| Blackberry 10 phones have always enjoyed a basic Android Emulator that allowed users to convert APK to BAR files and install them on your phone. This was often very complicated and warranted using our online convertor and then another piece of 3rd party software to load apps on your phone. Needless to say, this was quite the barrier to the vast majority of phone users that just want a better way to install apps. We now have that way. Blackberry has issued new firmware that will allow you to update your phone to Jellybean and install Android Apps (APK Files) at the click of a button. The only thing you need to do is install the latest firmware update, by download it from HERE and then plugging your Blackberry into your PC. The file is almost 1.9 GB and will factory reset your phone, so make sure you back it up first using Blackberry Link. After you install that file your Blackberry will reboot. The next step is to open up the default web-browser on the phone and type in http://apps.goodereader.com/android-apps/android-app-stores/?did=171 and this will download our App Store and install it. Once you have the app store installed on your phone, you can use it to download any app and install it whenever you want. You can browser the store on WIFI or on Data and there is no registration required. The Good e-Reader App Store currently has over 48,000 Android Apps and Games, and new content is added daily. The client will allow you to browser one of our 65 different categories and our robust searching mechanism will assist you in App Discovery. If you fancy leaving a review, you can login using Facebook Connect and leave a starred rating and review. Once you connect with Facebook you will have the power to store any app you download to the Good e-Reader Cloud. This means you can use the same account with all of your Blackberry and Android devices and easily install any of your prior files at the click of a button. How to Load APK Files on the Blackberry Z10, Q10, Q5 and Z30 is a post from: E-Reader News |
Friday, November 22, 2013
How to Load APK Files on the Blackberry Z10, Q10, Q5 and Z30
Amazon Prime Gifting Program Announced
| Amazon has just announced a new program that will allow you to gift a membership to Prime to another user. It costs $79 and gives you a ton of access for the one time fee. You can get Kindle First, which will give you eBooks months before their publication date. There is also free two shipping on all orders and one free eBook a month. Finally, residents of the US will be able to watch free movies and television shows. If you are in a gift giving mood, check it out. Amazon Prime Gifting Program Announced is a post from: E-Reader News |
Introducing GertDuino
| Gert van Loo is one of the Raspberry Pi Foundation’s earliest volunteers. We wouldn’t have a Raspberry Pi without Gert; he did the hardware engineering for the alpha boards which turned into the eventual Raspberry Pi you’ve got on your desk/taped behind the TV/in your ping-pong robot today. Gert created the Gertboard – our favourite GPIO expansion board – shortly after we launched Raspberry Pi. Besides these personal projects he still volunteers with us: he’s a forum mod, he worked on the Raspberry Pi camera board, he’s working on kids’ electronics kits for the Pi with us, and he dropped by the other day to show me a few of his latest projects, including GertDuino. We’re very excited about GertDuino. It’s basically an Arduino that mounts onto your Raspberry Pi, creating an all-in-one development environment – but unlike your standard Arduino, as well as having an Atmega 328 microcontroller, it also incorporates an Atmega 48 which gives you an IRDA interface, a batterry backup power supply, and a high-precision real-time clock, which many of you have been asking for. The Atmega 328 is Arduino-Uno® compatible, so you can clip on shields to your heart’s content. There are push buttons, a reset button, and a spangly array of LEDs – Gert feels that where one LED is great, six is always better. We love it. Gert says: “There has been a discussion on the forum from the beginning about the partnership that a Raspberry Pi and an Arduino can have. Both have their pros and cons, but together they’re great. So I decided to combine the two. But I wanted to do more than just add a microcontroller. The idea is that Gertduino can be programmed and developed on the PI, but then unplugged and used standalone. That is why there is a second controller with real-time-clock and IRDA interface. Plug in a motor shield and you can e.g. open the door of your chicken scoop [Liz interjects: Gert's first language is not English, and I am pretty sure he means coop, not scoop, unless he's got into meat processing when we weren't looking] every morning at 8 am. Or you can point a remote control at it and close your curtains from your chair. I added the RS232 interface so you can connect two boards over a long cable. It is the combination of these individual features which makes it so powerful.” Here’s a spot of home video that Gert shot during development, all excited because he got a motor shield working for the first time. Of course, being Gert, he’s not stopped with the hardware: he’s made a 30-page manual available too, complete with schematics and example code. GertDuino is currently available through Element14. You’ll find some more technical information at the link, as well as some video interviews with Gert. Thanks Gert – we’re looking forward to seeing what everybody gets up to with GertDuino! |
Let’s Help the Industry by Publishing FEWER Books?
