Apple may have won quite a few back to back court battles over patent infringement cases, but has had a "minor" setback in China. Ironically, the tech giant is accused of having infringed on the copyright of eight Chinese authors and two companies and has been ordered to pay 1.03 million yuan, or $165,000US, as fine for causing financial losses to the parties concerned.The … [Read more...] about Apple Found Guilty of Selling Illegal eBooks in China, Fined $165,000
Archives for December 2012
Aldiko Book Reader Hits 10 Million Downloads! Their First Email!
Isn't that fantastic? Here is what Aldiko says on its blog: "Earlier this year, we announced that the Aldiko Book Reader free version has reached 5 million downloads. Hooray! We’re excited to announce that we have just passed another pretty big milestone. As of this Wednesday, the Aldiko Book Reader free version passed 10 million downloads! It has been an impressive 2012 for … [Read more...] about Aldiko Book Reader Hits 10 Million Downloads! Their First Email!
The Global Reach of Digital Publishing
When digital publishing first reached the mainstream, some of the many benefits included the ability to bring books to outlying areas where bookstores and libraries were few and far between, as well as making access to publication a far more viable option for those authors--especially international authors--who did not have easy access to publication. This focus on a more … [Read more...] about The Global Reach of Digital Publishing
Libraries Starting to Emerge as Bookstores
With bookstores gradually on the way out in the digital age, libraries are increasingly finding themselves in the new role of bookstores themselves. More and more libraries are changing their renovation plans. They are limiting additional shelf space to add more titles to their already existing collection, and earmarking a separate section that will be dedicated to sell off … [Read more...] about Libraries Starting to Emerge as Bookstores
Online Vendors and Right of First Sale
Indie authors who are savvy enough to check around the internet at the various online book retailers' sites may have found some surprising books available: their own. Third party vendors using online storefronts have sprung up on various retail sites that sell authors' print editions at an astounding markup over the authors' own sales' pages, sometimes listing CreateSpace … [Read more...] about Online Vendors and Right of First Sale
iPad Still Accounts for an Overwhelming Majority of Tablet Web Traffic
We come across reports of the Kindle Fire and the Nexus range of tablets slowly gaining prominence with an ever increasing sales figure. However, if that led anyone to believe the above translates to the iPad losing its hold on the market, they are in for a pleasant surprise. Recent revelations by the mobile ad company Chitika has singled out the iPad as the biggest contributor … [Read more...] about iPad Still Accounts for an Overwhelming Majority of Tablet Web Traffic
Smashwords iBookstore Sales Skyrocket over Christmas
This is great news for the self-publishing company! According to the Smashwords blog, sales the day after Christmas were 76% higher from the same day a week earlier and sales for December 27 increased 65% over the same period a year ago. These figures were aggregated over the 125,000 Smashwords titles available in the iBookstore.Even more encouraging is the chart above, … [Read more...] about Smashwords iBookstore Sales Skyrocket over Christmas
Pew Research Center Survey: More People Are Reading eBooks
Despite the predictions from several years ago that digital reading was a fad-like flash-in-the-pan, a recent telephone survey conducted by the Pew Research Center of nearly 3,000 American consumers ages sixteen and older shows that ebook consumption is on the rise. In keeping with the later predictions that print and digital would co-exist side by side, the rise in e-reading … [Read more...] about Pew Research Center Survey: More People Are Reading eBooks
NOOK Media Announces Strategic Investment by Pearson, but B&N Holiday Sales Below Expectations
The NOOK Media subsidiary of B&N has announced that the learning company Pearson will invest $89.5 million in cash in NOOK at a post-money valuation of approximately $1.789 billion in exchange for preferred membership interests representing a 5% equity stake. B&N will own, after the transaction, 78.2% of NOOK Media and Microsoft will own 16.8%. Pearson has the option to … [Read more...] about NOOK Media Announces Strategic Investment by Pearson, but B&N Holiday Sales Below Expectations
Hachette UK Garners 250,000 eBook Sales in Two Days
Hachette's United Kingdom division has seen a copious amount of digital downloads on Christmas and Boxing Day. The publisher sold over 250,000 ebooks from its website and various resellers. This marks a 86% increase over the same period last year and is a testament to the dramatic surge of digital publishing.The head of Digital Marketing at Hachette UK, George Walkley, told … [Read more...] about Hachette UK Garners 250,000 eBook Sales in Two Days
Marvel to Attain Star Wars Comic License
Disney will not be renewing the Star Wars comic book license with Dark Horse when it is set to expire in 2013. Marvel will be taking over the reigns and start publishing both digital and the tangible versions later next year. This makes sense because Disney purchased the entire Star Wars franchise and having Marvel handle the graphic novels and comic books keeps everything in … [Read more...] about Marvel to Attain Star Wars Comic License
Is Amazon Developing a Kids’ Tablet?
Amazon has never really targeted the kids segment with its Kindle Fire, though the tablet is increasingly finding application as much a kids' favorite play mate as it is their parents' tablet of choice. While there is no shortage of tablet devices that have been designed almost exclusively for children, but the Kindle Fire's favor is both cheap and can be of as much use to the … [Read more...] about Is Amazon Developing a Kids’ Tablet?
NYT Paywall Leads to Increase in Revenue
So much of the digital publishing arena has been about speculation and experimentation, with more and more publishers proving the naysayers wrong. Now, it's the New York Times, who has clearly demonstrated that reading consumers will respond favorably to its paywall system of readership, despite early predictive criticism from opponents of the business model.In an article … [Read more...] about NYT Paywall Leads to Increase in Revenue