| Pinterest and Barnes and Noble have signed a new agreement to have the app pre-loaded on any future Nook HD and HD+ tablets that are sold. Any tablets in the stores will be temporarily pulled to load a new firmware update that will give you Pinterest has a native application. Pinterest joins Facebook and Twitter as one of the handful of apps pre-loaded on NOOK devices. Claudia Romanini, who is the vice president of NOOK apps at Barnes & Noble, says that Pinterest has "long been one of" the company's most requested apps, so we're positive that most NOOK users will benefit greatly from the addition of Pinterest. So what exactly is Pinterest? It is basically a cool photo sharing app, that a recent PEW Report said 15% of online adults use it. Kobo has also integrated it into their platform, alongside many other companies. Barnes and Noble is trying to revitalize their digital division during the last few weeks. The company recently launched their revised self-publishing program, Nook Press. UltraViolet is also a growing segment within their new television and movie ecosystem. Pinterest Now Being Pre-Loaded on Barnes and Noble Tablets is a post from: E-Reader News |
Monday, April 15, 2013
Pinterest Now Being Pre-Loaded on Barnes and Noble Tablets
Happy National Library Workers Day!
| More than 228 million people used a library card in 2012 (https://www.oclc.org/global-library-statistics.en.html), and each of them has a library worker to thank for that opportunity. Maybe you helped a patron locate a book in the stacks; assisted a student in finding resources for a research paper; hosted a book club discussion; loaded MARC records into your catalog; scanned a library card; selected books for your collection … the list could go on.
In celebration of National Library Workers Day, Team OverDrive extends our sincere recognition and appreciation to library staff across the country for the valuable contributions you make to our communities every day. We are also grateful for the tremendous efforts you've invested in bringing eBooks and digital audiobooks to the forefront. More than 70 million OverDrive digital titles circulated last year, and that feat could not have been reached without your commitment, support, and time. To library workers from Salt Lake City to Dallas to Minneapolis to New York and beyond, we salute and thank you for helping foster literacy—in every format. In honor of your day, we are giving away "eBook Swag Packs" complete with t-shirts, hats, and buttons for library workers to continue helping patrons access eBooks. Tell us in the comments section below why your library loves eBooks and we will choose the top 10 responses and contact the winners by Wednesday, April 24. Enjoy your well-deserved day!
Adam Sockel is a Marketing Specialist at OverDrive  |
Kobo Unveils Kobo Aura HD eBook Reader with Unique Screen (Video)
| Kobo just pulled a surprise move on everybody today by unveiling a new limited edition E Ink ebook reader called the Kobo Aura HD. The most interesting detail about Kobo’s new ereader is the screen, which Kobo is calling ClarityScreen+. First off, the screen is supposed to be more durable than typical E Ink screens. [...] |
Exclusive: Kobo Aura HD e-Reader Announced
| Kobo has announced a new e-reader that will certainly appeal to a wide demographic of users. In a world where the standard electronic book reader is only six inches, the new model bucks the trend with a 6.8 inch HD screen. The Kobo Aura HD features a 6.8 inch e-ink Pearl HD display screen with a resolution of 1440×1080 with 265 DPI. This model is one of the most impressive units on the market and the resolution really sets it apart from the competition. It also sports a front-lit screen, much akin to the Kobo Glo. You will be able to read in the dark and swipe the bar that gives you the ability to customize the illumination levels. Underneath the hood is a Freescale i.MX507 1 GHZ CPU processor and 4 GB of internal storage. The one thing Kobo has done very well is incorporate SD support to enhance the memory even further. You should be able to voraciously read to your heart's content, because the battery life is a very solid 1 month if you read 30 minutes a day. Dimensions are 128.3 mm x 175.7 mm x 11.7 mm (6.97 in x 5.05 in x 0.46 in). One of the big advantages Kobo has over the competition is the expanded font support. There are 10 styles and 24 different font sizes that you can employ to find the sweet spot. If you are an advanced user, you can actually load in your own fonts that come from the internet. There is also a ton of support for different languages, such as English, French, German, Spanish, Dutch, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, Portuguese, and