| Simon & Schuster is organizing a writing contest aimed at students and it will be orchestrated by their Simon451 imprint. The company is calling for science fiction, fantasy, horror, supernatral fiction, superhero fiction, utopian or dystopian fiction, apocalyptic or post-apocalyptic fiction, or alternate history in literature. They are only looking for full-length novels only and not short stories or novellas. The contest is basically aimed at the college and university crowd and the winner will receive a full publishing contract. The winner will also get an all expenses paid trip to New York for the Comic On. The submission period runs from February 1, 2014 – March 15, 2014, during which entrants are asked to provide a 250-word synopsis and the first fifty pages of their novel via the online entry form. Ten finalists will be chosen and contacted by April 15, 2014, at which time they will be asked to submit their complete novels for consideration. After that, a winner will be selected. Simon & Schuster Calling for Submissions for New Publishing Contract is a post from: E-Reader News |
Saturday, February 1, 2014
Simon & Schuster Calling for Submissions for New Publishing Contract
Indie Developers Revolting Against Candy Trademark
| Indie game developers are up in arms regarding the Candy Crush trademark on the word “Candy.” King was awarded a UK trademark and they are apply for one in the United States. The game studio is not looking to sue anyone who uses the word Candy, just protect their IP. Many people are up in arms about this and submitting hundreds of apps to iTunes and Google Play with different combinations of the words “candy,” “saga,” “scroll,” “apple” and more. The nexus point to the Anti-King movement is the Candy Jam website, which is coordinating the efforts. The websites mandate is to disrupt Apples role in taking down any app with the word Candy in it. Candy Crush Saga has had over 500 million downloads and 1 billion people who have played it on the web. The game rakes in a staggering $771,000 in daily revenue and customers are all too happy to reach into their pockets.
Indie Developers Revolting Against Candy Trademark is a post from: E-Reader News |
Get Android 4.4 Kitkat Free on Nook Color, Tablet and Nook HD/HD+
| I’ve seen a number of news stories this past week in regard to an email the folks at N2A sent out about them releasing an update to their N2A cards to bring Android KitKat v4.4 to the Nook Color, Nook Tablet, Nook HD, and Nook HD+. That’s all fine and dandy for those of you […] |
Daily Deals & Freebies – February 1
| Daily Deals Google Nexus 7 – The latest 16GB Nexus 7 for $189, which is $40 off the regular price. Kindle Keyboard (refurbished) – A4C has the old school Kindle 3 with Wi-Fi and 3G wireless for just $39.95. $239 Kindle Fire HDX – Staples has the 7″ 32GB HDX on sale for $30 off […] |
N2A Card’s KitKat Upgrade for B&N Nook Tablets
| For Nook device users, here is some good news from N2A Cards: they can now be made to run the latest, most hassle free version Android KitKat in both downloadable form or preloaded micro SD card. This applies to the entire Nook tablet lineup, which includes the Nook Color, Nook Tablet, Nook HD, and Nook HD+. Also, an inherent benefit of installing Android KitKat via N2A Card is that users will have the option to dual boot their Nook devices with the stock B&N software that the devices come pre-loaded with. As for the price, the micro SD cards pre-loaded with Android Kitkat can be ordered from the company site for $30, or can be downloaded directly for only $20. This is ideal for those who have dealt with N2A Cards before. Overall, this is an easy option to explore Android KitKat on Nook devices, with the liberty to come back to the default B&N software installation as needed.
N2A Card’s KitKat Upgrade for B&N Nook Tablets is a post from: E-Reader News |
Archos Announces Three Budget Tablets in Neon Line
| Archos has announced up three new tablets in its budget-conscious lineup. However, given the French company's history of producing relatively cheap Android tablets, the new Neon range of tablets aren't expected to break the bank either. The three tablets, the 90 Neon, 97 Neon, and 101 Neon come with 9 inch, 9.7 inch and 10.1 inch display. Among the similar aspects of the three Neon tablet versions, they are all powered by quad core chips clocking at 1.4 Ghz mated to 1 GB RAM and 8 GB of storage. Thankfully, there is a micro SD card on all three versions that run Android 4.2 and have official access to the Google Play Store. However, the display can be a cause for concern, with the Neon 90 coming with a 800 x 480 pixel display. This can look quite pixelated even in a 4 inch smartphone, which means paltry visuals on a 9 inch tablet. The 9.7 inch Neon 97 offers a slightly better 1024 X 768 pixel display, while the top of the line Neon 101 offers a 1024 X 600 pixel display. The tablets aren't light, as they weigh anywhere between 1 and 1.5 pounds for the Neon 90 to the Neon 101. What remains to be seen is how much the tablets will cost when these hit streets.
