Sourcebooks is launching the first three titles in their new line The Shakesperience, available in the iBookstore for the iPad. Starting with Hamlet, Othello and Romeo and Juliet, at a limited introductory price $5.99 each, the line is the natural tablet-era evolution of multi-media publishing that Sourcebooks began with the bestselling AND THE CROWD GOES WILD in 1999 (a printed book, with two audio CDs recapturing great moments in sports). And it builds on their Sourcebooks Shakespeare book-and-CD packages for an app- and tablet-focused world. The English-language volumes, built in Apple’s iBooks Author, are available worldwide. CEO Dominique Raccah says, […]
Apps/iOS
Nook Answers with New, Lighter 7- and 9-Inch Tablets and Added Features
The question raised in tech columns lately has been whether Barnes & Noble’s Nook can keep pace with the technological refresh and innovation of the much larger Apple, Google, and Amazon–and Wednesday the company aims to answer “yes” with two new high-resolution reader-focused tablets. They are introducing the seven-inch Nook HD and the 9-inch Nook HD+, with proprietary high-quality screens, at competitive prices. The smaller model starts at $199–directly comparable to the new Kindle tablet (Nook gives you an AC adapter and no ads as part of the price, but it’s their 8GB model; their 16GB version, the same as […]
eNews: Google Brings eBooks to Japan; Kobo Adds Portugal; Nook Launches Video; and UK to Appoint eLending Review Panel
After launching Google Play, including ebooks, in Korea, Google will open the service and sell their Nexus 7 tablet in Japan as of October 2, with the device retailing for 19,800 yen ($250.) Reuters reported that executive chairman Eric Schmidt attended the launch, telling a briefing that the continuing growth of the smartphone market would set up a battleground among companies getting into the online shopping space: “It is the defining platform and the defining battle in our industry.” Google Play in Japan will include Japanese-language ebooks. Elsewhere in international expansion, Kobo is extending its partnership with FNAC in France […]
eNews: Google Launches in Korea, and More
Apparently Google launched an ebook venture in Korea earlier this month, with participation from publishers including Woongjin, Ridibooks and Munhakdongne Publishing. An unnamed official told The Korea Herald (found via The Digital Reader), “We picked Korea since the adoption rate of smart devices, including smartphones, are one of the highest among other nations.” Korea Herald Yale University Press announced that they have received a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation “to launch extensive market research and development of a new electronic model for illustrated books.” The award and subsequent work is intriguing since so far illustrated books have lagged […]
From the Cloud, Hachette Announces Three Services for Other Publishers
At today’s Publishers Launch Conference on Book Publishing In the Cloud, Hachette Book Group chief operating officer Ken Michaels announced three software-as-a-service offerings that the publisher developed for their own use and will now make available for license by other publishers, “allowing the industry to take advantage of our innovations.” BookRadar, developed with and now marketed by CoEnterprise, lets publishers automatically monitor how their digital titles are displayed on key retailer sites. It highlights discrepancies (or compliance) in pricing as well on sale availability and release dates–compared to the publisher’s own ONIX data–and creates vendor performance scorecards. Separately, it also […]
People, Etc.: Marion Cunningham Dies
Marion Cunningham, 90, author of cookbooks such as LEARNING TO COOK and THE FANNIE FARMER COOKBOOK, died Wednesday in an assisted-care home in Walnut Creek, CA from complications of Alzheimer’s Disease. Her longtime editor at Knopf Judith Jones said in a statement that Cunningham “epitomized good American food…She was someone who had an ability to take a dish, savor it in her mouth, and give it new life. At a time when Americans were embracing all kinds of foreign cuisine, Marion Cunningham’s love and respect for American food helped The Fannie Farmer Cookbook once again earn a place in kitchens […]