Japanese. Kobo has one of the largest ebook stores in the world with over 3.4 million titles available. You will have full access to buy content in one click. If you want to load in your own books, you can do it with EPUB, PDF, JPEG, GIF, PNG, TIFF, TXT, HTML, RFT, CBZ, and CBR formats. People who love comics and manga will find that the CBZ and CBR formats play very nicely with the Kobo Aura HD. “To us, the Kobo Aura HD is the Porsche of e-readers and is designed for those in the driver’s seat of their e-reading adventures,” said Wayne White, EVP and General Manager of Devices, Kobo. “It’s fast, powerful, and sleek and pushes the boundaries of e-reading the same way our readers do – together, they’ll know no bounds as they find their next great read.” The device will be available for pre-order tomorrow on the official Kobo website and Shop e-Readers. It will be shipping out and available at the stores on April 25th. The cost is one of the most exciting factors, at a very solid $169.99. Stay tuned to our full hands on review coming in the next 24 hours. Exclusive: Kobo Aura HD e-Reader Announced is a post from: E-Reader News |
Sony Launches Discover Map Feature on Its Reader Store
|
Every month Sony intends on updating its Discover Map with new editions every week. The thoughts behind this is to give people a chance to discover new books and genres they might otherwise miss. Sony summed it up by saying, “The map is all about discovery, so try following the opposite of how you’d usually answer to lead you to a wild-card pick. Nonfiction readers: pick up a fantasy novel. Suspense fiction lovers: slow it down with an epic love story.” Want to give it a try? I assure you it’s very unique, and considering how popular discover maps are in magazines and online, this was a savvy move by Sony. Want to get started? Click HERE to check out the first few maps. Sony Launches Discover Map Feature on Its Reader Store is a post from: E-Reader News |
Simon & Schuster Announces New Library Pilot Program for eBooks
| Simon and Schuster is the only major publisher that has never engaged in providing digital content for libraries. Over the course of the last few years, the American Library Association has been meeting with company representatives to try and sway them over. Today, Simon & Shuster announced a one year pilot program for the New York, Brooklyn, and Queens Public Libraries. The President of the American Library Association, Maureen Sullivan, commented, “"We are pleased Simon & Schuster has recognized the vital roles of libraries in supporting reading in all its formats by announcing a library e-lending pilot in New York City. As we celebrate the 55th annual National Library Week, it is a particularly fortuitous time for the publisher to join its Big Six colleagues by providing access to ebooks through our nation's libraries. We hope that Simon & Schuster will extend its pilot to libraries beyond New York City in the near future. Books and knowledge—in all their forms—are essential. The ALA and our members welcome new and expanded digital access for all." "We have always recognized the important place of libraries in our communities. They play a vital role in fostering and encouraging reading in every strata of our society, and they help to create an audience for our books and authors," said Carolyn Reidy, President and Chief Executive Officer of Simon & Schuster. "We are delighted to partner with these libraries, which have shown an extraordinary willingness to try innovative models with the potential to be a long-term solution for all involved. In making our full list The 3M Cloud Library System has been earmarked to handle the digital distribution for the New York and Brooklyn Public Libraries, while Baker and Taylor will run their Axis 360 program in Queens. What of Overdrive? The company remains the largest force in the library world when it comes to handling the loaning out of digital books and audiobooks. Publishers don’t like the fact that Overdrive deals with Amazon and allows their books to be borrowed on the entire range of Kindle devices, which is why they missed out on the Penguin trial that was announced last June. 3M is really being put on the map with the last few major business deals they have scored with major publishers. The company got in with Penguin last year and ran its trial in New York, which eventually got expanded and now the publishers titles are available in libraries all over the US. Recently, Penguin announced it will offer its entire line of front-list titles, so libraries can have access to the digital editions, the same day the printed counterparts come out. This is worth noting, because S&S is likely going to follow the same pattern. "These pilot