Archos Announces Three Budget Tablets in Neon Line is a post from: E-Reader News |
Friday, January 31, 2014
Seslenen Kitap is the First Audio Book Shop in Turkey
| Seslenen Kitap which in local dialect means 'The Book That Speaks' has become the first audio bookshop in Turkey. The audio books which the authorities claim have been priced quite reasonably can be bought outright or can be presented to others as a gift. On offer will be audio books from some of the most contemporary writers of the country which includes the likes of Canan Tan, Ayşe Kulin, Buket Uzuner, Can Dündar and so on. Twelve of the writers have also lent their voice to record at least one of their books which makes the first phase of the project. Those behind the endeavor have stated plans are already afoot to include more writers in future. One can have more information from the company website www.seslenenkitap.com which also includes voice samples of the authors reading aloud their own writings.
Seslenen Kitap is the First Audio Book Shop in Turkey is a post from: E-Reader News |
Recorded Books LLC Taken Over by Wasserstein
| Recorded Books LLC have changed hands with Wasserstein & Co. being the new owners of the premier company that has been providing unabridged audiobooks and other digital content or related services to schools, libraries and the open market. Recorded Books has to its credit more than 13,500 exclusive audiobooks and has extensive operations in the US, UK and Australia. Recorded Books also has more than 100,000 ebooks to offer libraries via its proprietary OneClick Digital platform, along with a dozen other electronic resources which includes Zinio, a provider of digital magazines for various ereading platforms. Recorded Books also maintains a distribution agreement with IndieFlix, a streaming movie service. Speaking of the development, Rich Freese, President and CEO of Recorded Books said, “We are excited to work with Wasserstein & Co., whose expertise in the stewardship of content-owning media businesses will enable us to expand our leadership position in the audiobook, eBook, and digital content markets. This strategic partnership provides us with the resources to further broaden our content offerings and services for customers, and accelerate our growth into additional global markets.” “Recorded Books is a premier audiobook publisher, drawing from the days when it pioneered the industry over thirty years ago,” commented Anup Bagaria, Co-Managing Partner of Wasserstein & Co. “With a proven management team, a portfolio of high quality exclusive content, and proprietary technology, Recorded Books is well-positioned to capitalize on the shift from physical audiobook formats to digital content. We look forward to working closely with the Recorded Books team as it continues to build on its long-standing customer relationships and track record of strong growth.” Rick Noble, CEO of Haights Cross Communications too sounded optimistic of the new arrangement, saying: “With their world-class digital platform and new eBook offering rapidly gaining momentum, the timing is perfect for Recorded Books to be joining a quality, growth-oriented private equity firm like Wasserstein & Co. We wish them all every success.”