| At yesterday’s Futurebook conference, one of the anticipated panels was once again the “big idea” panel in which industry professionals came together to propose ideas that will have an impact on publishing in the near future. Each of the eight panelists were given the chance to share and explain one key idea that could revolutionize or secure the book business. But with great ideas proposed like a ranking system for self-published authors to help ensure best practices and a streamlined device system that makes buying ebooks ridiculously easy, one of the better ideas was the focus on greater adoption of bundling of ebooks with their print counterparts, proposed by BitLit’s Peter Hudson. An exciting concept, proposed by Marcello Vena, general manager of RCS Libri, was that of “co-publishing,” a model that essentially lets traditional and small press publishers lend greater support to self-published authors through collaboration. Additionally, Rebecca Smart of Osprey proposed that the funeral march-pace of traditional publishing is practically artificial and needs to be sped up to keep up with the industry of ebooks. But one of the stranger ideas to come from the panel was the notion that publishers should be producing fewer titles, an idea introduced by Canongate’s Jamie Byng. Rather than describing a situation in which publishers withheld great books from consumers (which is what it sounds like on the surface of his argument), Byng feels that publishers should cut their titles–and therefore the number of authors they work with–and instead focus all of their efforts and attention on a few titles that they deem worthy. This idea, Byng espoused, would mean customers would come to really appreciate the greater-quality books being produced, and “second rate manuscripts” would stop filling publishers’ inboxes. This mentality about the nature and appreciation for books may very well be at the core of why so many authors–and their reader fans–are abandoning the sinking ship of the traditional publishing industry.
Let’s Help the Industry by Publishing FEWER Books? is a post from: E-Reader News |
The FutureBook Innovation Awards
| At this week’s annual FutureBook conference, put on each year by The Bookseller, a number of highly impactful and forward thinking companies were honored as Digital Innovation Awards winners and nominees. The awards, issued in a wide variety of categories, were given November 21st during the global digital publishing event. Nosy Crow, Random house, Rough guides, Bibliocloud, and Touch Press were all major winners at the event, based on judging criteria for everything from their websites to their book campaigns. Several other runners-up were award highly commendable status for their contributions to digital publishing. One of the non-surprising winners continues to be Dominique Raccah, publisher at Sourcebooks. The company is one of the go-to names when industry professionals think of leading the way in massive undertakings to spark digital innovation, especially with programs like this year’s collaboration with OverDrive for the Big Library Read and with Groupon for offering Put Me in the Story as a special. Raccah commented to The Bookseller: “I am honoured and more than a little overwhelmed to be receiving this award. But the truth is, this award isn't actually about me. It’s really about what we’ve all accomplished together. This digital transformation has created a community among us; one that fosters innovation, shares successes and failures, learns from one another, helps each other, and one that’s worldwide. Perhaps most important of all, transformation can sometimes be both frightening and isolating. It’s wonderful to know there are others facing the same challenges and creating new kinds of solutions. You are all, for me that community. And I thank you for the inspiration, friendship and support you’ve given to me and my team.” The complete list of award winners and their categories can be found HERE.
The FutureBook Innovation Awards is a post from: E-Reader News |
Who’s Who in Pioneering Stand Alone eBooks?
| A post today for Huffpo’s Books section is worthy of a share here on Good e-Reader: Howard Polskin, CEO and Editor in Chief, Thin Reads, listed his picks for some of the most powerful names in digital publishing, at least where the increasingly popular ebook singles are concerned, and we couldn’t agree more. In his post, “The 8 Most Influential People in E-Book Single Publishing,” Polskin lists the accomplishments and contributions to ebooks provided by a very short list of names. Polskin’s list includes David Blum, editor in chief, Kindle Singles; Donna Carpenter, chairman and CEO, New Word City; Matt Cavnar, Vice President, Business Development, Vook; Mink Choi, book producer, Thought Catalog Books; Maris Kreizman, editorial director, Digital Content, NOOK Media; Laura Owen, staff reporter, Gigaom; Evan Ratliff, co-founder, CEO, editor, Atavist; and John Tayman, founder and CEO, Byliner. One noted and overlooked name that we feel belongs on this list is Mark Coker, CEO and founder of Smashwords. While the ebook distribution site is admittedly not aimed specifically at the ebook singles market, Smashwords contains a wealth of titles that fall within the word count range for what is considered an e-short. The availability of this content on the Smashwords platform has arguably contributed to the rise in popularity of grabbing a quick read and enjoying the full story within the confines of a limited word count.