programs are a first step for publishers to engage in the library ebook market," said Tom Mercer, marketing manger, 3M Cloud Library. "Through collaborations with publishers, 3M has been able to help expand the overall market, bringing more digital titles to libraries." When it comes to publishers and libraries, the entire process remains convoluted. They can’t seem to agree on a unified distribution strategy and makes the entire process complicated for librarians. Some offer the ebook at three times the amount the paperback costs, while others impose a 26 checkout limit before you have to buy the ebook again. Can you imagine being a librarian and having to deal with different pricing and distribution methods for every month publisher you deal with? I know most that have given up on digital and just went with normal books, because its simpler.The one cool thing Simon and Schuster is doing is giving the ability for patrons to buy the books. Libraries will earn a small commission whenever someone reads and then buys the book, or decides the waiting list is too long and just makes the purchase. Simon & Schuster Announces New Library Pilot Program for eBooks is a post from: E-Reader News |
Much faster USB transfer speeds in the works
PCs and mobile devices connected to peripherals via USB ports will in
the future be able to transfer data at twice the speed possible today.
A new specification that doubles the data transfer over USB to 10 gbps
(gigabits per second) is in the works, said the USB Implementers Forum, a
standards-setting organization that defines specifications for the data
transfer technology. The announcement was made at the Intel Developer
Forum in Beijing.
The speed improvement means users will be able to move gigabytes of data
between PCs and peripherals such as portable hard drives in a matter of
seconds. That is especially useful when transferring large
high-resolution video files.
The new specification is an improvement over the existing USB 3.0, which
can transfer data at 5 gbps. Most PCs today ship with USB 3.0 ports,
while smartphones and tablets have micro-USB ports based on the older
and slower 2.0 specification. Mobile devices are expected to get faster
signalling rates with micro-USB 3.0 ports.
Arrival date uncertain
The speed increase comes on the heels of Intel's announcement this week
that it is doubling the speed of Thunderbolt, an interconnect based on
PCI-Express and DisplayPort that is viewed as a faster alternative to
USB.
By the end of the year, Thunderbolt will boast data transfer rates of 20
gbps, but USB 3.0 has an advantage of wider adoption and backing of
some top hardware makers including Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, and
Microsoft. Intel views USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt as complementary
technologies.
USB-IF did not say when the new specification would be approved and released.
Peripherals based on the new standard will be able to plug into existing
USB 3.0 ports. However, new cables will be needed to handle the faster
speeds.
The last major update
to the USB 3.0 specification in July involved the connector cables
being able to deliver up to 100 watts of power, which could charge
mobile device batteries faster and enable televisions to be powered via a
USB port.
A new specification that doubles the data transfer over USB to 10 gbps (gigabits per second) is in the works, said the USB Implementers Forum, a standards-setting organization that defines specifications for the data transfer technology. The announcement was made at the Intel Developer Forum in Beijing.
The speed improvement means users will be able to move gigabytes of data between PCs and peripherals such as portable hard drives in a matter of seconds. That is especially useful when transferring large high-resolution video files.
The new specification is an improvement over the existing USB 3.0, which can transfer data at 5 gbps. Most PCs today ship with USB 3.0 ports, while smartphones and tablets have micro-USB ports based on the older and slower 2.0 specification. Mobile devices are expected to get faster signalling rates with micro-USB 3.0 ports.
Arrival date uncertain
The speed increase comes on the heels of Intel's announcement this week that it is doubling the speed of Thunderbolt, an interconnect based on PCI-Express and DisplayPort that is viewed as a faster alternative to USB.By the end of the year, Thunderbolt will boast data transfer rates of 20 gbps, but USB 3.0 has an advantage of wider adoption and backing of some top hardware makers including Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, and Microsoft. Intel views USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt as complementary technologies.
