IDC has released the headline data from their fourth quarter tracking of shipments (not consumer sales) of media tablets and ereaders. They say that over 6 million ereaders shipped during the holiday quarter, over the twice the volume from the end of 2009, with a tabulation of 12.8 million ereaders shipped worldwide in 2010. IDC gives Kindle a 48 percent share for both the quarter and the year, comprising about 2.9 million units in the final quarter and 6.15 million units for 2010. Pandigital “edged out Barnes and Noble for the number 2 spot” in the last quarter, “although the […]
eReaders
Briefs: National Festival Expands, Bristol Palin Writes, Kindle Gets Page Numbers, and More
The National Book Festival, held annually on Washington, DC’s National Mall, will expand to a two-day event this year, convening September 24 and 25. The Library of Congress says “the added day will let us plan for at least 90 authors over the entire weekend.” The media found a preliminary metadata posting on Amazon for a memoir by Bristol Palin, set for publication by William Morrow on June 21. It was listed as a $25 hardcover. Amazon removed the listing, but the cached version is still viewable (for now). In separate Amazon-related news, the famously customer-centric is finally giving in […]
Apple Rejects Sony’s Reader App
Here is the actual news: a year late to the game, Sony finally developed a Reader app for the iOS platform, and that app has been rejected by Apple. On their web site, Sony says “with little notice, Apple changed the way it enforces its rules…. We opened a dialog with Apple to see if we can come up with an equitable resolution but reached an impasse at this time. We’re exploring other avenues to bring the Reader experience to Apple mobile devices.” Sony’s Steve Haber gave the NYT the impression that “Apple told Sony that from now on, all […]
Some Hints on Google eBooks
Also at this morning’s Digital Book World 2011, Google Books product manager Abe Murray presented the first (albeit scant) statistics and user insights into their recently-launched ebooks venture. Their bestseller list so far looks like the same Larsson-heavy list you find elsewhere, and on a category basis, the topselling subjects by volume are romance, biography, thrillers, finance, young adults, sci-fi/fantasy, politics and diet/fitness. Murray said they have well over 1 million apps installed, and “blew past this number within weeks of launch.” They have added 60 resellers since launch, now at 180, indicating that independent booksellers are continuing to enlist […]
eNews: Amazon Buys LoveFilm; BDMI Leads Big Investment in Flat World; and More
Today a number of deals-in-progress mentioned previously have been confirmed. Amazon makes its accquisition of all remaining shares of LoveFilm, the “Netflix of Europe,” in which it already held a significant minority stake, official.Release Samsung has confirmed its acquisition of display technology firm Liquavista.Release Flat World Knowledge has received a big endorsement for their open-source textbook model, garnering more than $15 million in Series B Funding led by Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments and Bessemer Venture Partners. Also joining the round are returning investors Valhalla Partners, GSA Venture Partners (formerly Greenhill SAVP), High Peaks Venture Partners, and several angel investors. FT […]
Apple Sells Another 7.3 Million iPads; Analysts Ups Guess on Kindles Sold; VC Funding News; and More
Apple reported on Tuesday that the company sold 7.33 million iPads in the quarter ending December 25, 2010. Separately, Barclays analyst Doug Anmuth has somehow conjured an estimate that Amazon sold 7.1 million Kindle devices in 2010 and will sell 12.3 million devices in 2011, “though our numbers may still be conservative.” Or they could be wrong. Going by the services that monitor the actual manufacturing and shipment of ereader components and devices (including one that we cited yesterday), those numbers are high and do not square with the manufacturer data. Anmuth estimates that Kindle revenues from devices and electronic content […]