Book recommendation service BookLamp will reportedly launch in August after a lengthy development period, with more than 20,000 available books from Random House, Kensington and other publishers. The idea is to search through full-text books and analyze them in order to make reading recommendations. Ceo Tom Stanton told Mashable that he doesn’t anticipate selling books or advertising on the site. BookLamp’s efforts at text analysis and recommendations have been underway since 2008, focused on science fiction and fantasy books to start, and according to site postings have mostly lacked a sufficiently large database to search against and analyze. A video […]
Apps/iOS
Announcements: Cambridge UP Offers Digital Content Platform For Other Publishers, Cengage & Blackboard
Cambridge University Press will launch a new integrated ebook and digital content platform for other academic publishers, called University Publishing Online, in October. The new platform is based on the ‘Cambridge Books Online’ ebook delivery system, which offers access to thousands of front and backlist PDF titles in a fully searchable environment. Boydell & Brewer, Liverpool University Press, the Mathematical Association of America, and Foundation Books, based in India, are the first publishers to join the new site, with additional partners announced in the coming weeks. Cengage Learning is partnering with Blackboard in an attempt to streamline access to digital […]
Kobo Launches In Germany
After a planned debut in May (announced at the London Book Fair), Kobo has now gone live with their German ebookstore. The company says their collection features 80,000 German-language titles, which is more than Germany’s own collective effort Libreka (which lists about 73,000 titles), as well as Amazon’s recently-launched store, which announced 25,000 German titles at launch but seems to have grown to about 48,000 German books according to sub-category counts listed on the site. German-language apps are available for iOS, Android and BlackBerry, and German edition of the newest version of Kobo’s own ereader will follow in August, priced […]
eNews: Android Market Update Features eBooks; AT&T Sponsors Kindle 3G With Special Offers; And More
Google continues to assemble more of an end-to-end ebook strategy. Earlier this week they announced the first ereader integrated with Google eBooks, the iriver Story HD. Not indicated in Google’s own release on Monday, Target has a six-month exclusive on selling the $139.95 device–meaning independent bookstores carrying Google eBooks won’t be able to sell this companion device until after Christmas. It’s led to speculation that Target may carry Google eBooks as well. In the meantime, Google has announced separately an update to its Android Market “over the coming weeks” for mobile devices that provides more an iTunes store experience. Customers […]
eNews: Macmillan to Sell MPS Stake; Apps Are Adjusting to New iOS Rules; Another Subscription Offer
Macmillan is putting their controlling 61 percent stake in the publishing solutions and services unit MPS up for sale. The Times of India says the Bangalore-based company employs about 1,000 people, but the company’s site says they have 2,500 employees worldwide. Standalone 2009 sales were approximately $30 million. The Times says “MPS has attracted interests from IT services players as well as financial investors. Macmillan’s divestment could help the company scale up operations winning more third-party businesses.” They say the sector has been active for M&A lately, adding that “there is also speculation that Aptara Solutions may launch a stake […]
Adams Media’s Stanley Cup Insta-eBook, and More eNews
This week Adams Media published Newsday sportswriter Alan Hahn’s BRUIN REDEMPTION: THE STANLEY CUP RETURNS TO BOSTON as a $7.99 ebook after a 72-hour turnaround time. The publisher said they had the book “within hours” of the Bruins’ Stanley Cup win on June 15. Powell’s director of strategic planning Darin Sennett talks with Seattle Business Journal about the bookstore’s previously announced mobile app, now set to launch in full by the end of the summer. OverDrive will now supply ebooks to Easons, making the bookstore chain the first OverDrive partner to offer EPUB and PDF eBook content directly to Irish […]