Apple’s iBookstore has joined Kindle Singles in providing a store-within-the-store for short-form digital book content with Quick Reads, a compendium of short stories, longer pieces of journalism and manuals priced between 99 cents and $4.99. MacWorld To help publishers and authors maximize their interaction on Facebook, Odyl is officially rolling out a platform that will help them do so on a much larger scale. Aside from pulling reviews from Goodreads, administering galley giveaways and making book excerpts available to users who “like” Facebook pages, Odyl says its platform “collects rich audience data specific to titles and readers, providing an invaluable […]
Apps/iOS
eNews: Piracy Monitoring/Takedown Program For Authors & Agents; Personalized eBook Apps for Kids; and More
The Curtis Agency and E-Reads are launching a piracy monitoring and takedown program through a system developed by Muso TNT, in which authors “authorize the antipiracy service to launch search engine ‘spiders’ to crawl over the Internet and detect unauthorized files.” Once files are discovered and stored in a password-protected area, authors and agents can then authorize Muso to send batch DMCA takedown notices. EReads Founders of e-card service JibJab are entering the children’s ebook market through a new personalized iPad app line for kids called JibJab Jr. A one-book-a-month subscription to the JibJab Jr. line will cost $3.99 a […]
Silly Sony, Funny Forrester, and More Serious eNews
Last week a Dutch website appeared to have leaked the specs for Sony‘s next generation of Reader, the PRS-T1. (That landing page is long gone, but MobileRead tracked down a screenshot of the device.) Allegedly priced at 165 euros, the PRS-T1 appears to be a 6″ device with WiFi and a dual-touch eInk screen. In other words, the finest model that mid-2010 had to offer. The prospect of new gadgets always brings out a plethora of speculation, warranted or otherwise. Which is why we’ll always take Forrester Research predictions with the requisite grain of salt, especially on a device – […]
Another Digital Imprint, This Time In Australia
First Pan Macmillan announced a digital imprint for the UK focused on backlist books, Compass, and now Pan Macmillan Australia has announced their own digital imprint, Momentum, launching in February 2012. Pan Macmillan director Tom Gilliatt will run moment, with publisher Joel Naoum “managing” the list. They will both bring back to market out-of-print titles as well publish “new works from established and emerging authors.” And, as we have been exploring via our Publishers Launch Conferences, the line intends to “embrace the international potential of the digital market by making its ebooks available globally.” The launch list includes four traditional […]
eNews: FTC Settles Privacy Concerns With Children’s App Developer; Claim That Next Sony Reader Will Be Bundled With Potter eBooks; And More
The Federal Trade Commission has settled with W3 Innovations, which owns children’s app developer Broken Thumbs, for $50,000, after the developer was charged with violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act by collecting information from children under the age of 13 without their parents’ permission. (Several apps produced by Broken Thumbs were downloaded more than 50,000 times.) FTC chairman Jon Liebovitz said in a statement: “The F.T.C.’s COPPA Rule requires parental notice and consent before collecting children’s personal information online, whether through a Web site or a mobile app. Companies must give parents the opportunity to make smart choices when […]
eNews: IndieBound Partners With BlueFire on eReading Software; Amazon Cracks Down On PLR eBooks; and More
The ABA announced last week that it is working with BlueFire to create a version of the company’s Reader app, which will be called the IndieBound Reader, for IndieCommerce stores selling Google eBooks. The app is scheduled to launch in the next 60 days. The Android version of the app will link back to indie bookstores, while the iOS version will not because of Apple’s rules about in-app purchases and links to outbound e-commerce stores. Users will be able to buy books using their Google ID instead of having to active an account with Adobe Digital Editions (as is the […]