There's a new app coming, and on the surface, it looks a whole lot like piracy meets FourSquare. Of course, the fact that a few smaller publishers have come on board and the nomination for a publishing industry innovation award lends a lot of credibility to the concept behind Rook, the free ebook reading app that lets users read any book they want for free, as long as they … [Read more...] about What Rook Can Teach the Industry about Bookselling
Amazon
Amazon Can Move Forward with US Drone Delivery Testing
It's been a long time since Jeff Bezos looked into a camera and promised me that my stuff was going to arrive by drone. The road to launch of the Amazon Prime Air drone delivery service--one that could deliver packages of up to roughly five pounds, which is around 86% of Amazon's business--has been filled with road blocks, and it's hard to believe that it's all in the country's … [Read more...] about Amazon Can Move Forward with US Drone Delivery Testing
Amazon Prime Music Stations Available on Android
It's hard to avoid being impressed with Amazon these days with so many announcements recently that deliver so many improvements; the latest news brings Prime Stations to Android users.A lot has changed in the world of music: there was a time when having the latest release from your favourite artist meant traveling to a brick-and-mortar retail store and purchasing an entire … [Read more...] about Amazon Prime Music Stations Available on Android
Does Agency Pricing Hurt Reading Consumers?
The publishing world is still rebounding from the effects of the DoJ suit against Apple and five of the then-Big Six publishers, and the effects of the judgement against the parties involved is still resolving itself. One of the current resolutions involves the expiration of key prohibitions against the publishers in how they deal with retailers. Following the Hachette dispute … [Read more...] about Does Agency Pricing Hurt Reading Consumers?
Kindle v4.8 For iOS Adds Flashcards to iPhone, iPod Touch
Amazon has been busy this last while, the latest measure of this work being an update to their Kindle iOS app. In addition to changes that promise improvements to stability and performance, students will enjoy iPhone and iPod Touch support for the well-loved Flashcards for Print Replica format textbooks functionality (there things were available for the iPad before, the … [Read more...] about Kindle v4.8 For iOS Adds Flashcards to iPhone, iPod Touch
Amazon Prime Instant Video Arrives on Android Tablets
Android users have been able to stream Amazon Prime Instant Video to their smartphones for some time now, but finally the app is tablet-compatible (for those who don't have Kindle Fire hardware).To make it work, grab the Amazon Instant Video app (which is free, but you are still going to need a subscription to the Prime service of course). From there, just visit Amazon.com … [Read more...] about Amazon Prime Instant Video Arrives on Android Tablets
How Do Amazon-Publisher Disputes Affect Authors and Readers?
It was only a year ago that the publishing industry sat riveted as it waited to see how the storm between Amazon and publisher Hachette was going to play out. Hachette wanted new terms in light of the DOJ price fixing investigation, and Amazon wasn't about to budge. And with a 95% control of the ebook market, it's easy to see why Amazon didn't think freezing its sales of … [Read more...] about How Do Amazon-Publisher Disputes Affect Authors and Readers?
Amazon Turns Your House Into A Shopping Cart
It doesn't seem to matter how many lists I make, or where exactly I store them, somehow I always end up going to the store and forgetting half of the items I went there for. Amazon gets it (and they would also like to get your business). To that end, the online retail giant has created the Dash Button: a small plastic button, complete with reusable adhesive and a hook, that can … [Read more...] about Amazon Turns Your House Into A Shopping Cart
HarperCollins e-Books will no Longer be Available on Amazon
HarperCollins is one of the largest publishers in the world and they might soon be pulling all of their e-books and print titles from Amazon. The contract between these two companies is set to expire soon and HC is refusing to sign the new deal.The contract presented to HarperCollins was the same contract recently signed by Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan, … [Read more...] about HarperCollins e-Books will no Longer be Available on Amazon
Amazon Controls 95% of the eBook Market in the UK
The president of the UK Booksellers Association, Tim Walker spoke at the Nielsen BookInsights conference yesterday and made some startling revelations.During a round-table discussion Tim said "I do a have a concern that Amazon's dominance is causing problems. We estimate Kindle has a 95% market share of e-book sales in the UK and this is having a damaging effect… Consider … [Read more...] about Amazon Controls 95% of the eBook Market in the UK
Amazon Mulling a Crunchyroll Acquisition
Crunchyroll is the current market leader for anime, Korean drama and manga. The company has seen exponential growth in paid subscriptions in the last five years and they have generated close to $2.5 million in 2014. A source close to the situation has told Good e-Reader that Amazon is mulling over an acquisition of the company in order to create a brand new anime section on … [Read more...] about Amazon Mulling a Crunchyroll Acquisition
Soon You Can Use Amazon Fire TV in Hotels and Dorm Rooms
How many times have you been in a hotel or dorm room recently and wished you had easy access to services like Netflix? It seems like getting your set top box or dongle online should be an easy task, but it can be tricky with many of these locations only providing Internet access that requires web authentication. Thankfully, Amazon understands our pain and is updating their Fire … [Read more...] about Soon You Can Use Amazon Fire TV in Hotels and Dorm Rooms