USB-IF did not say when the new specification would be approved and released.
Peripherals based on the new standard will be able to plug into existing USB 3.0 ports. However, new cables will be needed to handle the faster speeds.
The last major update to the USB 3.0 specification in July involved the connector cables being able to deliver up to 100 watts of power, which could charge mobile device batteries faster and enable televisions to be powered via a USB port.
What is Your Favorite eBook Font?
| One of the great benefits of reading ebooks over paper books is the amount of control you have over the most important part of a book: the text. You can adjust how small or large it is, and depending on the reading device or app you use, you can often change font type, font weight, [...] |
Ganxy Updates Features to Steamline Sales, Promotion for Authors and Publishers
| A number of companies will be piggybacking off the buzz and attention of this year’s London Book Fair to make important announcements of their own. One such company, Ganxy, will release information on how its unilateral sales platform can help authors and publishers not only with the streamlining that comes from compartmentalizing all of their potential sales channels into one place, but also in terms of providing instant promotional support. Ganxy recently established itself as a simple format in which authors and publishers could easily bundle ebooks or video together for promotional sales purposes, but now the showcase platform will launch a push-button method of allowing rights holders to create single-use coupon codes for easy ebook distribution. “Think about what’s going on in the world of content today. There’s an inability for those who create content to take advantage or extract value from that kind of content in the way that they’d like to,” explained Ganxy’s co-founder Joshua Cohen in an interview with GoodEReader. “It’s very difficult for authors and publishers to give away the content in the way that they’d like to.” Short of creating coupon codes on other platforms that can be passed around without limitation, or requiring authors to email PDF files of their books to reviewers and other recipients, until now there hasn’t been a good streamlined method of releasing professional ebook content to limited users. Ganxy’s announcement today allows for content creators to produce limitless codes for recipients, codes that can be used in a wide variety of promotional ways. Books that are showcased on the Ganxy platform can be given specific download codes, from one copy to an unlimited number of copies, and can also be arranged for user-friendly bulk sales of ebooks. Content holders can use these as promotional giveaways at speaking engagements, can bundle the ebook editions seamlessly with the print editions, can offer them as incentives for signing up on their websites, and much more. Moreover, the Ganxy platform is compatible with a wide variety of devices from different digital reading platforms, virtually eliminating concerns about the device specifics of the ebook recipients. “It’s really hard to give copies of books to a specific number of people. We’ve created an ebook giveaway tool that works in a variety of ways,” continued Cohen. An author can set up an open promotion, which allows the first set number of users to receive the book for free, which is especially useful in promotion of an upcoming book release. Additionally, an author who is appearing at a conference or speaking engagement can generate unlimited single-use codes to pass out that are unique to each single recipient; a book reviewer can be given a single-use code, or hundreds of book bloggers can each be provided with their own specific codes in a matter of minutes as all of these features are nearly instantaneous to generate on an established book account. “We’re essentially saying to authors, ‘We want you to sell your books, but we also want you to have the power to give away your book.’ If you’re an author or publisher who has commerce, you don’t want to be using other tools to give away your books. You want to have one central location where you can sell it from your site or from your Facebook page, but you also want to be able to give it away so you can control what’s going on with your content.”
