lapham’s Harbinger, Windsor-Smith’s Archer & Armstrong, VanHook and Perlin’s Bloodshot, and Shooter and Layton’s X-O Manowar being just a few examples. To this day, three of those formative runs remain out of print, although the possibility remains that you may see new print editions forthcoming in the near future. In print, you have been releasing those older comics as collected editions. Is that your preferred digital format as well? Why or why not? We have specifically stayed away from issuing the Valiant Masters line of classic hardcovers digitally. Physical comics retailers service the vast majority of our fans, and we want to give our retail partners the opportunity to sell as much Valiant product as possible to the widest consumer base possible. The individual issues that make up those collections continue to be available online, but if you want the copious back-up material and extras that are included in the hardcovers, we’ll always encourage you to visit a local retailer. Have you considered publishing any new comics in digital-only or digital-first format? Yes! But unfortunately that’s all I can say for now. But we have something special in the works and fans can look forward to an announcement soon. I should also point out that each of Valiant’s new monthly issues comes complete with several digital exclusives—usually a selection of behind-the-scenes art showcasing pencils and inks from that issue. Do you have any evidence that digital releases are cannibalizing or, conversely, enhancing print sales? They are enhancing the print audience. Since the launch of the universe last May, our print sales have remained incredibly consistent and, meanwhile, digital sales have reflected that every step of the way. We’re simply not seeing ever-increasing rates of attrition, which, as any comics publisher will tell you, is the constant battle of monthly comics publishing. And, anecdotally, we hear from fans all the time at the conventions that were new to Valiant, picked up some digital issues during a comiXology sale, got hooked and bought up the trade paperbacks, and then moved to monthly print issues. You recently released a game for mobile devices. What was the thinking behind that? Every promotional initiative that Valiant does is designed to point back toward the publishing line and get new readers in the door. And at this stage in our development, we’re well aware of the fact that there are still a ton of readers out there that still have yet to sample a Valiant title. The idea of an all-new iOS/Android game with a retro edge like Harbinger Wars: Battle for Las Vegas was an incredibly exciting opportunity to introduce potential fans beyond our normal reach to the Valiant Universe and our publishing line-up for the summer and beyond. But to go back to the beginning, the idea of the game was born of the fact that we’d been planning a line of 8-bit variant covers for June, while at the same time, we were just gearing up to begin promoting Harbinger Wars, Valiant’s very first standalone crossover event. The game’s developers at Storm City Entertainment were incredibly keen on the idea and, together, we were able to produce something that accomplished all of our stated goals. And, at the end of the day, it’s just a cool idea! You have used augmented reality technology for two covers now. How did you get the idea for those covers, and what were the challenges involved in creating them? Again, we’re always looking for attention-grabbing concepts, such as the Harbinger Wars mobile game, that allow Valiant to showcase its distinctive voice. Moreover, quality storytelling is our top priority, and the talking “QR Voice Variant” covers that were produced for X-O Manowar and Harbinger allowed us to expand on two of our lead characters in a new and novel way. But it was important to us to make sure that the initiative enhanced the world portrayed in the print book and wasn’t just a gimmick for the sake of a gimmick. But since this was something that had never before been attempted in comics, coordinating the process did seem a bit daunting while we were still in the planning stages. However, we fortunate enough to wind up working with the great Neal Adams and his amazing team at Continuity Studios on the finished product. They took the concept and 100 percent delivered on the execution. It’s something that everyone seems to now associate with Valiant—and, in fact, we will be revisiting the concept in July with a new augmented, talking cover for Quantum and Woody #1. And if you know anything about those characters, you know that we absolutely had to make a talking goat! Will there be more AR or digital extras in Valiant comics in the future? Most definitely. As I mentioned, Quantum and Woody #1 will be getting the full animated, talking goat treatment in just a few weeks and we continue to produce digital exclusives for our monthly titles on a regular basis. And stay tuned, we’ll be making a very exciting web-related announcement within the next week. Digital Comics: Hunter Gorinson on Valiant’s Digital Strategy is a post from: E-Reader News |
Postmedia Implements Digital Paywalls for all Canadian Newspapers
| Postmedia Network Canada Corp will be updating the remainder of their digital newspapers and implementing a full paywall structure. The National Post is one of the last big name newspapers only allowing the general public to view 10 free articles a month, before being asked to take out a subscription. Print subscribers of the National Post and the Financial Post can continue to get full access to the newspaper's digital properties. Digital readers who do not have a print subscription can pay $0.99 for the first month and then $9.99 a month thereafter. Digital-only readers can also sign up for the reduced subscription rate of $99.50 for an entire year. This move into the paywall arena follows the Vancouver Sun, Province and Ottawa Citizen introduced them last year. "We're no longer in the business of chasing page views from all over the globe," said Postmedia chief operating officer Wayne Parrish in a recent interview. "We're in the business of trying to provide deep, rich experiences for those who value the content that we focus on, which is local content and Canadian content." Postmedia Implements Digital Paywalls for all Canadian Newspapers is a post from: E-Reader News |
Kicking Off Summer with New MP3 Releases On Sale
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Here’s the lo-down on some of the hottest new MP3s now on sale until May 31:
Swoon over the all three titles in the teen hearthrob romance “Crash” trilogy (“Crash,” “Clash,” “Crush“), a modern day racy Romeo-and-Juliet that follows bad boy Jude and determined Lucy, two young lovers deeply tangled in a hot and spicy love affair. Adults will eat up the steamy series as well as older teens.
