Archive for Top News
Skypad Alpha 2 Available for $125 on Groupon
Posted by: | Comments
Skytex has had great success in the past using Groupon to sell their line of e-readers and tablet computers. There is a current deal of the day that should not be missed if you are looking at getting an Android Tablet that has tremendous bang for your buck. The Skypad Alpha 2 is available for only $125, which is a huge savings off of the normal price of $299.99!
The Skytex Skypad Alpha 2 features a 7 inch capacitive multi-touch display with a resolution of 800×480 pixels. It certainly will win no awards for the visual resolution, but it gets the job done by providing rich and vibrant colors. One of the ways it offsets the low pixel density is via the HDMI out, which gives you 1080P video if you hook it up to a projector or your television. It actually will also give you 3D video playback if you have a TV that will render 3D video.
The Skypad Alpha 2 is running the Google Android 2.3 operating system and this allows for a fair number of enhancements. You can run live wallpapers and it basically has support for 95% of all Android apps you will find in the market.
One of the surprising things I found about the content distribution system on the Alpha 2 was the default market that came bundled on the device. It comes with a market called the ’1 Mobile Market. If you are a regular Good e-Reader visitor you will know that we review every single e-reader that hits the market and a fair number of indie tablets. I have never seen a single device bundle with this particular market for apps and there was some trepidation on what to expect. Honestly, I was very surprised by the quality of apps that were available to download. This supersedes the Getjar and most other markets that either come bundled with a particular tablet or are available as 3rd party downloads. Everything is here in the 1 Mobile Market and you will get almost all the mainstream programs that are available on the official Google Android Market. On the front page there is common programs like Flash 11, Dropbox, Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, Google Earth, Twitter, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Aldiko, and Droid Comic Viewer. All of the essential apps you will need are really just on the front page and you won’t have to search extensively for the big name programs you want to get on your device right away. I had to search for Task Killer and ES File Explorer, but they were all easily found and just 1 click installs. Surprisingly, this market dominates other competing devices at the same price-point, such as the Kobo Android Market.
Booktype Launches Crowd-Sourced eBook Tools
Posted by: | Comments
Booktype has just launched its free, open source platform for writing and publishing print and digital books. Why is it different from Apple iBooks Author or other platforms? It’s built for collaborative writing, is open source and free, can push to all channels including print, and it allows anyone to build an entire platform and community around writing, editing, and publishing.
This new project is flying under the Booktype banner, but the parent company’s name is Sourcefabric. The parent has been building open source tools for media organizations since 1998. Newscoop (open content management for newspapers and magazines) and Airtime are other free products currently on the market (each is downloaded over 10,000 times a year) and two further products will further extend the range of tools in 2012, including Superdesk, a digital workflow tool for newsrooms and Booktype.
The project lead is Adam Hyde, a well-respected expert in online publishing who has been exploring online technologies and methods for communities to collaboratively produce content for over 10 years. Most recently in this area he has founded FLOSS Manuals—a community of some 3000 individuals developing Free Manuals about Free Software. Booktype has evolved from Booki, a popular open source project for writing, editing, and publishing books online and in print.
So what exactly is Booktype? Adam Thomas told us in an exclusive interview that “The Booktype interface allows for simultaneous editing, live chat and internal messaging that allows notes, citations, urls, text and pictures to be easily exchanged between contributors, dramatically speeding up the production process. Booktype is also an out-of-the-box community platform. Users can create profiles, join groups, watch books, chat live and keep track of book activity. Working examples include http://www.booki.cc/ a community of over 2000 users writing books on anything from cooking to computer code.”