Ganxy Updates Features to Steamline Sales, Promotion for Authors and Publishers is a post from: E-Reader News |
The Kingdom of Bhutan’s first Pi: a Khan Academy server
| We were chatting to Natasha Lomas from TechCrunch (no relation to our own Pete) last week about the distribution of Raspberry Pis across the world. Here’s the article she wrote about it. We designed the Pi with the explicit goal of getting kids in the UK coding, but the popularity of the platform has spread well beyond that in the year it’s been on sale, which means we have a job ahead of us. Currently the vast majority of the 1.2 million Pis in the wild are in the developed world, but we recognise that there’s demand in the developing world and will be taking someone on full-time to deal with the work required to get more Pis out to less connected areas very soon. There are some significant problems associated with getting the Pi on general sale in some locations, not least the enormous shipping and import tariffs that many countries impose on electronics imports – a Pi will cost you $85 in Brazil, for example, thanks to those tariffs. It’s a big job, but we’re looking forward to getting our teeth into it. But Pis are gradually finding their way to all kinds of far-away places, and I saw some tweets a week or so ago from ThimpuTech, who had got their hands on the Kingdom of Bhutan’s first Raspberry Pi. And now, we’ve found out what’s being done with it – it’s been made into a server for Khan Academy Lite, serving up educational content to a local school.  The Kingdom of Bhutan’s first Raspberry Pi Khan Academy Lite is an offline version of Khan Academy‘s superb curriculum of free learning materials; if you haven’t come across Khan Academy before, head over and have a poke around their website when you’ve finished reading this. You’ll be impressed. With the Pi, a 64GB SD card to put all the learning materials on (which actually costs about twice what the Pi you’ll need to run it on does) and a wi-fi dongle, you’ve got a way to bring the MP4 lectures that make up the core of Khan Academy’s material to areas with no internet. Bhutan’s an interesting place to be doing this sort of thing; the internet didn’t come to the country until 1999, and coverage is still very minimal, so an offline solution is vital.  Khan Academy maths exercise What this means is that for an investment of about $99 ($35 for the Pi, $50 for the SD card, $5 for a dongle and another few dollars or so for a box and power supply), schools in Bhutan and all over the world can access world-class learning without needing to be online. We’re really pleased to see the very first Pi in the country being used explicitly to bring educational resources to kids; we’ve been extremely excited about the potential of Khan Academy Lite for a while now, and it’s great to see it in formal use by schools. We hope to hear some more from ThimpuTech soon. |
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Big Boost Media Sees eBooks as More than Just Books
| A new ebook platform has been born, only this one has bigger goals than just digitizing books. The Salak Group, Inc. and Bright Launch LLC have joined together to form Big Boost Media Group to build ebooks as a business tool, rather than just for entertainment, information, or learning. But are ebooks meant to be tools to further a business or a specific individual’s standing in the corporate world? >"Everyone is aware of the growing penetration of eBooks," said Uli Iserloh, Big Boost co-founder and president of Bright Launch, in a press release. "But eBooks are more than one-off books. Their ability to contain video, audio, links and interactive mechanisms makes them an incredibly powerful communications channel that can engage and capture high value audiences by delivering tightly focused messages." Iserloh’s concept of a book is sound, especially in terms of the definition of an ebook. From the early onset of recent digital publishing, critics and supporters alike agreed that ebooks should not just be computer file versions of a print book, arguing that the capabilities are so much greater than just transferring the words from one type of page to another. However, the company model does speak to a greater purpose for ebooks as marketing tools. "Our approach can be applied to everyone from an author to an executive, corporation, nonprofit or retailer," added John Salak, Big Boost co-founder and president of The Salak Group. "By helping our clients develop, format and distribute eBooks, we create platforms our clients can use to build brands, promote executives, raise funds for nonprofits, and sell other services and products they offer." Some shady recent practices in digital publishing have caused a number of critics to rail against that concept that an ebook can be repurposed to further an agenda by artificially driving a title up the bestseller list through a number of dishonest practices. But as Salak pointed out in an interview with GoodEReader, businesses or non-profit charitable organizations who develop a critically worthwhile ebook and invest in its creation are making smarter use of their marketing and advertising dollars; rather than placing those funds with a firm to develop a television commercial or by taking out print ad space, the company can spread a much broader message by advertising a thorough work of their expertise in the form of an ebook.