Twitter sensation Kelly Oxford reads her memoir “Everything is Perfect When You’re a Liar” with her trademark humor and wit. The hilariously blunt musings on life and motherhood will have even the toughest critics laughing out loud. This time, luckily for listeners, she’s not limited to 140 characters.
Fans of Kiera Cass’ “The Selection” will flip for recently released Book 2, “The Elite.” The story continues with the elite vying to win the prince’s love. Described best as YA dystopian fiction, this title is Veronica Roth’s “Divergent” meets the TV show “The Bachelor.”
Summer’s the perfect time to start listening to literary gems, series that suck you in, or nonfiction and biographies to bulk up on the facts of life. Vacation travelers will want to fill their devices with “road trip reads” perfect for long car rides while pool-goers will be popping in their ear buds while relaxing and soaking up the sun’s rays. So many reasons to love and listen to audiobooks this summer and all year round.
As they’ve always been, HarperAudio titles operate on the one copy/one user lending model. Grab the titles you had planned to buy anyways and save for summer! Visit Content Reserve for a full list of titles.
Annie Suhy is a Merchandising Specialist for OverDrive.
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Zinio Takes Z-Pass out of Beta
| Zinio has officially launched their new Z-Pass digital magazine subscription service, after being in Beta for the last four months. Creating a Z-Pass is simple and flexible. Customers choose three magazines from over 300 of the most popular titles among Zinio’s 5,500+ digital library, including Car and Driver, Surfer, Maxim, Cosmopolitan and Food Network Magazine for $5 per month. Additional magazines can be added to a Z-Pass for just $1.50 per title. Premium titles, including Star and The Economist can be added for an additional fee. Z-Pass customers can change their magazine line-up on demand, swapping their Z-Pass titles up to 3 times per month. Right now Z-Pass is only available in the US and should see an international launch in July. The service right now is only web-based, so you will have to take out a subscription on the main Zinio site. The company plans on rolling out updates to their Blackberry, Android and iOS in the next few weeks. “It’s never been a better time to be a magazine lover,” says Michelle Bottomley , President of Zinio. “Access to the world’s best magazines for one low monthly price allows anyone with a mobile device to always have their favorite reads with them at the touch of a finger. Zinio is passionate about connecting the world’s best content with avid readers and Z-Pass removes the price per magazine barrier.” “Z-Pass is an innovative way for readers to keep up with their favorite magazines and discover new ones,” says Chris Wilkes , Vice President, Hearst Magazines App Lab. “Zinio has long been a great partner to Hearst, and we believe that Z-Pass will help bring our brands and content to an even wider audience.”
Zinio Takes Z-Pass out of Beta is a post from: E-Reader News |
Maker Faire Google Hangout with Eben
| We’ll be talking more later this week about the New Out Of the Box System (NOOBS) which Eben discusses towards the end of this video. We have suspicion you’ll like it. |
Saturday, May 18, 2013
New in the Swag Shop: recycled CD case pencils!
