Amazon Prime membership have grown 35% in the last year and it is estimated that there is now 54 million active accounts in the United States. One in five adults now have an Amazon membership for perks like free two day shipping, the Kindle lending library, Prime Music and Prime Video.In late 2014 Amazon increased the cost of Prime from $79 to $99. Many industry experts … [Read more...] about 46% of U.S. households have Amazon Prime
Archives for January 2016
Indie Authors Can Now Develop An Audiobook via ListenUp Audiobooks
The global audiobook industry is currently worth over two billion dollars and digital is the fastest growing segment. Major publishes have a tremendous amount of infrastructure to create audio editions of their bestselling novels, but indie authors don't have many alternatives.ListenUp Audiobooks is a new company that is exclusively focusing on indie authors who want to … [Read more...] about Indie Authors Can Now Develop An Audiobook via ListenUp Audiobooks
Amazon Launches Kindle Instant Book Previews
Amazon has just launched a new program called Kindle Instant Book Previews. It is a new system that allows bloggers, indie authors and book reviewers to be able to embed Kindle e-books on their websites and users can actually read the preview live, without having to be redirected back to Amazon.Kindle Instant Book Previews is a great new system that has the internet … [Read more...] about Amazon Launches Kindle Instant Book Previews
Kobo will tell you how long it will take to read an eBook
Kobo is developing a new system on their website that will estimate how long it would take to read an e-book, before you buy it. There is also plenty of other features being tested such as the total word count and keywords associated with that particular title. I honestly don't know how relevant the keyword system will be, since its based on the metadata of the book.The new … [Read more...] about Kobo will tell you how long it will take to read an eBook
Apple iPad Air 3 rumored to have four speakers
The Apple iPad Pro is starting to appeal towards people who love to watch movies on a big screen. One of the main reason is because this particular model has four speakers, instead of the two that are on every other model. There is a new rumor going around that the new iPad Air 3 that is expected to be announced this March will also have four speakers.Little is known about … [Read more...] about Apple iPad Air 3 rumored to have four speakers
Apple Night Shift will be available in the Control Center
Apple has just seeded a new iOS build to developers and they have moved the Night Shift function to the Control Center. Night Shift is now accessible by swiping up from the bottom of an iOS device. Night Shift is denoted by a new eye-shaped icon in between the icons for the timer and the calculator on the iPhone. Tapping on the icon brings up options to turn the feature on or … [Read more...] about Apple Night Shift will be available in the Control Center
Amazon is hoping to market their smartphone OS
Amazon has been talking to smartphone manufacturers in order to have a larger mobile footprint. No companies have been named, but Amazon is hoping to bundle Firefly, their App Store and Prime Music & Video on future hardware.The Amazon Fire Phone was a dismal failure, but that hasn't stopped the company from establishing partnerships with other companies. A few years … [Read more...] about Amazon is hoping to market their smartphone OS
Public Domain e-books are all about the cover art
Many small publishing companies get their start by taking public domain e-books and selling them on Apple, Amazon and Kobo. Many of these titles all have to same cover art and do not stand out. Have you ever browsed Project Gutenberg? Many of the top downloaded content simply has the authors name and the book title which is not very compelling. In the last few years, the e-book … [Read more...] about Public Domain e-books are all about the cover art
Freescale IMX 7 will start mass production in Q2 2016
Last summer Freescale announced IMX 7, a new dual core processor for e-readers. Mass production on these new chips was supposed to occur in November/December of 2015, but there were supply chain complications. Freescale has confirmed with Good e-Reader that production will begin sometime in Q2 2016.I have heard that there are numerous companies currently testing the IMX 7 … [Read more...] about Freescale IMX 7 will start mass production in Q2 2016
What authors need to know about the new Kindle warning system
Amazon has announced that they will be publicly warning users if an e-book has spelling mistakes or formatting errors. This is meant to protect the average reader so they don't make an impulse purchase and regret it. Thousands of authors are asking a ton of questions about this new warning system and today we will answer the most common issues.One of the most common … [Read more...] about What authors need to know about the new Kindle warning system
Should Indigo and Barnes & Noble Open Boutique Shops?
Barnes & Noble and Chapters/Indigo operate hundreds of bookstores all over Canada the United States. They tend to think big, large stores with multiple levels in order to provide enough books to keep people interested. The big box approach works for some people, but others want a smaller, more curated experience. Should these booksellers open a series of small boutique … [Read more...] about Should Indigo and Barnes & Noble Open Boutique Shops?
Pearson Intends on Firing 4,000 People
Pearson is the largest company involved in textbooks and educational materials. They are dialing back their workforce over the course of 2016 and will be sacking close to 4,000 jobs. Â The company has cited that the decline of print is the culprit and they are investing heavily in online learning tools and digital resources for schools.In order to cope with dwindling print … [Read more...] about Pearson Intends on Firing 4,000 People
Amazon Launches a Free Kindle e-Book Program in the UK
Amazon has just launched a new promotional campaign in the United Kingdom. In return for downloading the Kindle e-reading app, buying an e-book or purchasing a print title, users will get a special coupon code. Â It can be redeemed to download one free Kindle e-book from a pool of 6.The titles that Amazon is giving people for free for just doing one simple task is fairly … [Read more...] about Amazon Launches a Free Kindle e-Book Program in the UK
Microsoft is offering support for Apple Pencil
The iPad Pro is starting to resonate with authors who like to scribble and jot down notes. Microsoft is listening and they are in the process of updating their complete line of Office apps to be compatible with the Apple Pencil.Microsoft said in a statement "As part of our effort to make Office even more intuitive and easier to use, we want to make pen and ink a primary … [Read more...] about Microsoft is offering support for Apple Pencil
National Book Foundation Announces 2016 Reader Prize
The National Book Foundation has just announced their 2016 prize of $10,000 for individuals or companies that are doing innovative things to promote reading. You have to live in the United States to enter, but this should be appealing towards any new startup that are doing interesting things in education or discovery. If you are thinking of entering check out their official … [Read more...] about National Book Foundation Announces 2016 Reader Prize
Here are all of the audiobooks TuneIn offers
Last August TuneIn launched a premium package where you pay $8.99 per month to get access to over 40,000 audiobooks. This is a fairly good deal, because you can listen to all of the content you want, without having to pay extra. There is a large segment of users that want to know what titles are in the catalog before they sign up for access. If this is the case, you might want … [Read more...] about Here are all of the audiobooks TuneIn offers