Big Boost Media Sees eBooks as More than Just Books is a post from: E-Reader News |
Random House Experiments with Media Convergence via Black Crown
| When big title movies come out, often there is a video game released to build synergy between the two products. A new television show Defiance is getting a ton of buzz with a science fiction plot and viewers can participate in an online game world. Random House is hoping to capitalize on this growing trend of media convergence with a new story based video game to run in parallel with a new eBook. Supported and funded by Random House, Black Crown is powered by Failbetter Games’ StoryNexus platform, with special functionality created for the Black Crown project with Additional features by Popleaf. The author is a total mystery and the website is due to go live in May. The game itself is a bit of a mystery, as is the author and the upcoming eBook title. All we know is that it is a post-apocalyptic setting and the game is free to play, with micro transactions to unlock new content and stories. Random House Experiments with Media Convergence via Black Crown is a post from: E-Reader News |
Digital Dredd: Jumping onto 2000AD with Prog 1824
| The most daunting thing about comics these days, it seems, is the continuity: Where’s the starting point for a comic that has been running since 1947? Marvel and DC have both made efforts in this direction in the past few years, with DC’s New 52 and Marvel’s Marvel Now touted as jumping-on points. The UK comic 2000AD has been around since 1977, and it wasn’t easy to find in the U.S. until just a few years ago, but it presents a bit less of a challenge than superheroes. The flagship story, Judge Dredd, runs in fairly short episodes that can be read independently, and the other features come and go. Still, it’s unusual for everything to sync up the way they did with Prog 1824 (note to newbies: issues are called “progs,” and no, I don’t know why), in which all four stories are starting fresh. First up is a Judge Dredd story, “Cypher.” In case you missed the movie, here’s all you need to know to read Judge Dredd: The title character is a law enforcer (police, judge, and executioner all in one) in a massive, post-apocalyptic future city, Mega-City One, which is surrounded by a vast radioactive wasteland, the Cursed Earth. Dredd and his fellow judges ride around on enormous, badass motorcycles dispensing justice, which is very macho, but this comic also includes plenty of strong, interesting female characters, including a number of female judges. The first page of “Cypher” is heavy on backstory, but after that it plunges straight into robot-versus-judge action. Good times. “Dandridge: The Copper Conspiracy” is the sort of thing that Americans regard as “British humor.” It is set in an alternate version of the 1980s in which the Victorian Spiritualists turned out to be right after all, and ghosts are everywhere—but mostly used as sources of power. The title character, Doctor Spartacus Dandridge, was a 19th-century ghost-hunter who is now a ghost himself. Back in action thanks to a special suit that gives him form, he is supposed to be hunting down a stolen faerie dagger, but he is too busy living the good life. Dandridge is one of those preposterously charming characters who bends everyone to his will, but by the end of the first chapter his powers of “savoir fu” may have met their match in the form of a trio of ghost-powered flying robots. Warren Pleece’s smooth art is perfect for this story. The third story, “Survival Geeks,” is the first chapter of a three-part stand-alone story about a girl who goes home with a geeky guy and wakes up in another dimension. It’s light-hearted, with a quartet of engaging characters and a lot of geek-insider humor. The story is co-written by longtime 2000AD contributor Gordon Rennie and newcomer Emma Beeby, who is the first woman ever to write a Judge Dredd story (in Prog 1826). Finally, “Stickleback,” written by Ian Edginton and illustrated by D’Israeli, is a strange story set in late 19th-century London and illustrated in a beautifully liquid white-on-black style that is totally unlike anything else in comics—the cover image of Prog 1824 is the title character. Stickleback, a master criminal with an exposed spine, emerges from some sort of suspended animation in this episode, while robbers break into a factory, an event whose significance will emerge in the next episode. Sound tempting? There are two ways to read 2000AD digitally: Via their iOS Newsstand app or as a direct download from their site. The issues are priced at $2.99 each in the app, and there are several subscription plans that make a lot of sense if you decide to get into the 2000AD habit. The digital price on the site is £1.99, which your credit card company will translate into your local currency; what’s nice about buying the comics this way is that they are direct downloads in PDF or CBZ format, so they are platform-independent and DRM-free. Since it’s an import, the digital edition of 2000AD is a much better deal than print—it’s both cheaper and a lot faster, as the comics tend not to show up in U.S. shops until after their cover date. And because it’s a weekly, digital solves the problem of clutter as well. This issue is filled with imaginative storytelling and superb art, and after reading it I was hooked. I highly recommend this issue if you’re looking for something fresh, funny, and original—and you don’t want to spend a month figuring out the backstory. Digital Dredd: Jumping onto 2000AD with Prog 1824 is a post from: E-Reader News |
Netbooks like this one from
Acer are most likely doomed, according to a new analyst report.