| These feel lovely when you sharpen them, have a beauteous Raspberry Pi logo at the end, and are made in solid colours from recycled CD cases. Buy some, look funky when you doodle, help fund computing education, and save the planet too – what could be better? Amazingly, we have not yet sold out of our first batch of Babbage the Bear. (He has stayed on the shelves longer than the camera boards, which we find shocking and remarkable.) Get him while he’s snuggly! |
Book Expo America Hackathon focuses on Digital Discovery
| eBook and digital discovery is one of the most hot button issues facing the digital publishing industry. Many existing publishers and small start-up companies such as BookLikes, NetGallery, Slice and many others are throwing themselves into the fray. To stimulate growth and awareness in a burgeoning sector a group of major media industry participants led by The Perseus Books Group, Librify, BookExpo, The AlleyNYC and William Morris Endeavor will organize the industry's first-ever hackathon, an ambitious collaborative digital programming event. The Publishing Hackathon at Book Expo America is inviting digital designers, engineers, programmers, and entrepreneurs to spend 36 hours together in teams to develop new approaches to digital book discovery. The Publishing Hackathon will take place on May 18th and 19th at The Alley NYC, the leading digital co-working space in New York. The participants will be briefed by a cross-section of book publishing leaders, and then will form teams to create apps, websites, programming or businesses that can address the issue of book discovery in this rapidly evolving landscape. At the end of the weekend, a team of judges from publishing, technology, media and venture capital will identify the 3 to 5 most promising finalists from dozens of teams participating. These finalists will have the opportunity to present at BookExpo on Friday May 31st at 3PM. BookExpo is the largest and most prestigious book publishing event in the U.S. with over 1000 exhibitors from around the world and over 20,000 attendees from all facets of the industry. The finalists will take the stage and pitch their solutions to a distinguished panel of judges that includes Jennifer Rudolph Walsh (head of the Literary Department at William Morris Endeavor), David Steinberger (CEO of The Perseus Books Group and Chairman of the National Book Foundation), Stephen Evans (Director SilverLake Capital) and others.The winning project will receive a $10,000 prize, and the opportunity to pitch their idea at a breakfast meeting with Ari Emanuel, Co-CEO of William Morris Endeavor. Seems like a solid event if you want to check out what the bright young minds can conjure. Of course, Good e-Reader will be live at this event and bring you some exclusives with the new Hackathon. Book Expo America Hackathon focuses on Digital Discovery is a post from: E-Reader News |
Google I/O Wrap Up
| The 2013 edition of the Google I/O event was without any fancy hardware launches, something that many analysts had predicted. There wasn’t even a new Android update announced, which analysts were definitely expecting. Many are now suggesting that Google I/O might just have returned to the way it used to be, with the focus back on developers instead of the products or the consumer oriented approach it had developed in the last few years. However, that does not mean it has been all about boring lectures or discussions that exclude the consumers. Rather, Google did have some nice features to announce, some that are sure to have industry wide ramifications. Mentioned below are some cool features that the Google I/O 2013 has yielded. Google Play Music All Access: It's the answer to the likes of Spotify, Rdio, or even the upcoming Apple's iRadio. It combines your personal music tracks to the millions present in Google Play Music so you can have what is best described in the words of Chris Yegra “radio without rules.” The system is also programmed to find stuff that you might like based on your listening preferences. Users will also have the option to create personalized radio stations based on songs or artists they like, or just through a specific genre. The song list can be pulled up with a single tap, and if All Access’ recommendations are not to your liking, you can remove them from the list with a single swipe of your finger. The service is priced quite conveniently at $9.99 per month, after month long free trial period. Or for those who just can't wait to hop on to the All Access bandwagon, Google will reward them with a subscription fee of $7.99 per month before June 30. In the end, Google’s ability to strike a deal with the big time music labels before Apple is quite impressive. Maps: This is another area where Google has put in a lot of effort. This has led to the map being more informative and detailed than ever before. When you search for a place, Google not only pulls up the map, but also provides you with useful recommendations for the area. A pop-up also provides you with a 360 degree view of the place you have searched. Videos can be accessed right from the map, which is now transformed into an interface. Also, the maps are now more personalized so that users will be able to highlight areas or create landmarks as per user's choice. And once you have clicked on a suggestion or landmark, a new map pops up to show related attractions as well. The map's navigation features have been enhanced, as it now provides not only driving directions to a place you have selected, but also walking and biking directions, including public transit. Users are also warned of traffic jams and will be provided with alternate routes to avoid them. Google Now: This has been a cool addition to the Jelly Bean package and now it has become even smarter thanks to the Knowledge Graph based search that has been fine-tuned even further. As such, the Google virtual assistant will be able to answer not only questions you have directly asked, but will also anticipate details that you may want to know about. This was demoed at the conference by asking Google Now the population of India. In such a scenario, Google Now will not only answer the query but will also furnish details of how the population compares with other related countries and so on. The virtual assistant will also accept voice commands for tasks like setting reminders and so on. Photo Tools in Google+: Google has introduced some cool photo editing tools to its two year old social networking platform Google+ in a bid to rake up some excitement around it. Among the features introduced is Highlight, which can identify if the pictures are hazy or overexposed, identify landmarks, or even find faces sporting a smile. The Auto Enhance feature eliminates noise from low light images while also softening wrinkles. Auto Awesome is another cool feature that can identify a photo scene and provide corrections accordingly. In short, it is designed to automatically make a photo awesome. Lastly, while Google was expected to launch a slew of hardware, which includes next gen versions of Nexus 7, Nexus 4, or even a new Chromebook, the lone hardware announcement during the conference was the Samsung Galaxy S4 running the stock Android version. The S4 will reach markets towards end June, but is priced a hefty $650. Meanwhile, Google Play for Education and Google Play Games were the other important announcements made at the I/O Conference. Click on the respective link for more on these.
Google I/O Wrap Up is a post from: E-Reader News |