Recorded Books LLC Taken Over by Wasserstein is a post from: E-Reader News |
Top 10 New Android Apps of the Week – Jan 31 2014
| This week has been dominated by Flappy Bird, the seminal new app that has been resulting in broken phones and tablets. Vine has been exploding with rage quits and Youtube has had lots of videos of people doing really well. Today, we look at the best new apps of the week. Flappy Bird – The basic premise of the game is simple: keep your bird aloft and guide it between a series of pipes for as long as you can. For each pipe you safely negotiate you get one point. Hitting a pipe or running aground ends the game. That's it. Tuned In – We all love TV. Share what you love about it using this app for the chance to appear on national television. Download the Tuned In app and watch TV on February 6 starting at 8:58PM EST to follow the instructions in a unique real-time interactive TV experience launching the app. The app will activate on February 6 prior to the interactive event and remain active afterward for anytime use. Scrap Tank – In a world dominated by sinister robots, take control of the Scrap Tank and take the fight to them! Battle your way through the metal onslaught using an impressive array of hi-tech weapons. Do you have what it takes to survive against endless hordes of tanks, jets, airstrikes, missiles, helicopters and kamikaze bots? Restaurant Story: Valentine’s – The #1 FREE virtual restaurant game returns with Restaurant Story: Valentine's Day! Minigore 2: Zombies – Minigore 2 is an award-winning action game starring Egoraptor! Dual-stick shooter masterpiece from the creators of Ice Rage, KingHunt and Bike Baron. Olympic TV – Olympic.tv App, using the Olympic Video Player (OVP), is an exciting live video service, enabling users to watch live and on-demand video of all competition sessions at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games (live competition during Feb. 6, 2014 – Feb. 23 2014). Animal Zoo – help animals – Wow， so many species of lovely animals are in the zoo! But what makes it really strange is that those adorable animals are all look so downhearted! Oops! Some of them are starving while some of them are ill. Let's help those little poor things to regain vitality. Nexercise = fun weight loss - Best app ever. This is one of the best motivation apps to date. I am constantly trying to get more xp then my friends and I got to say, It's fun! Since I have been using this app I have lost a total of 24+ pounds and only need to lose about 20 more pounds! If you are having trouble losing weight than this app is great for you!" Energy Bar – Adds a configurable Energy Bar at the top of your screen indicating current Battery level. And just when you think, such a simple bar can display such a crucial information, try plugging in your charger – you'll be amazed by the details of the animation you'll see. The pulsating animation and the bar together not only indicates the current Battery level but also how much has the Battery charged since you plugged in your charger. Music Quiz – The world's most popular music quiz has finally arrived in your country with content selected especially for your country ! The concept is simple. It's just like 'name that tune': listen to the song extract and find the name of the song or artist! How many will you recognise? Top 10 New Android Apps of the Week – Jan 31 2014 is a post from: E-Reader News |
Humble Bundle Hires Publishing Mercenary Kelley L. Allen
| Humble Bundle has had a number of highly successful eBook campaigns and has recently experimented with audiobooks. The company wants a continued focus on literary content and has just hired Kelley L. Allen as its Director of eBooks. Kelley was formerly the Director of New Media at Random House and Director of eBook Acquisition at Sony. She was also Manager of ePublishing at Hachette, Manager of Publisher Relations and Marketing at ereader.com and Director, eBookstore and Publishing Relations at Diesel eBooks. She recently left Kobo, as their Vendor Manager to join Humble Bundle in San Francisco. This girl is basically a mercenary, attracted to oportonity and money, with little to no loyalty to the companies she works for. “We’re super excited to have Kelley on the Humble team,” said Steven Kovensky, VP of Partnerships & Strategy at Humble Bundle. “She brings a deep knowledge of the eBook world, and with her guidance we look forward to delivering many compelling bundles to our fans.” Humble Bundle Hires Publishing Mercenary Kelley L. Allen is a post from: E-Reader News |
New Flipboard Feature Lets Readers Target Content
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Flipboard, which first came on the publishing startup scene several years ago, has found that curation is what its readers want. By creating a more magazine-like feel to its new features, the content driver will help readers sort through stories to only those that target their key interests. One such feature is the new Cover Stories, which allows users to bring only the top stories on a given topic together from their subscriptions, as well as opt to bring top stories from only certain selected news sources. Like the popular Twitter papers, this screen allows users to see headlines on a similar topic, as well as headlines from their favorite subscriptions. This lumping-together of content based on user criteria is designed to combat one of the chief complaints that digital reading subscribers have, namely that they are drowning in a never ending amount of content. A user could spend hours every day wading through streams of digital news stories, only to find the process repeated the following day. By bringing together the highlights while still affording readers the ability to tap into longer articles, more consumers can feel as though they are getting real value from their digital subscriptions instead of letting the data fall by the wayside. This new feature adds to the existing ability consumers have always enjoyed to basically create their own personalized magazines through the content they subscribe to, as well as adding content directly from the web with the Bookmarklet plugin.