(Business Wire / May 18, 2009)
|
You remember those small, cuddly laptops launched just a few years ago, with lower power, less functionality and lower prices to match. They were kind of computing 'tweeners designed to fill the perceived gap between big, honkin' laptops and the new, gee-whiz smartphones.
That was fine, for about a minute, according to a report from IHS iSuppli. Then along came the iPad in 2010, and that, as they say, was that.
According to the report, shipments of netbooks in 2013 will be mere 3.97 million, a nosedive of 72% from the 14.13 million shipped last year. That's a long way down from the 32.14 million netbooks shipped in 2010, the peak for a product introduced in 2007.
Wile E. Coyote couldn't survived a fall off a cliff that steep, and neither will netbooks, according to iSuppli.
The firm projects that in 2014, there will be 264,000 netbooks shipped. And by 2015: Zero. Zip. Nada.
"Netbooks shot to popularity immediately after launch because they were optimized for low cost, delivering what many consumers believed as acceptable computer performance," said Craig Stice, senior principal analyst for computer platforms at IHS in the report. "However, netbooks began their descent to oblivion with the introduction in 2010 of Apple’s iPad."
Paradoxes from Digital Minds
| \At publishing events as recently as only a handful of years ago, the mood was often derisive towards ebooks, digital publishing, self-publishing, and anything else that challenged the status quo. The sentiment slowly melted into cautious optimism as ebook sales began to account for more and more of publishers’ profit margins and as self-published authors began to make headlines for their success. But the mood at this year’s London Book Fair kickoff event, the Digital Minds Conference, is more than welcoming of digital publishing and all of its features; there now seems to be an air of almost acknowledging the more work needs to be done quickly on the digital front. Earlier today, a lot of the focus was on publishers working with start-ups and the need for adopting the “start-up mentality,” one in which a structured business plan is less necessary than a focused goal. The advice was that publishers use reader feedback to drive the direction of their work, rather than producing content and trying to adapt readers to it. Editors were encouraged to adopt a digital strategy, not as something that gets added on after the concept of the book is created, but instead with more of an intentional focus and vision. While not required to be able to develop every aspect of an ebook, industry professionals were cautioned that they had to develop at least some level of technological know-how in order to stay current and relevant. In a panel on copyright issues, some of the confusion surrounding copyright was made more clear by understanding that copyright law is not keeping up with the timeline of technology. That simple statement can actually be applied to a number of frustrating issues in digital publishing, including the snail’s pace of ebook lending and digital textbooks. Some of the most refreshing remarks in different discussions came from the acknowledgement that it is ultimately the readers who are going to determine a publisher’s success or failure. Smart publishers are going to look to the online communities and feedback to gauge reader response, and then build content to that response. Enhanced ebooks were called into question because too often they are built by a team with an expensive vision, rather than as a response to what consumers would like to experience. The Digital Minds Conference continues through today in conjunction with the London Book Fair.