A crowd-sourced ebook authoring toolkit sounds very unique and I imagine many people clammering at the opportunity to collaborate with their friends and write together. How does this effect revenue sharing and actually selling the book? Who owns the rights? Adam explained it as ” Booktype allows to publish books under whatever license the author or multiple authors agree on. Once the book has matured to become public, it can be pushed directly to online print on demand platforms like lulu.com or the authors can take the book to any publisher they want. They can start their own publishing company and distribute the book themselves, too. ISBN numbers can be assigned inside Booktype. Regarding ‘selling the book’ it is important to note that using Booktype, no author is tied into a specific distributor or format. Booktype is the place where the book is being made. How and where it is being sold is entirely the decision of the authors. Books generated in Booktype are platform independent and free.”
Finally, what services does Booktype offer your books? Well, it’s up to the authors. Adam wrapped up the interview with saying “Booktype opens up publishing to allow people to sell books on whichever platform they feel suits them best. In the instance of iBooks, as with most ebook stores, they would need an account, an ISBN number and need to push the book through the submission process. Books can be pushed to lulu.com and archive.org from within the Booktype interface. Other services would require you to export the book and then upload – we’re working hard to make this process simpler and more direct.”
Txtr Partners with UK based Foyles for New eBook Store
Posted by: | Comments
Foyles, one of the UK’s most predominant bookstores, is launching a new ebook store in conjunction with Germany based Txtr. This new service will be accompanied by official applications on the iOS and Android Platforms. The eBook shop is operated jointly by the marketing and merchandising teams of Txtr and Foyles.
Sam Husain, Foyles’ Chief Executive, comments: “At Foyles we are very excited by the developments in reading and bookselling afforded by digital technology. Our new eBook store and apps, Foyles powered by txtr, make buying and reading eBooks as easy as possible, without the added expense of having to buy new hardware. It is the next step in our on-going journey to serve our customers with a choice of books, across the widest possible range, in every format.”
Txtr has been a company in the ebook game for a long time and has great success in their local German market. They have applications for every major platform and sell books directly to customers. This partnership with Foyles gives them access into one of the largest markets in Europe. Europe is still behind the US with respect to the average eBook penetration, but the gap is narrowing with growth figures of over 200% per year in countries such as Germany and the Netherlands. The UK is the most advanced eReading market in Europe: more than 1 out of 10 adults use an eReader. “There is a tremendous opportunity in the eBook market, which is expected to grow to US$ 35 billion in 2015 globally,” says Christophe Maire, CEO of txtr. Both Amazon and Kobo have made great inroads in the European market, as it is shaping up to be a key battleground.
Once the UK store is up and running, Foyles and Txtr plan on rolling out new stores in Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. Currently, with the Foyles deal and the online store launching, they will have to compete with WH Smith who has partnered with Kobo for their own online store.
Amazon Loophole Bill Goes to the Virginia Senate
Posted by: | Comments
Amazon has been fighting various states for the last few years on the premise that online businesses should not have to pay sales tax. In Virginia there is a huge fight going on that is overshadowing the business going on in California. Legislation to eliminate a tax loophole that Amazon employs often dubbed the “Amazon Loophole” has been sent to the House of Delegates. This is the final step necessary to start charging sales tax on online companies doing business in that state.
This new bill has been lobbied extensively by bookstores and other companies saying online businesses reap competitive advantages when dealing with products and services online and who also have a brick and morter business in that State. Amazon currently has a warehouse and data center, and Virginia wants Amazon to start charging sales tax on anything it sells online that is purchased in Virginia. This could potentially put hundreds of millions of dollars into the hands of the Government and result in inflated online sales prices.
Amazon plans to open two new distribution centers later this year to help with its initiative for mailing out books that the company intends to publish. They are petitioning the State to give them 4 million dollars in State aid in order to develop and hire workers. The Seattle based company may not fight this bill very hard and write it off as the cost of having more physical locations in Virginia. This may result in a HUB of sorts where all their storing and shipping may take place. Whether Amazon tries to strike the bill down completely in the Senate or not remains to be seen.
Good e-Reader Android App Store Client Updated to Beta 2
Posted by: | Comments
We have just finished the upgrades on our Good e-Reader Android App Store Client today, which bring it to Beta 2. This new update introduces a slew of new enhancements that are sure to impress.