New Flipboard Feature Lets Readers Target Content is a post from: E-Reader News |
Microsoft Slashes Price of Several Windows 8.1 Tablet at its Stores
| Microsoft has slashed prices of several Windows tablet devices that are being offered via its stores, both online and physical. Among the tablets that can now be picked up for cheap include the Dell Venue 8 Pro which has seen a $70 drop in price from the original $299. This does make the offering quite lucrative for a tablet that offers 32 GB of storage. Also at $229, the Dell Venue 8 Pro is slam bang in the territory of 2013 Nexus 7 that offers 16 GB of storage and an inch less of screen space (but with more pixels) for the same price. Among the others to benefit from the price cut include the Lenovo Miix 2 and the Toshiba Encore which can now be picked up for $249, down from the original $299. Similarly, the Dell Venue 8 Pro with 64 GB onboard now costs $299, a steep drop over the original $349. The Samsung ATIV 3 has been provided an even steeper price cut, now retailing at $499 from the original $699. Microsoft is desperate to see Windows based tablet gain larger visibility among consumers. Its own Surface range has had an excellent fourth quarter and is hoping to push sales of other brands with the hope of creating a large enough user base of the Windows 8.1 platform in the tablet sphere. Chip maker Intel too will be a direct beneficiary of the above move. Interestingly, both Microsoft and Intel have found themselves in a somewhat similar situation with the rapid proliferation of tablet devices and both have a lot to gain from increased sales of Windows based tablets. Worth mentioning here, all the tablet devices mentioned above are built around Intel Bay Trail Z3740D chips that have won accolades owing to their battery saving and performance attributes. What is also interesting is that Microsoft is not extending the generosity to its own Surface range that continues to retail at the original price tags.
Microsoft Slashes Price of Several Windows 8.1 Tablet at its Stores is a post from: E-Reader News |
New Marvel Comics API Program Released
| Marvel Comics has done the unthinkable and released a new set of tools that will allow app and web developers to integrate their site with comic data. The new Marvel Comics API taps into Marvel’s vast library of comics—from what’s coming up, to 70 years ago. This represents the first API program by any major comic book publisher and provides an innovative way for fans to interact with Marvel Entertainment and Marvel's digital content. The Marvel Comics API is a set of web services that give fans access to Marvel’s rich repository of data about over 30,000 comics and 7,000 series. The API lets fans access information from Marvel's 75-year publishing history, including cover art, characters and comic book crossover events. Developers will now have the opportunity to create personal applications and websites that express their individual appreciation and experiences with Marvel Comics. From feeds on blogs to mini-applications, developers everywhere can use the Marvel Comics API to create compelling digital experiences using Marvel's treasure trove of data. Developers can can access only six resource types using the API and all offer a wellspring of options, they are; Comics: individual print and digital comic issues, collections and graphic novels. For example: Amazing Fantasy #15. Peter Olson, VP of Web & Application Development says, "Our API program is a cool new way to explore and interact with Marvel Comics. Unlike lists of books, movies, or news articles, our comics are an inter-connected web (no Spidey pun intended!) of data spanning 75 years. It’s the relationships between them that are fascinating. Everything is connected and continues to expand as more comics are released each week. With our API program, once again, Marvel is changing the comics and publishing technology landscape.” Developers can create accounts, access the API, test drive queries in interactive forms, read documentation and ask questions at Marvel's new Developer Portal at developer.marvel.com. New Marvel Comics API Program Released is a post from: E-Reader News |
NOOBS SD cards back in the Swag Store!