Paradoxes from Digital Minds is a post from: E-Reader News |
London Book Fair Kicks Off with Digital Minds Conference
| While the London Book Fair has historically been a rights’ conference, in which media of a variety of types are negotiated among publishers, studios, and more, the wider adoption and importance of digital publishing have led to a pre-Fair event that is an outstanding conference in its own right. The Digital Minds Conference, which began today in London and kicks off the LBF, brings together some of the industry leaders and game changers for an annual peek at the state and the future of ebooks. One of this year’s biggest draws at Digital Minds is author Neil Gaiman, who is arguably one of the author leaders in social media adoption and brand-building to further reach his audiences. This author branding is especially important for a writer like Gaiman, whose work crosses multiple genres but still reaches nearly two million Twitter followers. Gaiman delivered this morning’s keynote speech at the conference. Rebecca Smart, CEO of Osprey Group, also spoke on some of the current obstacles in digital publishing, notably the lack of speed that belies the entire digital model and an artificial level of complexity to publishing ebooks. There was a lot of discussion about the ways publishers need to take a lesson from start-ups, beginning with a “no rules” mentality towards risk taking and new projects. Smart wrote about this need in a pre-Conference blog post. One of the most interesting features of any conference of this type would be the long-awaited, often secretive announcements. Ganxy will be announcing changes to their ebook model tomorrow, but today’s news was the Black Crown project. Black Crown is a still-cryptic “infectious new kind of narrative experience,” whose own website states that an author will be revealed some time next month. Follow @Porter_Anderson and the hashtag #digiconf13 on Twitter for updates throughout the day from the Digital Minds Conference in London.
London Book Fair Kicks Off with Digital Minds Conference is a post from: E-Reader News |
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Reading Rainbow Launches Nat Geo Kids Island
|
The Reading Rainbow app, available on the iPad, is a completely re-imagined and interactive experience reminiscent of the original TV series. The app is currently available on the iPad and has consistently been a top-grossing app. The App features hundreds of fiction and nonfiction books from numerous acclaimed children's publishers as well as newly produced and classic video field trips. The reading experience is customized to a child's specific topics of interests and age. Each book in the library can be experienced as either "read on my own" or "read to me," with voice-over narration by professional actors including Emmy award-winning actor LeVar Burton. Take a look at the video, which shows off some of the new books and interactive features found on the new Nat Geo Kids Island! Reading Rainbow Launches Nat Geo Kids Island is a post from: E-Reader News |
Google Play Video Review of the New 4.0.25 Update
| Google Play will soon be pushing a brand new update to smartphones and tablets worldwide. The new update, 4.0.25, really enhances the size of app icons, movie cover art, and ebooks. Being able to look great on tablets and smartphones is a huge priority as most people are starting to gravitate towards larger screen devices. The new look of Google Play ends up giving you app ratings and more intuitive scrolling. I really like how this new version takes a better advantage of your screen real estate. In our video review, we show you all aspects of the new Google Play. We have heard it will be pushed out within the next few weeks. Google Play Video Review of the New 4.0.25 Update is a post from: E-Reader News |
Top 5 Comic Reading Apps for the Blackberry Z10
| Welcome to another Good e-Reader APP Review! Today, we look at the top 5 comic book reading apps for the Blackberry Z10 and BB10 devices. Honestly, Blackberry World is fairly woeful when it comes to comic book reading apps, so you will have to rely on our own Good e-Reader BB10 App Store to fill the void. In this video, we document Marvel Comics, Comixology, DC Comics, Manga Reader 2, and Mango. Over the course of this review, we will show you how both comics and manga look within the apps. You can get a strong sense of how the stores look and how you would go about purchasing content. We also show you some of the advanced features you have access to, like Guided View, which lets you isolate specific panels. Top 5 Comic Reading Apps for the Blackberry Z10 is a post from: E-Reader News |
Twitter Out of Reach on the Z10
| The only solace for owners of the Z10 device who are not able to tweet is that they are not alone. For Twitter has been off limits for the Blackberry 10 operating system and fortunately Blackberry is aware of the problem. A solution is in the works and the issue is expected to be sorted out fast. Let’s just hope things are solved before the Q10 is launched.
Twitter Out of Reach on the Z10 is a post from: E-Reader News |