Who’s Who in Pioneering Stand Alone eBooks? is a post from: E-Reader News |
New Apple Minisite Shows Six Intuitive Uses of the iPad
| Apple is highlighting six stories that depict the use of the iPad in scenarios never originally envisioned. These have been compiled in a new page that forms the newest addition to the company's official website. The page, dubbed “Life on iPad,” can be the source of inspiration for many owners to explore new possibilities with their devices, and highlights ways the iPad has been used either by an individual or by a company with the collective aim of furthering their pursuit of achieving excellence, either professionally or personally. The iPad has been put to use, for example, by Dr. Eldo during complicated surgeries and saving people’s lives, by Vintner Christian Gastón to manage his 600 acre vineyard in California using the Field Assets app, and by technicians at Siemens Energy Wind Service to help enhance work efficiency. Others who have relied heavily on the iPad and have made a difference include Mark Post, an off-road racing driver and owner of the Riviera Racing Team; Jeff Whiting, a Broadway director and choreographer; and Bridie Farrell, a competitive speed skater. There could well be more such ingenious ways that the iPad has been used or is likely to be in future. Its newest releases, the iPad Air and the iPad Mini with Retina Display, have already received rave reviews and have rewritten the way tablets are designed or used.
New Apple Minisite Shows Six Intuitive Uses of the iPad is a post from: E-Reader News |
Mountrath Community College Describes Its eLearning Program Based on HP Elite Pad a Disaster
| With educational institutes around the world fast adopting digital means to ensure better education among students, at least one school, the Mountrath Community College in Laois, Ireland begs to differ. Its ambitious ‘books to ebooks’ move initiated amidst much fanfare more than a year ago has come a cropper. Unfortunately for HP, its Elite Pad tablet device has to bear the brunt of the blame as the device was often found wanting in its performance; so much that it prompted the school's principal to terms their move to adopt ebooks as “an unmitigated disaster”. As a quick gap solution, the principal has already called for physical books to be distributed to all students to ensure the session progresses smoothly. Each parents had to dole out €550 (market price €620) in lieu of the HP Elite Pad tablet device and as a consolation for them, the books are being provided free of cost. The school’s principal, Martin Gleeson in a letter to the parents said: “The roll-out of e-learning which involved the use of HP Elite Pads and e-books should have been an exciting and new way of moving forward. “The HP Elite Pad has proved to be an unmitigated disaster. We have met with HP representatives on a number of occasions to address the issues. “To ensure stability and continuity of education I have ordered a full set of books for all the students.” To have the right device is imperative for any e-learning program to succeed and the HP Elite Pads has failed on this on multiple counts. Among the issues that students reported having faced with the Elite Pads include Wi-Fi functioning erratically, system board failures, device not switching on or going into sleep spontaneously and so on. School authorities said they have put in almost 18 months' worth of research in choosing the right device though obviously that has proved to be flawed. The tablet device in question though has had fairly good reviews which makes it interesting to know why the units supplied to the school turned out to be faulty. HP has been hard at work to resolve the issues but has not been able to commit to any time frame so far. In a statement, HP stated they are “working very closely with Mountrath Community School to resolve some technical issues and is committed to doing so in the shortest possible time frame.”
Mountrath Community College Describes Its eLearning Program Based on HP Elite Pad a Disaster is a post from: E-Reader News |
Remembering JFK
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Today, on the 50th anniversary of the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the United States remembers the life, leadership, and legacy of our beloved 35th President. The circumstances surrounding the assassination still continue to fascinate, and in many cases, divide us as it may never be solved to everyone's contentment. Regardless of whether you accept the "lone gunman" theory or believe the many conspiracy theories, the image and memory of this day has a strong hold on the American mind.
