During the last week a ton of news has come out with new devices getting ICS and rumors about an updated line of Kindle e-Readers.
Nook Simple Touch with Glowlight – When we reviewed the brand new Simple Touch with Glowlight last week, we discovered a new feature. There is a hidden web browser that you can use to access the internet via Wi-Fi. We also did a huge review of various 3rd party lighting options and discuss how they rate against the glow feature.
Should College Students Be Forced to Buy Digital Textbooks? – Forbes asked this very question and has a very good introspective on universities and colleges. Digital versions can save students up to 60% and the schools can make a hefty markup on each book sold from the publisher.
Bridgestone stops e-paper development – Bridgestone has been demonstrating its color e-paper technologies for a few years at various conferences and trade-shows. We have caught up with the representatives on many occasions and talked to Bridgestone’s major partners like Delta Electronics. Last week the company announced that it was getting out of the e-paper arena and leaving their partners to fend for themselves.
Plastic Logic Gets Out of the e-Reader Business – Plastic Logic has been working on e-reader and e-paper technology for the last few years. They never really gained any traction in the market and saw a very limited release of an e-reader in Russia. The company decided to stop manufacturing e-readers and plans on focus on developing their e-paper technology for other companies.
Jenny Lawson Speaks to Good e-Reader – Jenny Lawson, aka The Bloggess, was at the Barnes and Noble Peachtree location in Atlanta to give a reading and sign copies of her New York Times bestseller, Let’s Pretend This Never Happened. Her humorous memoir has held the #1 spot for four weeks now and Lawson has been on a nationwide book signing tour for several weeks as well. We caught up with her and she spoke to us about writing, her books, and more.
Harry Potter eBooks Come to Kobo – Kobo has just landed a deal for the seven new Harry Potter ebooks. Kobo customers across the globe will have access to them in many different languages, such as English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish at first, and more languages on the way. The books are available on the website now and it redirects you to the main Pottermore website for purchase. This was an excellent move by the company to tap into the millions of fans wanting to get these books in digital format.
Amazon Createspace Launched in Europe – Amazon has just launched their seminal self-publishing service Createspace in the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe today. This will allow authors to publish their books and have them distributed all over Europe and North America. UK and European authors can now publish on Createspace and they can have their books, audiobooks, and digital content distributed in many different countries. This is a huge benefit for the local self-publishing scene and now makes digital publishing a bit easier. If you have any questions, check out our Amazon Europe frequently asked questions or contact Member Support.
Updated Android App Store Client – The Good e-Reader Android Market Client saw a massive update a few days ago! We augmented the app to work with all Android Phones and all Android Tablets! We fixed a ton of bugs and errors, and you can tap into an ecosystem with over a thousand apps. We are extremely proud to offer this free client and service to all of our readers that find their tablet has a lackluster selection of apps and games.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
