Bloomberg looks at some changes on the way from Apple. In an early developer version of iOS 11.3, Apple is changing iBooks to Books; as they have done with music and podcasts, the service will be known as Apple Books going forward. The iBookstore (soon just Apple Bookstore) will be redesigned to “look more like the new App Store launched last year, according to people familiar with its development. The revamped app in testing includes a new section called Reading Now and a dedicated tab for audio books, the people said.” What happens in that audio books tab is the […]
Apps/iOS
HarperCollins Launches Book Recommendation Bots
HarperCollins has announced the launch of BookGenie and Epic Reads, two bot-powered book recommendation engines available through Facebook Messenger. Both provide book recommendations through one-on-one chatting. With Bookgenie, readers request a recommendation based on a book they enjoyed, or select from curated recommendations. Epic Reads, related to the publisher’s YA-focused site, allows readers to specify what kind of mood they’re in, as well as what books and authors they enjoy. HarperCollins vice president of marketing Carrie Bloxson said in the announcement, “We’re always looking for ways to help readers discover new books and authors. The BookGenie bot combines the power of […]
Digital: Shelfie Shutters, Radish Raises
Shelfie, the ebook bundling app that provided users with ebooks to go along with some of the print books they already own, told users with almost no notice that the service will close today. Founded as BitLit, the Vancouver-based company had received seed funding former Kobo ceo Michael Serbinis among others. In contrast, mobile app-based short-form serialized fiction platform Radish formally announced having raised $3 million in seed financing from funders including UTA, Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments, and Amy Tan, among others. Larry Kirshbaum is serving as a senior adviser.
Leak Indicates Microsoft Will Try Again At Selling eBooks
Leaks from this spring’s Creators Update to the Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating system suggest that Microsoft is yet again trying to establish a presence in the ebook market. In this first look on MSPowerUser, which contains screenshots of the new feature, we learn that a “new e-book store will be integrated into the Windows Store as a dedicated section where users will be able to buy books from a range of different publishers and authors. Buying a book from the Windows Store works just like how you would buy an app, game or a music album — simply find a […]
Google Adds Discover Feature to Books App; Sainsbury’s Gives Up On eBooks
On Monday Google Play added a “discover” feature to their app (only on Android for now; iOS is coming later), calling it “a new way to find books by browsing the latest reviews, news, lists, videos and more.” The feature combines original book-focused content — author interviews, essays and more — along with aggregated book stories from the web. “A smart experience with personalized stories for you — Google’s algorithms and data surface just the right stories based on the books you read on Play Books. When you’re reading an article or watching a video, Discover automatically pulls out the books […]
Briefs: Amazon’s Inspire; Nook Press’s Print Platform
Attentive readers will remember that back in February we were the first to write about Amazon K-12 Education, a unit working on “improving the education of students with services for teachers, students and parents.” Those efforts were focused on “building a large discoverable library of open educational resources for K-12 teachers across the country, using Amazon’s scale and experience.” And the objectives included building distribution options for traditional content as well: “Imagine a school district that wants to put ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ e-book on thousands of tablets for their students to read – a single click of a […]