In honor of this historic day, OverDrive has created a list of titles* that chronicle both the incredible life and tragic death of JFK. Titles in this collection include:
As the world still reeled from the tragic and historic events of November 22, 1963, William Manchester set out, at the request of the Kennedy family, to create a detailed, authoritative record of the days immediately preceding and following President John F. Kennedy’s death. Through hundreds of interviews, abundant travel and firsthand observation, and with unique access to the proceedings of the Warren Commission, Manchester conducted an exhaustive historical investigation, accumulating 45 volumes of documents, exhibits, and transcribed tapes.
An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963 by Robert Dallek Drawing on previously unavailable material and never-before-opened archives, An Unfinished Life is packed with revelations large and small – about JFK’s health, his love affairs, RFK’s appointment as Attorney General, what Joseph Kennedy did to help his son win the White House, and the path JFK would have taken in the Vietnam entanglement had he survived. Robert Dallek succeeds as no other biographer has done in striking a critical balance – never shying away from JFK’s weaknesses, brilliantly exploring his strengths – as he offers up a vivid portrait of a bold, brave, complex, heroic, human Kennedy.
Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot by Bill O'Reilly A riveting historical narrative of the shocking events surrounding the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and the follow-up to mega-bestselling author Bill O’Reilly’s Killing Lincoln. Now the anchor of The O’Reilly Factor recounts in gripping detail the brutal murder of John Fitzgerald Kennedy – and how a sequence of gunshots on a Dallas afternoon not only killed a beloved president but also sent the nation into the cataclysmic division of the Vietnam War and its culture-changing aftermath.
Oswald's Tale: An American Mystery by Norman Mailer In perhaps his most important literary feat, Norman Mailer fashions an unprecedented portrait of one of the great villains – and enigmas – in United States history. Based on KGB and FBI transcripts, government reports, letters and diaries, and Mailer’s own international research, this is an epic account of a man whose cunning, duplicity, and self-invention were both at home in and at odds with the country he forever altered.
If Kennedy Lived, The First and Second Terms of President John F. Kennedy: An Alternative History by Jeff Greenfield November 22, 1963: JFK does not die. What would happen to his life, his presidency, his country, his world?
*Some titles are metered access and may have limited regional or platform availability. Check OverDrive Marketplace to find what is available for you.
Rachel Somerville is a Collection Development Analyst at OverDrive.
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Thursday, November 21, 2013
Blackberry to Allow the Installation of APK Files with New Update
| Blackberry has been hit with hard times the last few years, as diminishing financial returns and flip flopping of management has made the vast majority of corporations losing confidence in the brand. There has always been a very loyal base of Blackberry users that have stuck with the company in the hopes things will turn around. According to a recently leaked OS, things seem very bright for the future of apps and games on all modern devices. A new leaked OS will allow Blackberry users to install APK files right on their device, without the need of jumping through all the hoops of installing BAR files on their phones. All you need to do is install the Good e-Reader App Store on your Blackberry Z10-Z30 and you will be able to download and install apps using the stock file manager program. One of the other benefits of the new 10.2.1.1055 OS is the upgrade to the Android Runtime, which will give users a dose of Jellybean. This will allow for even more apps to be installed. This new process will not mess up any BAR file you may have loaded in the past, and you will still be able to install apps under the old method of the Chrome Plugin or DDPB. Blackberry should be pushing the official update in the next few months via WIFI through their update feature. In the meantime, you can download and install it today for free for the Z10 and Z30. All you need to do is know what model number you have, which is found underneath the battery. Then, simply download the file you need under “Full OS Autoloaders” and click on the exe file, while your phone is plugged into your computer via the USB cable. It will then update your OS. Once you do that and your phone reboots, you can install the Good e-Reader App Store for Android and then clicking on your file manager to find the APK file on your device and then install it. Blackberry to Allow the Installation of APK Files with New Update is a post from: E-Reader News |
Congratulations to the 2013 National Book Award Winners!
| Each year the National Book Foundation presents awards to winners in Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Young People's Literature. The four winners for 2013 were announced last night at a ceremony in New York City. This year's winners are:
Fiction: The Good Lord Bird by James McBride
Nonfiction: The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America by George Packer Young People’s Literature: The Thing About Luck by Cynthia Kadohata Poetry: Incarnadine by Mary Szybist
We have created a list that features this year's winners, finalists, and longlist titles in Marketplace.