Today we rolled out push notifications for apps you have installed! This gives you an indication if new versions of our applications are available and prompts you to install them. Also, we have added a new commenting feature to give you the ability to talk to other people about a particular app. If you love the app you downloaded, let us know! There is the ability to now rate the app from 1 to 5 stars, which should help promote only the best ones. In order to comment and rate we have made a new login/signup system, which is very easy, and we are integrating Facebook and Twitter connections to make the process even easier in our next update. Finally, the settings menu gives you new options.
If you are coming in cold, we have developed a new Android App Store that caters specifically to the reader in us. We have the largest selection of any app store in the world for comics, newspaper, and e-reading applications for the Android platform. We live and breathe e-readers, and know the types of apps that everyone wants on their device, so we want to make your life easier! All of our apps are FREE and are easy to download using our new Client or visiting the store using your tablet or phone’s internet browser.
Download the new App Store Client HERE or just checkout the Web Version HERE.
Good e-Reader Recognized by Freescale as the Top 4th Tech Blog in the World
Posted by: | Comments
Freescale ran their yearly Top Tech Pundit of 2012 and we are pleased to announce that Good e-Reader officially placed 4th! This is a huge achievement for our tech blog and a testament to the great writing staff we have here that pumps out comprehensive digital publishing, e-reading, and ebook news on a daily basis.
Once a year Freescale runs their Top 5 Tech Pundits of the year and this year was no different. Initially, they had hundreds of blogs in the running and we were shortlisted to the Top 20, due to overwhelming support from our readers. During the last week, they took 20 of the most voted blogs in the world, including Cnet, ZDNET, Engadget, PC World, and the New York Times. I am humbled to say that due to our readers’ support we edged out all of those companies and made it into the coveted Top 5. I can honestly say I am blown away that an indie news source like ours managed to persevere against companies with outlandish operating budgets.
This past week has been huge for us with the story we broke about an Amazon launching a retail store. Major news organizations such as Thomson Reuters, Fastcompany, Bloomberg, and many more all picked up on our articles and mentioned our blog in their publications. We conducted interviews with many companies, including the Financial Times and Sky in the UK about this piece and were honored that many industry veterans are regular readers of ours.
I want to extend my personal thanks to everyone who voted for us for this contest. We would not be where we are today without the great support! Our Twitter and Facebook accounts were upgraded recently and we experienced overwhelming positive feedback on it!
Thank you!
Introducing the Good e-Reader Android App Store Client
Posted by: | Comments
We are proud to unleash the beta version of our standalone Android App Store client! This is an extension of our browser based store that we unveiled last month. It brings to the table exciting new features and a very clean interface.
The Good e-Reader Android App Store has been a huge success for us with over 50,000 visitors on the website since it launched in the second week of Janurary. The premise of the store is to give people outside of the USA a chance to get their hands on the latest apps! We have apps that Getjar and other alterantive markets simply don’t have and we put a strong emphasis on reading programs. You can get popular apps like Kindle, Nook, Sony, Kobo, Aldiko, Flash 11, Marvel Comics, and tons more! We currently have over 250 apps that are basically, in our minds, the best apps out there.
Our new client is easy to install to your device and there are a few ways you can get it on your Kobo Vox, Kindle Fire, Pandigital Novel, Micro CRUZ, or any other android device. You can open up your browser on your tablet and visit our App store HERE. You can also download the Android file straight to your PC and then copy it to your tablet’s memory. Finally, use your file manager on the tablet to launch our app and get downloading new programs right away.
We are always updating the app daily, so make sure to keep on checking for our Beta 2 release. This will give you push notifications when new updates are available, so you will always make sure you have the latest version available. Also, you can chat with other people who have installed the app and get troubleshooting assistance with our dynamic commenting system.
We are looking for your feedback on the development of this app, as it is polished and nearly done. If you have a large tablet or rooted device, we would love to hear how it looks and any key features we might have missed. Please comment on this post and let us know how it looks on your end and how you like it.
