By next year (if not by now already) more than half of all books will be purchased online in the US rather than in physical stores, and Amazon executive Russ Grandinetti told the audience at Publishers Launch Frankfurt that the UK is only another year away — and he believes the same trend is “not more than three years” away for most of “the rest of Europe.” (At the same time, however, Bowker US survey data for the first half of 2013 actually shows online sales actually declining by a few percentage points, for the first time — though that […]
eReaders
Amazon Announces Third Line of Kindle Fires
Amazon announced their updated line of third-generation Kindle Fire tablets early Wednesday, continuing to expand the basic specs, content features and other extras. Now called Kindle Fire HDX, they promise an “exclusive new display” that “goes beyond HD” with “exceptional pixel density.” The 7-inch model starts at $229 and will ship October 18 (the 4G version, at $329, ships November 14) ; the larger 8.9-inch model — “startlingly light at 13.2 ounces, 34 percent lighter than the previous generation” — ships starting November 7, and starts at $379 (the 4G version ships on December 10.) Feature and service additions include […]
More Kindling
After a brief false start online, Amazon announced the refreshed versions of their Kindle Paperwhite devices yesterday, with the more basic model available as of September 30. The features and specs are lavishly presented online, so we won’t go to great lengths here. The most interesting thing to us is that this “sixth generation” device sells at the same price as its predecessor — $139 for the wi-fi model (without ads) — despite nearly 6 years of “predictions” that these ereaders will soon be free. The screen, which Amazon says is better than ever, now uses “Carta e-paper technology” rather than […]
Kobo Expands Device Line
At an event in Manhattan Tuesday night, Kobo introduced a revised and expanded line of devices along with a variety of feature innovations, all under the positioning that “Kobo stands for those who love to read.” As ceo Mike Serbinis said, “we are focused on the reader.” Their surprisingly-successful “high end” eInk reader the Aura, introduced in April, will launch in a new model available for pre-order now and on sale September 16. At $149 it’s $20 less expensive, and the company says it’s thinner and lighter. An expanded tablet line will offer 3 models instead of just one. They […]
Nook Is Back to Making Their Own Color Devices
In a rather startling conference call with investors on Tuesday, Barnes & Noble’s current ranking executive Michael Huseby executed another turnabout on the company’s strategy for color devices, while blaming others for misunderstanding rather than simply admitting another change in direction. Huseby insisted that when BN said on June 25 that going forward their color devices would be produced by others, “many people interpreted [the] comments incorrectly,” but their statement stated sounded pretty clear: “The company plans to significantly reduce losses in the Nook segment by limiting risks associated with manufacturing. Going forward, the company intends to continue to design […]
eNews: Feeding Book Buzz; Apple Touts School iPad Sales; Kobo Self-Publishing Stats
BuzzFeed.com added a books section, Poynter discovered. Managing editorial director Summer Anne Burton is the “point person” for the feature, and she indicates, “We’re running it kind of informally because we already had a ton of book content on BuzzFeed and now it’s just the space for that to live.” Burton says that librarians and YA fans are already viewing the section in discernible numbers. Apple reported third quarter results after the close of the market on Tuesday, moving another 14.6 million iPads in the period — lower than sales of 17 million tablets a year ago (though iPhone sales were […]