Established in 1950, the National Book Award is one of the most distinguished literary awards in the United States. Past winners include William Faulkner, Philip Roth, Flannery O'Connor, Alice Walker, and Allen Ginsberg.
To be eligible for a 2013 National Book Award, authors had to be American citizens and published books in the United States between December 1, 2012, and November 30, 2013.
Rachel Somerville is a Collection Development Analyst at OverDrive.
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The Wolfram Language and Mathematica on Raspberry Pi, for free
| One of the best things about working on Raspberry Pi has been the opportunity to meet groups of people who are trying to bring about the same sort of change in the teaching of other subjects that we’re aiming for in computing. One great example is the computer-based math (CBM) movement, which aims to redefine the teaching of mathematics in schools away from mechanical calculation and towards problem solving. From their website:
Today, at the CBM education summit in New York, we announced a partnership with Wolfram Research to bundle a free copy of Mathematica and the Wolfram Language into future Raspbian images. We believe this will make the Pi a first-class platform for teaching CBM techniques to children of all ages. As Conrad Wolfram said today: “Coders will be able to use the power of Mathematica’s maths out of the box, not only enriching what they can do but also showing off the power and importance of maths.”  Plotting 3d graphs with Mathematica on Pi  Deeply inappropriate use of the Heaviside step function Future Raspbian images will ship with the Wolfram Language and Mathematica by default; existing users with at least 600MB of free space on their SD card can install them today by typing:
You’ll find Mathematica in the app launcher under the Education menu. We’d like to thank the team at Wolfram Research for the enormous amount of effort they’ve put to get the Wolfram Language and Mathematica running well on the Pi. Over the next few months we’ll be running a series of blog posts from Wolfram exploring some of the neat tricks you can get up to with them. This is going to be fun! |
Video Chat for the Holidays
Video chat is a great way to keep in touch with friends & family if you can't be with them in person. Here are some tips to help you get started. |
iStoryTime Library of Titles Now Available for Android Devices
| The award-winning children’s enhanced ebook creators at zuuka’s iStorytime have announced that their complete catalog of titles, many of which are adaptations of some of the most beloved current children’s films, are finally available for Android-powered smartphones and tablets. Formerly only available for iOS devices, this catalog includes favorites like Shrek, Madagascar, Rise of the Guardians, and many more, along with some of its in-house children’s titles. "Zuuka is proud to bring one of the most popular libraries of digital children's storybooks to Android tablets and smartphones around the world," said Graham Farrar, founder of zuuka. "From Kung Fu Panda to The Smurfs, our collection is full of fun characters that kids can enjoy with their parents, grandparents, teachers or by reading to themselves." Apart from innovative work in children’s digital publishing by incorporating optional read-aloud narration, easy swipe for small fingers, and bonus content to hold young readers’ interest, zuuka has also won awards for its various purchasing and reading models. Parents can subscribe to the entire iStoryTime catalog of titles, can preview and purchase individual titles within their app, or can even earn free titles by interacting with option sponsor-delivered content. The iStoryTime app for Android is now available for free through the Google Play and Amazon App stores, and for a limited time users who found the news on this article can have up to five free popular titles from Dreamworks and iStoryTime. Simply download the free iStorytime app and open the Rise of the Guardians title, then enter the code ANDROIDLAUNCH under the “enter story code” link. “To celebrate, we want to give readers the Rise of the Guardians storybook, in addition to the four free books it already comes with: The Giant Smurf, Madagascar, Ice Age, and Robin Hood. The Rise of the Guardians interactive storybook app retells the exciting story of the movie. Join forces with the legendary Guardians in this fully animated, narrated and interactive storybook. Fans follow Jack Frost, North, Tooth, Bunny and Sandy as they come together for the first time to protect the hopes, beliefs and imagination of the children from the evil spirit known as Pitch.”
