Microsoft announced last year at their BUILD conference that Apple was making a variant of iTunes for the Windows Store. The app has finally been released and it works great on Windows 10 or tablets that run it. You will no longer be prompted to install iCloud anymore or other Apple branded apps because updates are pushed from Microsoft and they have a policy about background … [Read more...] about iTunes is now available on the Widows Store
Archives for April 2018
Amazon Prime Membership is increasing to $119 per year
Amazon has announced during an earnings call that they are increasing the cost of Prime membership from $99 per year to $119. This will go into effect on May 11th for new members and June 16 for existing ones. This is the first time that the company has increased the cost of annual subscriptions since 2014.Amazon CFO Brian Olsavsky pointed to rising costs, particularly … [Read more...] about Amazon Prime Membership is increasing to $119 per year
Kobo Aura Edition 2 and Fire HD 10 on Sale
The Kobo Aura Edition 2 has received a massive discount from Chapters Indigo in Canada. The e-reader can be purchased for $99, which is a $30 savings from the normal price. This deal is available online and also in their bookstores. Amazon has just discounted the Fire HD 10 by $50 and is now available for a paltry $99, you don't need to be a Prime member to get the … [Read more...] about Kobo Aura Edition 2 and Fire HD 10 on Sale
New Kindle Paperwhite 4 will have all new comfortlight system
Amazon will be releasing the Kindle 4 later this year and it will feature an all new comfortlight system. This technology will mute the vibrantly white screen in low light conditions make it easier to read. The Paperwhite will employ 17 LED lights, 10 white and 7 others. It will be announced this summer and be released soon thereafter.LAB126 the secretive research and … [Read more...] about New Kindle Paperwhite 4 will have all new comfortlight system
Indie authors have no idea how to use Twitter
Indie authors have no idea how to use Twitter to drive sales to their latest book. They post meaningless hashtags, without a single sentence and a link to their title on Amazon. What is their book about? The elevator pitch? What genre is it? Who cares, #buymybook.Seldom are convincing cases made for readers to become enamored with indie authors books on Twitter. This is … [Read more...] about Indie authors have no idea how to use Twitter
The Top 5 Trends in Electronic Displays for 2018
Everyone these days is focusing on electronic displays that go far beyond the e-reader industry. AI, blockchains, machine learning and the automotive industry are driving factors behind most of the new technologies that are cutting edge. SD Display Week is right around the corner and here are the top 5 trends that will be evident at the show.Electronic School books … [Read more...] about The Top 5 Trends in Electronic Displays for 2018
eBook sales plummeted by 10% in 2017
Over the course of the past five years ebook sales continue to fall. In 2016 they experienced a decline of 14% in 2017 they plummeted another 10%. According to PubTrack Digital, part of the NPD book group the ebook format sold 162 million units last year, down from 180 million in 2016.PubTrack gleans their data from 450 publishers in the United States, including the big 5. … [Read more...] about eBook sales plummeted by 10% in 2017
Amazon Freetime Unlimited is coming to Alexa
Amazon Freetime Unlimited is coming to all Alexa devices May 9th and this means kids will have full access to 300 audiobooks from Audible and radio stations that have no advertising. Freetime will also give hands free content from Disney, Nickelodeon, National Geographic, and more. The service is free to people who use Kindle Freetime Unlimited or if you are new to this whole … [Read more...] about Amazon Freetime Unlimited is coming to Alexa
Amazon is going to release the Fire TV Cube
Amazon has developed a new product called the Fire TV Cube and there is a product listing available on their website. It is believed that the Fire TV Cube will serve a dual purpose, it will function as a dedicated Amazon Echo and also a 4K television streaming box.It is rumored that the upcoming streaming device will have what amounts to an Echo Dot built-into the top so … [Read more...] about Amazon is going to release the Fire TV Cube
Bookeen Celebrates 15 Years of Making e-Readers
Bookeen is one of the few companies that were around before the entire e-reader industry went mainstream and thrived when most of their other competition went bankrupt. Bookeen is now celebrating their 15 year anniversary and they remain one of the most reading centric companies in France. In addition to designing ebook readers, they also run an independent ebookstore, … [Read more...] about Bookeen Celebrates 15 Years of Making e-Readers
Storytel Launches Audiobooks in the United Arab Emirates
Storytel launched in 2005 and is the dominant audiobook subscription service in the Nordic countries. In the past few years they have branched out across Europe in a quest to rival Audible. When I spoke to CEO Jonas Teller a few months ago he said his big goal of 2018 was to "launch in a couple of new markets and to create local language audiobooks in the markets where we are … [Read more...] about Storytel Launches Audiobooks in the United Arab Emirates
What is going on with Plastic Logic?
Plastic Logic has been around for almost twenty years and they have no commercial success stories, although the company is still developing new products. They raised hundreds of millions of dollars over the years and in 2010 they tried to release the Que e-reader, but it was a commercial failure. This was the last hardware they would ever develop themselves and instead pivoted … [Read more...] about What is going on with Plastic Logic?
Amazon is now delivering magazines in KFX on iOS
Amazon is now delivering magazines using their enhance typesetting engine called KFX on their iOS e-reading app. Read your favorite magazines in a new mobile-friendly format. Initial titles include Food Network, Cosmopolitan, Life & Style, Us Weekly, and 15 others.Amazon introduced Enhanced Typesetting in August 2015 on the Kindle Voyage and gradually added support for … [Read more...] about Amazon is now delivering magazines in KFX on iOS
Kobo Launches Rapid Page-Turn System
Kobo has just launched a new firmware update (4.8.10956) for all of their e-readers that increases the speed of your page-turns with a new rendering engine. You can turn this feature on by going to the reading settings menu and choose to turn pages by tapping or swiping, or by swiping only.This new system is great, it allows you to tap your finger rapidly on the screen or … [Read more...] about Kobo Launches Rapid Page-Turn System