Download the new Good e-Reader App Store for Android Client HERE.
Introducing the Good e-Reader News APP for Android
Posted by: | Comments
We have just rolled out the first version of our official Android News App today! Get caught up with the latest Good e-Reader News while on the go on your phone or tablet! We have dedicated sections of all of our major categories so if you are just interested in publishing or ebook news, you can read with ease.
We made it very easy to navigate and install the application! Simply download it from our own Good e-Reader APP Store right HERE! In the next few days we will be having it listed in the official Google Android Market for those of you that can connect to it. The main reason we are carrying it in our own APP Store is because we know many tablets like the Kobo Vox, Kindle Fire, and Pandigital Novel can’t access the real Google Market. We like to make things as easy as you can. Remember like always, you can open up our App Store in your tablets internet browser and download any app right to your tablet or e-reader.
This App is in Beta! This means graphically things will drastically change in the near future but in the here and now, it works great. We are proud to be the only e-reader blog in the world offering an app to read our articles.
Good e-Reader Week In Review: Tablet News
Posted by: | Comments
Reflecting on the happenings in the tablet field this past week, what comes to the fore is that there has been no major tablet launches during the period though the usual doses of rumors and speculation had its share of limelight all along. The biggest news of the past week has of course been the way the Apple iPad almost steamrolled the competition by announcing total sales for the last quarter to a staggering 15.43 million units. That’s not only more than all the Android tablets put together but also eclipses the sales total PC sales of bigwigs such as Dell, HP or Lenovo.
In other iPad news from the past week, the tablet will soon be provided to the students of Wisconsin Schools which in turn are being bought with money that the state got out of a court settlement with Microsoft. However, while all that is good news for Apple and its all conquering tablet device, the company though is finding itself on an increasingly slippery track in its court battles with Samsung. In the latest blow to Apple, Dutch court has ruled the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 does not infringe upon Apple iPad’s design patents. This is in lieu to a similar court ruling in Australia where the Samsung tablet has already been allowed to hit markets there. Vodafone Australia will be the first to offer the Galaxy Tab 10.1 there post the ban. Also while still on Samsung tablets, the Korean giant is rumored to be readying a new tablet device at the upcoming MCW event which many believe is the next gen version of the current Galaxy Tab 10.1.
Further continuing with rumors, Nokia too is touted to be readying a tablet that would run Windows 8.
The other big story from last week is the good showing of Android tablets like Amamzon Kindle Fire, B&N Nook Tablet or the Kobo Vox. Unfortunately, there is no way to make out just how good (or how bad) their sales were in the absence of any official sales figures. Market analysts though point out the tablets may have made up 40 percent of the total 10.5 million units of all Android tablet that found takers in the last quarter. Impressive figures it should be for Amazon, B&N or Kobo even if that has been achieved by pricing the tablets low. Also, all of that is certainly a lot better than the 1 million tablet sales figure reported by Motorola which has been achieved all of last year. Motorola has also stated it is ready to offer the Xyboard tablets.
For RIM and its PlayBook, this past week has been of mixed results. Like while Sprint is being shown to be ready to give up on the PlayBook, RIM, on its part, has already stated they have started work on the new upgraded PlayBook sequel.
As for news pertaining to Android 4.0, both Sony and HTC has stated they would be releasing the update to the latest Android version for the Tablet S/Tablet P and Flyer respectively in the coming months. Asus too will launch the ICS update for its first gen Transformer during mid February. Asus will also release the Transformer Prime Bootloader Unlock Tool next month. So that’s plenty of action coming up in the next few weeks.
In other tablet news for the past week, the Pantech Element is now available for $300, the Acer Iconia Tab A510, A700 will be hitting markets towards April while the ZTE Light Tab 2 and Optik tablets will reach the UK and US in February respectively.
Keep watching for more tablet news. Also remember to check Good e-Reader Android App Store to take care of all your app needs.
