News Republic is one of the best apps for the smartphone and many users perfer it to Apple News, Google Play Newstand, or Flipboard. Cheetah Mobile has just announced that they have just developed a customized version of their e-reading app for Samsung smartphones.Here are some of the key features found only in the News Republic app for Samsung phones.Text-to-speech: … [Read more...] about News Republic Releases A New Customized App for Samsung Smartphones
Archives for January 2017
Bibliotheca is launching a new web reader
Bibliotheca swallowed up the 3M Cloud Library in 2015 and the two sides have been making a serious play to be the second largest player in the digital library sector. The American Library Association midwinter conference is starting tomorrow in Atlanta and Bibliotheca is unveiling a bunch of new services, including a new web-reader.selfCheck 500, mid-range kioskThe new … [Read more...] about Bibliotheca is launching a new web reader
You will soon find E-Ink Displays on popular Cosmetics
E-Ink has just partnered up with Texen, which is the third largest plastic packaging solution provider to the cosmetics and fragrance industry. In the near future consumers can put their names on their makeup compacts and perfume bottles or write personal messages to gift recipients via Bluetooth or the cosmetic companies can integrate sensor or diagnostic components to enable … [Read more...] about You will soon find E-Ink Displays on popular Cosmetics
Dasung is sold out of the Paperlike E-paper Monitor
Dasung has reported that the Paperlike E-paper secondary computer monitor is completely sold out. It remains to be seen if they will have more stock in the future, but it is very unlikely. The company is instead focusing on their new 13.3 inch e-reader that will have the ability to function as a secondary display via Bluetooth.Little is known about the new 13.3 inch E Ink … [Read more...] about Dasung is sold out of the Paperlike E-paper Monitor
Pearson is lowering the cost of e-book rentals
Pearson, one of the largest educational publishers in the world is making a serious push towards digital. They are dropping the prices of its e-book rentals and piloting a new program for print textbook rentals. This is been done because they experienced a £180m decline in profits over the course of 2016 and now predicts that “many of these downward pressures will … [Read more...] about Pearson is lowering the cost of e-book rentals
New York Times Plans on Scaling Back on Print Edition by 2020
The New York Times is going to be revising their newsroom and they have big plans by the time 2020 rolls around. They want to reduce duplicative layers of article editing, stop covering the same stories by different writers, focus on diversity as a way of ensuring that the paper’s journalists reflect the audience they seek and scale back on the print edition by 2020.The … [Read more...] about New York Times Plans on Scaling Back on Print Edition by 2020
49 Libraries Loan Out Over 1 Million eBooks in 2016
Overdrive has just reported that 49 library systems in the U.S. and two other countries have set a new record for lending more than one million digital books in 2016. Readers at five library systems borrowed more than 3 million digital books and seven libraries circulated more than 2 million eBooks and audiobooks.The record-breaking libraries achieved their success in a … [Read more...] about 49 Libraries Loan Out Over 1 Million eBooks in 2016
Audiobooks Can Now be Enjoyed on Sonos Home Sound Systems
If you have a Sonos system you will be able to finally listen to audiobooks. Audiobooks.com has just announced that their subscribers can listen to their favorite title in every room of their homes.Audiobooks.com on Sonos was tested by listeners through a successful beta program that started in late 2016. To stream Audiobooks.com on Sonos, customers simply select ‘Add … [Read more...] about Audiobooks Can Now be Enjoyed on Sonos Home Sound Systems
Microsoft is developing a digital bookstore
Microsoft is in the process of developing a digital bookstore and will soon be selling e-books. It looks like they will have a modest catalog of a million titles and will have a curated selection of bestsellers and editor's picks. Customers will be able to read these titles in the EDGE browser, which gained EPUB support a few months ago.The new e-book store will be … [Read more...] about Microsoft is developing a digital bookstore
Pronoun Announces Changes to their Royalty Rates and New Author Pages
Pronoun is a free self-publishing platform and they have just announced that they have increased the royalty rates for indie authors. They have also introduced a new feature to their website called Author Pages, which creates a simple one page website to hype up an upcoming title.Authors publishing their books on Pronoun will now be able to earn 70% for all books sold in … [Read more...] about Pronoun Announces Changes to their Royalty Rates and New Author Pages
Kobo is taking over Exclusive Books eBook Business
Kobo has just announced that they have come to terms to take over the e-book business unit of Exclusive Books. They will be gravitating everyone who purchased digital content to the Kobo ecosystem and Exclusive will begin emailing customers on how to begin the migration process.Exclusive Books is one of the largest booksellers in South Africa and they are getting out of the … [Read more...] about Kobo is taking over Exclusive Books eBook Business
All Is Not Well with the IDPF W3C Merger
The publishing industry has been watching from the sidelines for the better half of a year, waiting to see what will happen to the IDPF's proposed merger with the W3C. For those not schooled in acronyms of the inner workings of digital publishing, here's a quick breakdown:The International Digital Publishing Forum called for a member vote about a proposed merger with the … [Read more...] about All Is Not Well with the IDPF W3C Merger
Ambulances will soon interrupt your audiobook
When you are immersing yourself in a great audiobook while commuting to work, it might soon get interrupted by an ambulance. Stockholm is currently testing a KTH-made system (EVAM) that interrupts in-car audio with a voice warning when ambulances are close by and responding to a crisis."Often drivers have only a few seconds to react and give way to emergency vehicles," … [Read more...] about Ambulances will soon interrupt your audiobook
November 2016 Bookselling and Digital Publishing Report
The digital publishing and traditional bookselling industry normally take a really long time to report their sales and research data to the public. These companies and organizational bodies have just presented their findings and today we are going to take a look at the most relevant data.BookstoresBookstore sales inched up 1.5% in November over November 2015, according … [Read more...] about November 2016 Bookselling and Digital Publishing Report
China is demanding that all Android App Stores Register with the Goverment
China is clamping down hard on third party Android App Stores and demanding that they register with the Cyberspace Administration. This is being done to prevent rampant malware and to squash newspapers and magazines that do not fall in line with party policy.Google Play does not exist in China and millions of people use their Android devices on a daily basis and download … [Read more...] about China is demanding that all Android App Stores Register with the Goverment
Does Publishing Have a Future without Amazon?
With the end of a pretty rough year behind us and the first few weeks of 2017 under our belts, it's a good time to take a deep breathe and take stock of the state of publishing. There's perhaps no more comprehensive analysis of the current trends than the annual Smashwords Book Industry Predictions, written each year by founder and CEO Mark Coker.Before looking at Coker's … [Read more...] about Does Publishing Have a Future without Amazon?