Authors have been accused of buying reviews of their books for years. At the very least, there have been accusations hurled of authors building up lists of people to pad their review counts, a practice that is not at all in violation of Amazon's terms so long as the reviews are genuine and mention is made of the free book the reviewer received. But one couple has come forward … [Read more...] about Amazon Review Fraud Hits New Categories
Archives for February 2018
Amazon Topple Books Imprint is Doomed From the Start
Amazon runs a number of notable imprints that focuses specifically on one genre. 47North specializes in Fantasy and Science-Fiction and Montlake publishes romance titles. Amazon signs authors to one of their imprints who sell lots of ebooks on their Kindle Direct Publishing platform or they bid on the rights to the book by a debut or notable author at big events like Book Expo … [Read more...] about Amazon Topple Books Imprint is Doomed From the Start
Long Live the e-Reader
An article appeared this week, one that sagely but somewhat inflamingly asks the question, "Is The E-Reader Dead?" But rather than yet another infuriating "print is dead!" or "ebooks are dead!" or (a personal favorite) "self-publishing is finally dead!" toned article, this one provides evidence on the reading habits of US consumers, the purchasing history of total volume … [Read more...] about Long Live the e-Reader
Top Android Apps of the Week – Feb 26
There have been a ton of new Android apps released in the past week issued from major and indie publishers. The big G released an augmented reality and new camera app, and also pushed a major update to Google Assistant Go. All of the apps and games listed below can be downloaded directly from the Good e-Reader App Store. Google Arcore - Google released augmented reality … [Read more...] about Top Android Apps of the Week – Feb 26
New Amazon Scam Hits Authors and Consumers
It's tax filing season for US consumers, so all across America, paperwork has filtered into households with the residents' income statement. These documents reflect their total amount of wage earnings, as well as the amounts that are withheld or are still taxable. Unfortunately, one security researcher has uncovered a scam that has increased the reported amount of income that … [Read more...] about New Amazon Scam Hits Authors and Consumers
New Publishing Company is selling ebooks in Gaza
A new digital publishing company has started up in Gaza and are now selling ebooks for as little as $3.00 each. Khota was established by two young Gazans in August 2016 and their current list includes about 20 books from local and foreign authors. More than 20,000 readers have downloaded them so far, and more than 5,000 hard copies have been shipped. Co-founder Mahmoud … [Read more...] about New Publishing Company is selling ebooks in Gaza
Digital Newspaper Subscription Fees Gettings Cheaper
Digital newspaper subscriptions are poised to become cheaper this year, due to companies slashing their fees. The average price for a digital newspaper subscription is $2.31 per week, according to a new report from the American Press Institute, or about $10 per month or $120 per year. That’s actually down slightly from a 2016 API report that pegged the average weekly price of … [Read more...] about Digital Newspaper Subscription Fees Gettings Cheaper
German ebook sales increase by 4% in 2017
Digital book sales continue to soar in Germany and in 2017 29.1 million titles were sold, which is an increase of 3.9%. The actual revenue derived from e-books fell slightly by 1.4%, this is primarily attributed to readers spending less money. The average price people paid for an ebook was €6.38 and the amount of people purchasing them has declined by 7.7%. What is … [Read more...] about German ebook sales increase by 4% in 2017
Scribd Unlimited Audiobooks and ebooks App Review
Scribd recently launched their second generation unlimited audiobooks and ebook platform a few weeks ago. They are charging $8.95 per month and you get full access to their entire catalog, which includes magazine articles, sheet music and a myriad of other content. The new Scribd system allows people to read as many ebooks, magazine, newspapers, sheet music and audiobooks … [Read more...] about Scribd Unlimited Audiobooks and ebooks App Review
Would an E-Ink Bus Stop Make Sense for your City?
E-Ink has implemented e-paper bus stop signs all over the United States and the United Kingdom. These displays run on solar power and the wireless internet access often displays the schedules in real time. Would these displays make sense in your city? Papercast has just signed an agreement with E-Ink to supply a solar powered e-paper passenger information display technology … [Read more...] about Would an E-Ink Bus Stop Make Sense for your City?
Google Releases AR Framework – ARCore
Google is getting serious about augmented reality and wants to make it as hardware agnostic as possible. This is their second foray, Daydream was the first and it required very specific equipment for phone companies to make it work, but it failed to get any traction. ARCore has just been released and the development platform and it is compatible with the 2016/2017 Pixels, … [Read more...] about Google Releases AR Framework – ARCore
Diamond Distributors Launch New Digital Comic Book System
Diamond Distributors is filling the void in the comic book market with the advent of Pullbox. It allows customers place digital orders with their local comic shop and then visit the physical location to pick them up. Pullbox handles monthly comic subscriptions, preorders for upcoming titles and products, and special orders all from Diamond’s consumer pop-culture website, … [Read more...] about Diamond Distributors Launch New Digital Comic Book System
University Libraries are Purging Millions of Books
Thousands of university libraries in the United States have begun to purge millions of books, as their digital catalog expands. These books are often put in storage indefinitely or are simply recycled and sent to the abyss. The main reason this is occuring is due to older books not having been circulated in 20 years and it costs $4 to keep a book on the shelf for a year, … [Read more...] about University Libraries are Purging Millions of Books
If you pirate an ebook you can get 6 years in prison
There is a new bill proposal in Sweden that will extend the prison term for anyone pirating an ebook or a movie on a file sharing website, such as BitTorrent. It will go from two years to six years and the amount of time someone would spend in prison would rival someone getting charged with manslaughter. Presented by Council of Justice member Dag Mattsson, the report … [Read more...] about If you pirate an ebook you can get 6 years in prison