iStoryTime Library of Titles Now Available for Android Devices is a post from: E-Reader News |
Macmillan Imprints to Establish Age-Related Book Divisions
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Called the Macmillan Under 6 and Macmillan Over 6 divisions, the publisher has established two distinct teams to focus on the acquisition and publication of books for these markets. While reaching out to an audience with very specific reading needs, both divisions will focus on building a stronger digital imprint. "We recognised that there are two different businesses so now they will be able to operate in a more efficient way," Macmillan Children's Books publisher Belinda Rasmussen said in an interview about the split with The Bookseller. "We really want to get a strategic lead by being as market, customer and consumer-focused as possible." While this model is a much-needed move in the right direction and speaks to Macmillan’s intuitive decision making where children’s publishing is concerned, it is a move that more publishers would be wise to consider given the very different considerations when trying to reach children’s books readers. Toddlers and preschoolers at the emerging literacy stage have unique needs that are so far removed from the needs of middle grade and young adult reluctant readers, yet most publishers and even booksellers consider those age groups to both fall under children’s publishing. Taking digital publishing into account, the access to technology at the preschool stage is not the same as the high school reader’s access, so different digital focuses must be established in order to reach as many young readers as possible.
Macmillan Imprints to Establish Age-Related Book Divisions is a post from: E-Reader News |
Russian eBook App Bookmate Offers Unlimited Access For $5 Monthly
| Russia boasts of a rich literary culture, but is also besotted with digital piracy of an unprecedented scale; that translates to substantially less cash inflow to the national exchequer every year. eBook piracy in the country is among the highest in the world, and a Russian company has likely come with a solution:an ebook reading service, Bookmate, that offers ebook subscription at very nominal rates. The brain child of Dream Industries, Bookmate offers its subscribers open access to its entire library of no less than 225,000 books for a mere $5 per month. No doubt such a pricing strategy will draw a parallel with Netflix, that started the trend with unlimited movie downloads for $9.99 per month. The ebooks are in both Russian and English languages and can be reached via an app that is compatible with various platforms. The founder of Dream Industries, Simon Dunlop, believes Bookmate is just not a reading service like any other. “Today, reading competes with many new services for a person's time: social networks, messaging, Twitter, online games,” he says. “Bookmate … puts books wherever you are online, creating a 'reading layer' across all your online activity.” Understanding that it's a virtual social environment that we live in, Bookmate also includes social functions that will let readers share quotes or collaborate in other ways, like enabling friends to see what titles you are reading. “When people have the chance to read many books in a shared and social environment, their reading behavior changes,” said Dunlop. “Our readers read many more books simultaneously and share experiences with one another.” Plans are also afoot to increase the scope of Bookmate to branch out to more markets worldwide. Among its immediate plans include tying up with publishers in the US and UK while adding more English language titles to their collection. Bookmate also stated they wish to tap into those countries that have a substantial English speaking population. “Across six countries — Russia, Turkey, Nigeria, Pakistan, India and the Philippines — there are more native English speakers than in the U.S., UK and Canada combined, but at the moment we don't believe those readers are being served through traditional sales channels,” says James Appell, head of global development at Bookmate. These are also the countries where ebook piracy is fairly rampant, though the trend could change once Bookmate with its affordable pricing structure enters the scene. This will ensure a steady revenue stream for not only Bookmate but also the publishers since readers who either didn't read at all owing to the high costs involved or read pirated books will be tempted to try Bookmate reading services.
Russian eBook App Bookmate Offers Unlimited Access For $5 Monthly is a post from: E-Reader News |
High Point Public Library Wraps Up eReaders for the Holidays
| Since announcing the winners of this year's marketing-focused Digital Library Champions contest at Digipalooza in August, each month we’ve highlighted their success stories through a series of Librarian's Share blog posts. This week, we feature the winner of the "Outside the Library" category, High Point Public Library (member of the North Carolina Digital Library):
As we began 2012, High Point Public Library experienced a huge influx of readers interested in the library's eBooks due to the affordability of eReaders. It seemed like everyone had received an eReader or tablet for Christmas in 2011. We were searching for ways to connect readers with the growing eBook collection that we provide through the North Carolina Digital Library.
In the spring of 2012, an idea came to mind. What if we could help the people that were planning on giving eReaders to their mothers, wives, or daughters for Mother's Day and promote the library's eBook collection at the same time?
A plan was born to provide complimentary gift boxes (with tissue paper, ribbon and gift tag included) that were the perfect size for wrapping up new devices (they were white shirt boxes, in fact). Inside each gift box, we would include general information and tips on how to get started using their device. We also provided specific information on how to use the library's OverDrive collection based on the type of device they received. Library staff had already created device-specific handouts on how to use the service. We advertised these gift boxes in posters and on the library's Facebook page.