First Look at the Good e-Reader Android App
Posted by: | Comments
The Good e-Reader Android App Store was first unveiled a few weeks ago when we rolled out our web version tailored to e-readers and tablets. Since then we have amassed a collection of almost 200 apps that are basically our top picks of the very best. We are diligently working on an actual Android App that will be your portal to downloading apps directly to your Kobo Vox, Kindle Fire, Pandigital Novel or many other devices. This app will feature all of our existing apps and soon our free app of the week. Once you install an app from our store and we upload a new version you will be prompted to upgrade your existing one.
Let us know what you think of the overall design! The app should be released within a few weeks exclusively from Good e-Reader.
Digital Book World Wrap Up with Mike Shatzkin
Posted by: | Comments
GoodEReader attended this year’s Digital Book World conference in New York and met up with an amazing crew of attendees from various arms of the publishing world. Agents, editors, and publishing executives were on hand to hear from the many representatives from across the digital publishing spectrum. These experts on ebooks were presenters, panelists, moderators, and exhibitors on everything from children’s app books to digital textbooks, as well as accessories to reading like voice-over narration developers and audio soundtrack creators.
GoodEReader managed to spend a few minutes with the conference chairman, Mike Shatzkin, to get his impressions of the event as a whole, as well as some of his predictions for where digital publishing will be going in the coming year. The video of that interview can be found below.
Top 5 Mainstream eReader Apps for Android
Posted by: | Comments
Google Android continues to enjoy being one of the most heavily used operating systems for tablets and phones. This is a robust operating system that is easy to license and many vendors relish in the constant attention the big G brings to their companies. If you have an Android Tablet, e-reader, or phone, you might find yourself in the position that you have no access to some of the best apps on the platform. Many e-readers, like the Kobo Vox, Pandigital Novel, Velocity Micro Cruz and many others, have limited access to 3rd party downloads. The average user only uses the apps the unit is shipped with and does not know there are tons of choices out there.
There are quite a number of mainstream e-reader apps that allow you to buy books, newspapers, and magazines directly from the apps. Not only can you buy, but you can also read them as they were meant to be seen, making them the perfect all in one solution. Today we are going to take a look at some of the best mainstream e-reader apps out there and tell you a bit about them. You can also download any of these apps directly to your tablet or phone by visiting http://goodereader.com/apps/
Amazon is one of the largest and most successful companies in terms the sheer amount of ebooks that are available. They have a tremendous ecosystem that allows you to buy the latest bestsellers and newspapers at good prices.
The Kindle for Android interface is very clean and gives you many options to browse content from the New York Times Bestseller list to the staffs personal picks. It has its categories developed fairly well, but often works best if you know what you are looking for.
Amazon has released a new library lending program via Overdrive partners. If you have a local branch that participates in digital ebook lending you can borrow books form the library and have them sent directly to your Kindle account. You can then send the books directly to your Android Tablet or e-Reader and read for free. Amazon also has a lending program that allows you borrow select books from other users or from eBook Club websites like Lendingebooks.com
Amazon for Android continues to be one of the better ecosystems out there in terms of mainstream and current books. They have a great indie writer community and you can discover new writers at affordable prices, often at .99. This program is a free download but obviously the content costs money but there is a ton of free books on the service.
Barnes and Noble Nook for Android
Barnes and Noble in the last few years has developed an expansive bookstore with tons of content. If you have a Nook Tablet or Color you know first hand how the store functions and the sheer amount of kids books, cook books and others specifically tailored for the Nook line of devices? What if you just have a Kobo Vox or other tablet? How does the experience rank up against the competition?
Nook for Android only works best if you live in the USA, if you live outside that country you do have some options. Many users claim using a fake address from the USA is all you need to do and then use your real email address and credit card. The company will NEVER send anything to your physical address unless you order non-digital content.
Nook for Android is a great reader program that allows you to lookup words via the dictionary and alter your fonts and margins. You can also augment your linespacing if you want to customize your reading experience.