| The 8GB pre-flashed NOOBS SD cards we had in the Swag Store sold out pretty much immediately: we’ve just had another shipment arrive, so get them while they’re hot. At £4 including VAT, plus £1 UK shipping if you’re not buying other swag (please buy more swag), this is the cheapest way to get 8GB of SD memory you’ll find, and you get NOOBS bundled for free. These are Class 6* Samsung micro-SD cards in an SD converter. This card has outperformed many Class 10 cards in our tests, because of the way Samsung handle read/write. The cards optimised for random read/write cycles, unlike the vast majority of cards on the market (which are designed for cameras and video cameras, which read and write at very regular intervals). *Eben says he is to blame for something which will please those of you who already have a NOOBS SD card: we’ve been mis-describing them as Class 4, when they’re actually Class 6. I was hoping there’d be an interesting story behind the mistake, but there isn’t; it’s just boring old human error. Sorry! (And congratulations to all those of you who bought one earlier and are now the proud owners of an even whizzier SD card than you thought.) |
I Love the ‘90s: Nostalgia eBooks and audiobooks
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For people of a certain age, '90s nostalgia is high right now. Mention a popular kid's show from the decade, like Rugrats, and you'll likely see eyes light up for handfuls of adults in their twenties and thirties. Several recent eBooks and audiobooks take a look into pop culture from the end of the 20th century, focusing especially on what one title dubs "Nickelodeon's golden age": Slimed! An Oral History of Nickelodeon's Golden Age – Mathew Klickstein While the book is an unwieldy oral history and can at times be hard to follow, people who grew up watching Nickelodeon in the late '80s and early '90s will get a kick out of reading about some of the behind-the-scenes stories from shows like Hey Dude, Ren & Stimpy and The Adventures of Pete & Pete. Melissa Explains It All – Melissa Joan Hart
Melissa Marin is a Marketing Specialist at OverDrive.
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The Baby Name Wizard
| The OKCupid statistics blog, by Christian Rudder, is amazing. Sadly, it hasn’t updated since 2011, around when OKCupid was bought by Match.com. (Rudder says the timing was a coincidence—he took time off for another project, and the blog may return soon!) In the meantime, I’d like to recommend another unexpectedly engrossing blog: The Baby Name Wizard blog, by Laura Wattenberg (creator of the amazing Name Voyager graphing tool). I find the Baby Name Wizard blog fascinating because, like the OK Cupid Blog, it combines two key ingredients:
The reason I like the blog has nothing to do with naming babies. (I’m not allowed to name babies, anyway.) I like it because we all encounter names every day, all the time, in every part of our life. We all have feelings and opinions about what names mean, but if you’re like me, they were mostly unconscious, unquestioned, and never subject to any statistical rigor. (Freakonomics has a well-known chapter about naming trends, which Wattenberg takes issue with). Nevaeh (“Heaven” backward) is currently a more popular baby name than Sarah. Brooklyn is more popular than either, and Sophia is more popular than all three combined. In 20 years, those names will conjure up images of college kids, and Brandon and Sarah will sound as much like Mom and Dad names as Gary and Debby do to my generation. If you’re like most people, you probably had some opinions when you read the names in the last paragraph. But maybe the biggest thing I’ve learned from reading this blog is that the reactions and stereotypes that names provoke often reveal more interesting stories than the names themselves. For example, you may have heard the urban legend about a mother who named her daughter Le-a, pronounced “Ledasha”. Wattenberg dissects this urban legend in an insightful essay (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), which explains how apocryphal names like Le-a serve, across a wide variety of communities, as proxies for talking about race. Here are a few of the other things I’ve learned from the blog:
That’s just a tiny sampling; if you think any of it sounds interesting, I recommend browsing through the blog’s extensive archives. |
GPS-tracking helmet cam
| Martin O’Hanlon’s a familiar name in these parts, especially for fans of Minecraft: his repository of Pi Minecraft tricks and tutorials is one of our favourite resources. But Martin’s not all about magicking Menger-Sierpinski Sponges into the Minecraft universe: he does wonderful stuff with hardware and the Raspberry Pi too. Here’s some footage from his latest: What you’re looking at here is something we haven’t seen before: camera footage with a GPS overlay, showing the route Martin has skied and his current speed. (Gordon, who has his own helmet cam hack, is quivering with envy.) Martin’s setup, like all the best Raspberry Pi hacks, also involves tupperware. It’s a one-button, one-led design, so it’s as easy as possible to use when you’re wearing ski gloves.  Work in progress You can find everything you’ll need to construct your own at Martin’s Stuff about Code; he’s also done a very detailed writeup of the design process and included plenty of construction tips, along with the usual code and parts list. Thanks Martin! |
Amazon Lets Customers Give Back for Books with Amazon Smile
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The company’s program, Amazon Smile (named in reference to the iconic swooping shape on its boxes), lets consumers designate a 501(c)(3) charitable organization to receive 0.5% of the order price when the purchase was made through the smile.amazon.com website. While still using their same Amazon accounts–including any registries or wish lists they may have created–customers who access the site through a browser (not through an e-reader or Kindle app) can find products that are designated as eligible for the donation. Of the nearly one million organizations that are already eligible to receive these no-consumer-cost donations, several are related to authorship and the book industry, including World Book Night, The Office of Letters and Light (NaNoWriMo), and Books for Africa, along with a host of other recognized non-profit charities related to furthering literacy, education, and writing. Consumers can change their charitable recipients at any time, essentially letting them designate a different charity each month, if they desired. While not all items are eligible for the donation program items that are eligible will be designated on the product detail page. In order to benefit the charities, purchases must be made through Amazon Smile, and not the standard Amazon web page. For more information, go to the Smile information page.
