Kobo put out a press release this morning noting that as of next month their service will be available on “various tablet and slate computers,” which will present an “opportunity to deliver eBooks, newspapers, and magazines to readers on yet another screen that is well equipped for reading.” They are also working on support for Windows 7, Android, and other operating systems.
Release
Speaking of tablets, every news organization playing catch-up on the no-longer-secret Apple content acquisition talks is now required to come up with at least one name of company talking to the folks from Cupertino. So Bloomberg comes up with McGraw-Hill, “discussing getting electronic textbooks and parts of its online learning system onto the tablet.” (McGraw-Hill is already working with ScrollMotion to make 600 books available for the iPhone OS.
Wiley‘s Peter Balis wouldn’t speak about the tablet, but he did say “we have had ongoing conversations with Apple about their interest in including educational content. We will continue to support their efforts in whatever iteration it takes next week.”
Bloomberg
No press releases from Amazon today, but TechCrunch did discover that the company has been targeting certain customers–told they are “unusually active book customers”–with a limited-time offer to try Kindle and “keep it for free (if you don’t love it).” For those customers receiving the offer, they “encourage you to try Kindle for a few weeks. If you don’t love Kindle, you can request a refund up to 30 days after you receive the device…. As part of this special offer, you will not need to return the device.”
TC
As for BN’s Nook, David Pogue writes today that he discovered the original claim that it weighs 11.2 ounces was wrong. “In fact, it weighs 12.1 ounces. (I discovered this when my daughter set it on a home postal scale. Later, I confirmed it with a fancier scale at the actual post office.)” Spokesperson Mary Ellen Keating says, “Barnes & Noble made some minor variances in the manufacturing process to get units to customers more quickly. Those minor changes resulted in a marginal weight difference from the pre-production specs, making Nook 12.1 ounces. We are in the process of updating all references to the weight.” Pogue asks, “isn’t it funny that Barnes & Noble knew about the error, but never bothered to correct it until today, when I caught them and let them know I’d be publicizing it?”
NYT