Unsure of how popular this service would be, we were surprised when the majority of the 16 gift boxes that we created had been taken. While our project started with Mother's Day, we continued throughout the summer for high school and college graduation season and Father's Day, as well. We expect that this may account for an increase in our circulation during May-July of 2012. We had 1,300 circulations in May and almost 1,850 for the month of July 2012.
We saw the gift boxes used for more than just holiday gifts. We had a Middle School teacher come and get two of the boxes to reward her top readers with Kindles and she wanted to include information about the library's eBook collection with them. It was then that I realized it was a success!
Overall, we were pleased with the response we received for this service. It was a relatively low-cost way to make the eBook experience more personalized for the new device owners and spread the word about eBooks to members of our community. If you wanted to do this at your library, you might even ask your Friends of the Library group to help fund the project and get them involved in the publicity for your OverDrive service. This is a service that could be offered around major holidays or even throughout the year, as eReaders and tablets are popular birthday gifts as well. We feel that through this project we were really able to demonstrate the library's value to the community in a new and unique way.
Julie Raynor is the Readers' Services Supervisor and OverDrive Specialist at High Point Public Library, member of the North Carolina Digital Library, and winner of the Outside the Library category in the 2013 Digital Library Champions contest.
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Video: iPad Mini with Retina PDF Experience
| The Apple iPad Mini with Retina is the latest generation 7.9 inch device and many people may want to use it to read technical PDF files. Today, we take a look at the overall PDF experience using the stock iBooks app. The iPad Mini Retina has the exact same resolution as its larger screen cousins. This really makes graphic heavy content really shine and is a significant step up from the iPad Mini 1. The PDF file we look at today is the Dungeon’s Masters Guide 5th edition and check to see how image quality, text clarity and what type of gesture support it has. This video is really meant to show off the screen to give you a sense of how it handles larger files. Video: iPad Mini with Retina PDF Experience is a post from: E-Reader News |
Barnes and Noble Simple Touch with Glowlight Drop Test
| The Barnes and Noble Simple Touch with Glowlight was the first e-reader on the market that had a front-lit display. This allowed customers to finally read books on their digital reader in complete darkness, something that was quite new for for early 2012. Many companies jumped onto the bandwagon a few months later, like Kobo and Amazon. The NST with Glow is still being sold at big box retailers in the USA and in the UK. Today we run an extensive drop test with the Barnes and Noble Simple Touch with Glowlight. We do a three foot drop, which simulates the pocket miss. We also drop it from the five foot mark on its back, side and front. This e-reader actually was the first one that totally failed the drop test. Check out the video below for how we managed to completely destroy the screen. Barnes and Noble Simple Touch with Glowlight Drop Test is a post from: E-Reader News |
Students in UK Want eBooks to be Priced Lower
| eBooks already enjoy a price advantage over the printed counterparts though that does not seem to be enough for the younger generation in the UK. Or so a study revealed where the 16 to 24 age group expressed their desire for ebooks to be priced even cheaper. The common rationale is that since ebooks cost a fraction of printing a real book, they should also be priced much less than what it is right now. “Whatever the internal politics and business issues within publishing, young people won’t care: all they want is a price that seems fair—or better than that,” said Luke Mitchell, head of insight at market analysts Voxburner that published the report 'Buying Digital Content: Research on spending habits, needs and attitudes among UK 16-24s'. Of the 1,420 respondents who were polled, 17 percent feel ebooks should be priced 75 percent lower than what printed books cost while 28 percent said ebooks should be priced half than their printed counterparts. It is only a minuscule 8 percent that felt ebooks are priced right. Another aspect of the finding that should be of interest to the publishers is that it is only 55 percent that own some sort of an ebook reading device, be it a dedicated ereader or a tablet while the majority 85 percent only own a smartphone device. “Young people are obsessed with value for money [but] their second obsession is convenience, and this is something also that publishers may be able to work on: how seamless is e-book buying on a young person’s favourite device,” further added Mitchell. Also, in another interesting revelation, 62 percent of those who took part in the survey said they preferred printed books over ebooks.
Students in UK Want eBooks to be Priced Lower is a post from: E-Reader News |
