Japanese based Softbank has just acquired United Kingdom's ARM for £24.3 billion, or $31.4 USD billion in cash. The corporate headquarters will continue to be based in Cambridge, England and they say the upper management will not change, but whenever there is a big sale it is only a matter of time before trusted Softbank executives are installed.According to Engadget … [Read more...] about Softbank Acquires ARM and the Semi-Conductor Consolidation is Complete
Archives for July 2016
HP Elite X3 is Available Next Month for $699
HP is releasing their first new smartphone in almost two years. The Elite X3 will be available on August 29th for $699 and will feature Windows Mobile 10. One of the big selling features is that it will feature Microsoft's Continuum which will allow you to use a dock or adapter to connect to a TV or monitor, then use your apps and see your content on a larger screen.The XP … [Read more...] about HP Elite X3 is Available Next Month for $699
AT&T Will Begin Selling the LG G Pad X 8.0 tablet
AT&T plans on selling a new tablet this upcoming Friday called the LG G Pad X 8.0 tablet. You can purchase it for $49.99 straight up and with a two-year contract, plus the cost of cellular data services.The LG G Pad X 8.0 tablet features an 8-inch display with a 1200 x 1920 resolution, Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 chipset, Adreno 405 GPU, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of internal … [Read more...] about AT&T Will Begin Selling the LG G Pad X 8.0 tablet
How Romance Authors Are Really Faring
Author Earnings is at it again, this time sharing crucial information on the state of romance publishing at the recent Romance Writers of America conference. Romance publishing--even before the advent of self-publishing and digital publishing--has always had this stigma attached to it, as though the work of these talented authors amounts to nothing more than a source of funds … [Read more...] about How Romance Authors Are Really Faring
Kindle Development Team is Hosting a Q/A
The Kindle Development Team is hosting a question and answer session on the official Amazon Kindle Forums. It will be starting at 7 AM PST on July 18th and will be running for 24 hours.The nature of the Q/A session is sort vague, they don't really mention what is up for discussion and what type of information they are sharing. It is very likely that it will abide by the … [Read more...] about Kindle Development Team is Hosting a Q/A
Amazon Video for Android Has SD Card Support
Amazon has just updated their Prime Video App for Android that allows you to store content on your phone or tablets SD card. This new change is applicable to movies or television shows that you purchase or download for free.The feature is available to Amazon customers in US, UK, Germany, Austria and Japan. They can automatically set the SD card as their default location … [Read more...] about Amazon Video for Android Has SD Card Support
E-Book Sales Increase 9% in the Netherlands
E-Book sales have increased 9% in the second quarter of 2016 in the Netherlands. This is the first time that sales have seen positive growth in quite awhile. In the first quarter of the year sales fell 7% and in Q4 2015 they fell 1%.One of the reasons why e-books are doing so well, is because the prices have come down. Â Overall, the average price of an e-book from a major … [Read more...] about E-Book Sales Increase 9% in the Netherlands
Libraries have loaned out a record number of e-books in 2016
Libraries are investing more money in a proper digital collection and patrons are starting to take notice. In 2015 over 30 different libraries in Canada and the United States loaned out over 1 million e-book titles. It looks like this record is going to be absolutely smashed in 2016.Overdrive has reported that 50 library systems achieved over 500,000 digital checkouts in … [Read more...] about Libraries have loaned out a record number of e-books in 2016
Belgium is going to lower the VAT on e-Books to 6%
The Parliamentary Committee for Finance on Wednesday unanimously approved a proposal to lower the VAT on e-books in Belgium to 6%.  This should result in lower prices, because the old VAT on digital books was a whopping 21%.Belgium will be the first European country to charge the same VAT for print and digital. This should be a boon for local publishers and indie authors … [Read more...] about Belgium is going to lower the VAT on e-Books to 6%
Where Do Consumers Get Their e-Books From?
There are many places where readers can find and download e-books. There are a number of online retailers such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Kobo that sell them directly. Â Your local library likely has a robust digital collection or sometimes piracy is just a click away. Good e-Reader has been running a poll for the past three weeks where we asked the question "where do you … [Read more...] about Where Do Consumers Get Their e-Books From?
eStories Launches New Digital Audiobook Service
eStories has just launched a new audiobook business and the company offers over 80,000 titles. You will be able to purchase audio editions from major publishers such as Hachette, Macmillan, and Penguin Random House.In order to buy audiobooks from eStories you have to sign up for a monthly membership package for $11.99. You get one audio credit per month and if you do not … [Read more...] about eStories Launches New Digital Audiobook Service
Pokemon Go and the Book Marketing Angle
As Pokemon Go continues to take over social media and gamers' lives--in all the best ways, of course--industrious authors and booksellers alike have found ways to capitalize on the game's popularity and online clickability in order to entice new customers to give them a look.Some explanations for the game have compared Pokemon Go to geocaching, in that both activities rely … [Read more...] about Pokemon Go and the Book Marketing Angle
Digital Comics Made a Paltry $90 Million in 2015
The comic book industry made over a billion dollars last year and print sales generated $900 million dollars. Sadly, digital did not have a good year and the format only accounted for $90 million in sales.Digital sales declined around 10% in 2015, back to 2013 levels. This was the only area of decline among all the segments of the entire comic book market.I think it's … [Read more...] about Digital Comics Made a Paltry $90 Million in 2015