Amazon Lets Customers Give Back for Books with Amazon Smile is a post from: E-Reader News |
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Dutch eBook Pirate Gets Away with Uploading 5,000 Titles to Pirate Bay
| European Anti-Piracy organization BREIN, as not had a very good week. They just lost a major case in Dutch court which saw Internet Providers lift restrictions to the Pirate Bay. The court basically saw the ISP safeguards as being obsolete due to proxy servers and DNS workarounds. The court woes continue for BREIN as the same Dutch court dismissed a case against a 23 year old man who admitted to uploading a whopping 5,000 eBooks to the Pirate Bay. Normally, when someone admits to a crime, it is quite easy to establish guilt and levy a sentence. Apparently BREIN tried the case in a criminal court, trying to make the case that he was apart of a criminal conspiracy with the Pirate Bay. It ended up, he was just a voracious reader who wanted to share his love of books with the world. The Criminal Court stated that this was a Civil matter and washed their hands of the entire situation. Tim Kuik, BREIN's director, commented on the case, saying "Even if each book cost just one sale, there would already be 50,000 euros in lost revenue. The real damage is a multiple of that because the books have been downloaded countless times." Likely BREIN will pursue the case in a civil court, as guilt has already been established and the organization hates to lose. Dutch eBook Pirate Gets Away with Uploading 5,000 Titles to Pirate Bay is a post from: E-Reader News |
National Virtual Library of India Planned
| The Indian government has taken up an ambitious project of digitizing public libraries to ensure ease of access of books to the people. The National Mission on Libraries – as the scheme has been termed – also entails the creation of the National Virtual Library of India which will act as a comprehensive collection of information generated within the country. The rich repository of information, it is believed will act to spur reading habit among the masses besides of course facilitating research and information sharing. Emphasis will also be paid to ensure all including those from rural or under developed regions to have equal priority over information. The scheme involves six libraries that function under the central government's ministry of culture, 35 central libraries in the various states and 35 district libraries to be developed and interlinked as part of the NML project. This apart, 629 district libraries will also be provided with internet connectivity. The Raja Rammohun Roy Library Foundation (RRRLF) based in Kolkata will act as the nodal agency overseeing the implementation of NML project which is expected to cost 400 crores. “Making information more accessible is now paramount in the library sector. Our libraries may be filled with books, but in the digital age, they need to provide access to information that is available online. Digital libraries provide speedy access to information and they also bridge barriers of time and space,” said Ravindra Singh, secretary, ministry of culture outlining the mission of the project. As part of the NML efforts, enhancing the infrastructure as well as the services offered by the libraries will be accorded importance. Reading habits of members will also be surveyed all across the country as well as among those from the rural and urban regions to determine ways to improve services. “The content should be available to anyone who has access to the Internet. In new content generation, children’s needs should be given priority. Content will also be generated on skill development and matters concerning regional and local interest,” said Dr Banerjee, director general, RRRLF. “There is also need to create a ‘youth space’ in libraries – informal and comfortable with ICT facility,” he added.
National Virtual Library of India Planned is a post from: E-Reader News |
