This morning Barnes & Noble confirmed what had been rumored over the weekend a major firmware update to Nook Color (now on Android’s 2.2/Froyo OS) that makes the device a lot more like a proper tablet, with new apps, additional illustrated and enhanced ebooks, the ability to check email, more magazines for sale, and social networking. Nook Email allows users to check a variety of accounts, while social networking service Nook Friends allows for book-swapping and targeted library lending, “liking” titles and viewing other customer recommendations. “Frankly most of the things they have asked us about are very popular tablet […]
eReaders
Kindle Launches German Store With Over 25K German Titles; Apple Sells Another 4.7 Million iPads
As long expected, Amazon announced today the launch of their first non-English Kindle store, debuting in Germany with “over 25,000 German-language titles,” including “71 of 100 Spiegel bestsellers” and “thousands of German classics downloadable for free.” The store appers to have lots of English-language titles for German customers as well, since the company says the store has over 650,000 titles in total. When the German Publishers and Booksellers Association launched their own ebookstore last November through Libreka.de, they also began with approximately 25,000 German-language ebooks for sale (which is still the count displayed on the site). Amazon says their title […]
eNews: ABC Launches Video eBooks; Staples Stocks Nook Color; Kindle DX Price Drop; Disappointment with Blackberry Playbook; and More
Talk about burying the lead. Hyperion had announced the release of Jane Green’s enhanced ebook, A Modern Fairy Tale: William, Kate, and Three Generations of Royal Love but didn’t underscore what looks to be the interesting business news. Their corporate television partner is participating in a line of ABC Video Books, and has launched their own video bookstore app for the iOS to sell those ebooks directly, using Apple’s in-app purchasing program. The ebook line, which also includes THE AMANDA KNOX STORY: A Murder in Perugia, is available through other major etailers as well. ABC says the ebooks “will draw […]
Coming May 3: $114 Kindle With Ads on Home Page, Screen Savers
Amazon announced Monday that it will issue a “new” edition of its wi-fi Kindle priced at $114, $25 less than the going rate for the current wireless edition. The catch–or hook, depending on your vantage point–is that this edition, which ships starting on May 3, will feature Special Offers, the retailer’s preferred name for ads that will run on the e-reader’s home page and screen savers. Among the deals on offer for the first few weeks include discounted Amazon gift cards, discounts on other Amazon products like jeans and swimsuits, and free gifts for signing up for an Amazon Rewards […]
BKS Stock Rises on Rumored Private Equity Interest; 3 Million Nook Colors Reportedly Shipped
Barnes & Noble‘s plummeting stock price of the past week or so – no doubt helped by a report that the company’s sale prospects appear to be dimming — reversed course yesterday, as shares rose 5 percent to 9.71 on renewed rumors the company might be taken over by private equity. Supply chain sources also indicate that BN has made and/or shipped approximately 3 million Nook Color units, with sales topping 1m in North America for the fourth quarter of 2010 and between 600,000 and 700,000 units between January and the end of February this year. The same sources also […]
eNews: Analysts Estimate iPad 2 Sold Out Within A Day
Based on phone calls to stores and interviews with people in line, two different analysts concluded that Apple sold out their inventory of iPad 2s in just over a day. Gene Munster at Piper Jaffray guesstimates that Apple sold 400,000 to 500,000 units, up from the 300,000 iPads sold over the launch weekend a year ago. In their customer interviews, 70 percent of the buyers were new iPad buyers, and 24 percent of those buyers already own a Kindle. Deutsche Bank also called about 100 stores and said, “Our checks pointed to a shocking 100% stock out rate across Apple/authorized […]