GoodeReader reported last week on the current state of anti-trust investigations against Apple and five of the Big Six publishers. These allegations, initially brought about by a private law firm on behalf of consumers and now taken up by the U.S. Justice Department, claim that Apple and the publishers illegally engaged in price fixing in order to bring down Amazon.And as … [Read more...] about Apple Refutes Price Fixing Allegations
E-Book News
Google Play of the Day eBook Sample Bug Irks Many Readers
Google recently unveiled their revamped marketplace ecosystem called "Play." Basically, it took all of their independent services like Google Music and Google Books and integrated them into the existing Android Market. Since last week, Google started to offer "Plays of the Day," which includes discounted music and books. If you take advantage of the deal on eBooks and want to … [Read more...] about Google Play of the Day eBook Sample Bug Irks Many Readers
Marvel Comics to give Free Digital Codes Starting in June
Marvel Comics will begin giving free digital codes away with the purchase of any comic valued at $3.99 starting this June. This will correlate with the launch of the X-Men VS. The Avengers saga which will play out until the end of the year.When you purchase a new comic from your local shop or bookstore there will be a digital code inside that you can redeem. Currently only … [Read more...] about Marvel Comics to give Free Digital Codes Starting in June
Harris Interactive Statistics Demonstrate the Use of eReaders
A recent article by Paul Biba at Teleread gave some more definitive numbers on the popularity of e-readers and digital editions. The information came from a survey by Harris Interactive from over 2,000 adult respondents in February this year.One of the larger surprises from the data was the lack of age polarization in the use of e-readers. Unlike the very typical divide in … [Read more...] about Harris Interactive Statistics Demonstrate the Use of eReaders
Digital Publishing Strengthens “Dying” Platforms
An article this week in The Economist gave an insightful look at what some publishers may be proclaiming as the death of so-called “chick lit,” the misnomered genre of fiction which is often generalized by light-hearted, contemporary stories of women struggling to balance it all. The article went on to explain that the popularity of this category is on the decline and … [Read more...] about Digital Publishing Strengthens “Dying” Platforms
Google to Add Audiobooks to Google Play
Google may soon be adding audiobooks to its Play Marketplace in the very near future. A new section was discovered in the eBooks selection of the market that links to a non-existent audiobook page.Google Play was launched a few days ago, and many different services have been amalgamated under one singular banner. The main feature, other than the name change, was the … [Read more...] about Google to Add Audiobooks to Google Play
Apple, Publishers Facing Heat from Justice Department
In what started out as a class-action lawsuit filed by a Seattle-based law firm on behalf of jilted consumers, the U.S. Justice Department is now taking legal action against Apple and five publishing companies—Macmillan, HarperCollins, Simon&Schuster, Penguin Group, and Hachette Book Group—for allegedly collaborating to set the prices of ebooks in order to prevent Amazon … [Read more...] about Apple, Publishers Facing Heat from Justice Department
Pottermore Opens Up to the Public in Early April
The seven month old Pottermore website pioneered by seminal author J.K. Rowling is officially launching to the public in April. The company has apparently ironed out all the kinks through the one million users that have used the website since the exclusive beta program launched last year.Harry Potter fans will be going mad for Pottermore, which is an online destination for … [Read more...] about Pottermore Opens Up to the Public in Early April
Apple iBooks Brings Real Page Numbers and Intuitive Highlighting in New Update
The Apple iPad 3 was announced yesterday and there was a ton of press surrounding the latest iteration of the world's most popular tablet. In preparation for the March 16th launch, Apple has updated its iBooks application. It brings features that are relevant to previous versions of the iPad as well as the newest one.The huge draw of the update is focused on the new retina … [Read more...] about Apple iBooks Brings Real Page Numbers and Intuitive Highlighting in New Update
The New iPad 3 and Why Readers Will Want One
The news out of San Francisco today about Apple’s latest family member left a lot of people with some unanswered questions. When will there be a Sprint-compatible 4G version? What do you mean Siri can speak Japanese? And what are we supposed to call this thing?There are a number of compelling updates to the new iPad that make it highly sought after, but for readers, only … [Read more...] about The New iPad 3 and Why Readers Will Want One
Amazon and Google Play Engaged in a Price War over eBooks
A few days ago, Google revamped their Android Market to what's now known as Google Play. This new online destination has amalgamated standalone services like Google Books and integrated it into Google Play. Since then, they have been giving away .25 daily deals on Apps, Movies, and Books. Amazon is with little to no fanfare) matching all of Google's deals on its own online … [Read more...] about Amazon and Google Play Engaged in a Price War over eBooks
Cosmo Breaks Hearst Milestone with 100,000 Paid Subscriptions
Cosmopolitan magazine is the first publication by Hearst to hit 100,000 paid digital subscribers. This takes into account sales in the iPad, Kindle, Nook, and Zinio platforms on many different operating systems.Hearst Magazines has sold more than 500,000 digital subscriptions across its portfolio to date and expects to reach 1 million by the end of 2012. David Carey, … [Read more...] about Cosmo Breaks Hearst Milestone with 100,000 Paid Subscriptions
Dark Horse Comics Arrive on the Kobo Vox eReader
Owners of the Kobo Vox Android Tablet PC are in for a bit of comic loving with a new agreement with Dark Horse! Available on Kobo.com right now are more than 100 titles like the much-loved Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sin City, Hellboy, Serenity, Mass Effect, B.P.R.D., Umbrella Academy, Conan and Star Wars.Dark Horse comics available right in the Kobo Store is good news for … [Read more...] about Dark Horse Comics Arrive on the Kobo Vox eReader
Authors Strike Back Against PayPal’s Censorship of Smashwords
Smashwords, the popular online ebook distribution platform that recently celebrated the uploading of the 100,000th title to its catalog of digital editions, found itself embroiled in some controversy over a request from PayPal that it remove nearly 2,000 titles that the online payment company considered inappropriate or offensive. Failure to do so would result in the … [Read more...] about Authors Strike Back Against PayPal’s Censorship of Smashwords