Электронные книги

Kindling e-book Fever in China

Jo Lusby, General Manager of Penguin China, sees a growing interest. “E-book sales in China reached more than Rmb200 million last year and we are spending a great deal at Penguin at the moment on digitising our back catalogue.
“We have more than 4,000 titles available at present, including our popular DK range. At least 60 per cent of our catalogue is informative, non-fiction titles.

Почти $30 млн. Не так уж плохо. Не знал, что Penguin печатает свои DK в электронном виде. Это уже не звонок: когда они разберутся со своей политикой для других стран, одна из хороших кормушек местного издательского крупняка, делающего соиздания, начнет истощаться.

Sony Cuts Prices on E-Books and Unveils Readers – NYTimes.com

Sony Electronics plans to announce on Tuesday that it is lowering prices for new and bestselling books in its e-book store, to $9.99 from $11.99.
Sony is also introducing two new electronic reading devices: the Reader Pocket Edition and Reader Touch Edition. They will sell for $199 and $299 respectively and will go on sale at the end of August. The devices replace earlier and more expensive versions of the Sony Reader, the 505 and 700, which cost $269 and $399.

Новые книги и бестселлеры будут продаваться по $10 (вместо $12).
Чувствительно дешевле будут и новые модели букридеров, торговые марки которых и цены на них тоже объявлены: Reader Pocket Edition — $199 (предыдущая «младшая» модель стоила $269), Reader Touch Edition — $299 (вместо $399 за предыдущую «старшую»).
Пожалуй, за $199 можно смириться и с тем, что не будет поддержки fb2 и djvu. Однако непонятно, почему японцы могут, китайцы могут, поляки, французы, немцы… Даже бразильцы могут сделать «свой Kindle». А Россия — нет? Загадка, однако.

Bits Of Destruction Hit the Book Publishing Business: Part 1

Bits of Destruction Hit the Book Publishing Business: Part 2

Democratic Group’s Proposal: Give Each Student a Kindle – Bits Blog – NYTimes.com
Несколько влиятельных членов Демократической партии США выступили с инициативой раздать устройства для чтения электронных книг (типа Amazon Kindle) каждому учащемуся в стране. Главный довод в пользу такого решения — значительная экономия на печати учебников , а также забота об окружающей среде. «Не нужно ждать 10-20 лет, чтобы приступить к реализации программы будущего, которой все равно или поздно придется заняться. Нужно, чтобы каждый школьник имел подобное устройство. Это позволит в будущем существенно поднять качество образования с съэкономить серьезные деньги», — говорится в документе Демократической партии.

Авторы доклада предлагают уже в этом году начать пилотный проект, рассчитанный на 400 тыс. участников, с тем, чтобы за 4 года обеспечить каждого учащегося в США своим букридером. Ежегодная экономия может составлять порядка $700 млн ежегодно. К сожалению Amazon, термин «Kindle» (торговая марка букридера Amazon) используется авторами доклада в качестве имени нарицательного. Авторы особо подчеркивают, что реализация такой программы сможет увеличить конкуренцию производителей букридеров, увеличить их производство и, соответственно, снизить цены. Надо отметить, что в случае принятия этого проекта цена на букридеры могла бы упасть во всем мире.

Big-Screen e-Readers May Help Save Newspapers – NYTimes.com

But it is Amazon, maker of the Kindle, that appears to be first in line to try throwing an electronic life preserver to old-media companies. As early as this week, according to people briefed on the online retailer’s plans, Amazon will introduce a larger version of its Kindle wireless device tailored for displaying newspapers, magazines and perhaps textbooks.

An Amazon spokesman would not comment, but some news organizations, including The New York Times, are expected to be involved in the introduction of the device, according to people briefed on the plans. A spokeswoman for The Times, Catherine J. Mathis, said she could not comment on the company’s relationship with Amazon.

Amazon Extends Book Sales Beyond Its Kindle to iPhone – WSJ.com

Amazon.com Inc. plans to release a program Wednesday for reading electronic books on Apple Inc.’s iPhone, extending Amazon’s sales of digital books to devices beyond its Kindle e-book reader.

Amazon’s software application, which can be downloaded free of charge, allows iPhone and iPod Touch users to read books or periodicals purchased on the Web or through their dedicated Kindle device, usually for $9.99. Using a service that Amazon calls whispersync, the program keeps track of a readers’ latest page in any given book across both a Kindle and iPhone.

The iPhone application initially won’t be available for use outside of the U.S. Users will be allowed to have their books synchronized across six different devices at any one time.

Amazon выпускает программку для iPhone, которая позволяет покупать и читать подготовленные для Kindle книги. При это через Whispersync возможна синхронизация с Kindle. Пока вся эта радость только для пользователей в США.

Вот это и есть начало конца.

Kindle 2 Arrives, and So Do Rivals – Digits – WSJ.com

Yet already a new service from a major bookseller, calling itself a “Kindle Killer,” is hoping to steal some of Kindle’s thunder. On Thursday, Canadian bookseller Indigo Books & Music is planning to launch Shortcovers, an e-book reading and buying program that works on devices such as the iPhone, Blackberry and Android phones, and in the coming months on other smartphone systems including Symbian and Windows, as well as on other gadgets such as the Palm Pre.

“We think the ability to use your existing device is definitely going to be a convenient aspect to the service, especially for a consumer that isn’t an avid reader,” said Michael Serbinis, the executive vice president of Shortcovers in an interview with this blog. Shortcovers says it will also distinguish itself with features that allow users to read the first chapter of books for free, as well as buy just single chapters of a book at a time. That could be helpful, for example, if you want just the chapter on one city in one of those chunky travel guides.

The service is clearly targeted at a younger, more attention-deficit afflicted reader, coming with the ability to share comments, create tags, and even Twitter while you read. “People are reading differently than they would with a print edition of a book. They are reading in shorter bursts, with higher frequency,” said Serbinis. “One eye is busy reading while the other eye is looking for authority, and context and relevance.”

More Readers Are Picking Up Electronic Books – NYTimes.com

Publishers say these iPhone applications are already starting to generate nearly as many digital book sales as the Sony Reader, though they still trail sales of books in the Kindle format.

Но Kindle пока не догнали.
Вопрос времени.

App Developer Strikes E-Book Deals With Major Publishers | Epicenter from Wired.com

ScrollMotion, a New York mobile app developer, has concluded deals with a number of major publishing houses, and is in talks with several others, to produce newly released and best-selling e-books as applications for the iPhone and iPod touch.
Publishers now on board include Houghton Mifflin, Simon & Schuster, Random House, Hachette and Penguin Group USA.
The first official books will begin to roll out Monday and include titles such as Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight,” Philip Pullman’s “The Golden Compass” and a number of others by Christopher Paolini, Brad Meltzer and Scott Westerfeld.
There are already several e-book readers in the app store, as well as a number of out-of-copyright e-books, but ScrollMotion’s product is unique in that these are stand-alone and newer in-copyright titles and best-selling novels.
Each book is a separate application using Scroll Motion’s new reader technology called Iceberg and is wrapped only in the FairPlay iTunes DRM, putting Apple directly into the e-book business by allowing them to pick up a certain percentage of each sale.

Mario makes way for Shakespeare on Nintendo DS in HarperCollins deal – Times Online

Nintendo, the Japanese video games company that brought us Donkey Kong and Mario the Plumber, is to announce a deal with the publisher HarperCollins today to make literary classics available to read on its DS portable games consoles.

The 100 Classic Book Collection ranges from Shakespeare and Dickens to Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters. It will cost about £20 and will be available initially only in Britain.