This bookstore has a ton of new and mainstream books available and also a select amount of other material. The company runs their own indie publishing project called PUBIT which allows writers to submit their own content. Unlike Amazons publishing program physical people actually read the book to make sure its suitable to publish.
Kobo boasts a current library of 2.5 million books and 60% of them are free and open source. This means a fair number are classics and books you might have read when you were a little kid. Kobo is a very internationally friendly company and you can buy and read books in almost any country in the world.
One of the strongest features the company has going for it is ‘Reading Life’ which allows you earn awards and achievements. You can then let your friends know when you have read a book or earned an award via Facebook and Twitter. Speaking of social media you can also send passages of text or select words to those services too.
If you want to load your own books Kobo is one of the only mainstream apps that allow you to do it. Simply upload books that don’t have DRM to your dropbox account or send them as attachments via email and when you open it up the books can be read within the app.
Finally, like most mainstream apps there is a ton of customizations you can make to change up the look and feel of most books. You can change fonts, margins, line spaces and much more.
Android is the first platform that Sony started to market its own fledgling bookstore to phones and tablets. There is actually an optimized version of their app specifically for tablets that is an independent download. Book Prices are a bit higher then some of its competition but they do have a bunch of graphic novels and manga available.
The Sony Reader is one of the least developed mainstream apps and by comparison ranks lower on our list of essential apps. It does not give you as much freedom to change fonts and other aspects of your book experience like Kobo, Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
When you download the app you are greeted by 3 free books that change once in awhile but are often open-source free books that are in the public domain.
If you have a Android Tablet or Phone with full access to the Android Market often this app is installed on your device. Often if you don’t there is no actual way of getting it other then our own app store. It features one of the nicest page turn animations in the business and looks very slick to read even scanned books.
Google is trying very hard to make a go of the entire ebook world and only started its service last year. They are the least mature of all of the other mainstream apps in terms of selection of books and the overall app experience.
The essence of Google Books is it is mainly a cloud based reader, when you buy books they are not stored physically on your e-reader or phone but within the Google Cloud Service.
There are over 3 million books in its ecosystem, but the majority are free and open sourced books the company has tediously scanned over the last five years. If you live in the USA it has an expansive selection of modern bestsellers in the fiction and non-fiction genres. If you live in Canada, Australia, or the UK the selection tends to fall of the cliff fast with an emphasis on local writers. It seems like most publishing companies did not authorize their books to any market outside the USA, which makes finding the latest best sellers an exercise in patience.
Amazon Divulges Some Critical Numbers at Digital Book World
Posted by: | Comments
Most of the big names in electronic reading—Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo—like to keep a lid on all information about things like sales figures on devices, numbers of ebooks sold, and more. So when Amazon’s VP of Kindle Content Russ Grandinetti took the main stage at Digital Book World and enlightened the publishing industry crowd about some of that information, everyone paid attention.
Some of the most important info graphs that Grandinetti put up demonstrated a possible connection between titles being listed in the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library and an increase in sales. The explanation for that rested on the user agreement of KOLL that patrons can only borrow the equivalent of one book per month. The numbers might suggest that rather than wait as much as thirty days to check-out another ebook, Kindle users were opting to buy a book. This seemed to especially be the case when users had already read the first book in a series and had therefore become familiar with the author and the story line.
“Some customers may be willing to try authors and series they might not otherwise have discovered,” explained Grandinetti at DBW. He specifically mentioned The Hunger Games trilogy as an example, with graphs demonstrating that the number of people who first borrowed book later were more likely to purchase the second and third books.
Amazon was there also to discuss some of the newer aspects of Kindle Format 8 and its capabilities for children’s content and graphic novels on the Kindle Fire tablet. Both of those genres are making great headway now that there are inexpensive devices on the market that can tackle the screen size and full-color formats. The video below is from Grandinetti’s highlights of the updated capabilities for graphics-intensive ebooks.
