Kobo still believes in eInk dedicated readers, reinforced in today’s announcement from the London Book Fair: Later this month they will release an oversized eInk reader with a 6.8-inch display (most other readers have screens that are 6 inches or smaller). They say the 265 dpi device “offers 30 percent more reading surface and the closest experience to print-on-paper,” and with a 1GHz processor they also say it’s “the fastest eReader on the market – 25 percent faster.” Called the Kobo Aura HD, Kobo’s evp and general manager of devices Wayne White calls it “the Porsche of eReaders…designed for those […]
eReaders
Slim Sales, and Slim Margins, for Kobo Devices and eBooks at ABA Stores
Digital Book World has a long report on Kobo’s sales relationship with ABA stores in the US. Sales are said to be much better than what indies experienced through Google Books–but still, by most accounts are negligible, ranging from low dozens of ebooks sold since the initiative launched last November up to stores reporting sales of a few hundred ebooks. Booksellers says their margin on device sales if 5 percent, and “the margin on ebooks varies between books, depending on Kobo’s pricing and discounts, but it usually falls between 8 percent and 20 percent.” General manager of The Harvard Bookstore […]
eNews: NYPost’s First eBook (With Harper’s Help); Apple Sells 22.9 Million iPads; Kindle Paperwhite Available in Canada; and More
The New York Post has entered the ebook market, publishing with their corporate sibling HarperCollins, starting with Tricks of the Trade by Ashley Dupre, the paper’s sex advice columnist and former escort who became famous from the Eliot Spitzer scandal. NY Post publisher Jesse Angelo said in a release the ebook, available on various platforms for $5.99, “is a unique and fun book — the perfect way for the Post to enter the market…We expect it will be the first of many Post e-books to come in partnership with HarperCollins.” Digital Book World is offering its first ebook, Finding the […]
Pearson Invests $89.5 Million In Nook Media, After Disappointing Holiday
Nook Media–the entity formed in 2012 that owns Barnes & Noble’s Nook business and their college bookstores–has its second major strategic investor, joining Microsoft: As of December 21 Pearson agreed to invest $89.5 in cash for a 5 percent equity stake. The bookseller paired an announcement about that investment with a preview of holiday sales that indicates “results will be below expectations” and Nook in particular will not meet their previous projections for the fiscal year. Perhaps because of that performance, Pearson is buying in to Nook Media at essentially the same the valuation given to the company when Microsoft […]
eNews: Brazil Gets Kindle Store, Google Play; Waterstones Upsets Customers With Kindle Screensaver Ad; And More
Within minutes of each other, Amazon’s Kindle Store and Google Play launched in Brazil Wednesday evening–just as Kobo’s previously-announced Brazilian offering formally launched. The Play store includes titles by Brazilian authors as well as translations of international bestsellers, while the Kindle store sells their low-end device for R$299 ($143 US), along with 1.4 million ebooks, including more than 13,000 Portuguese-language ebooks by authors such as Jorge Amado, Lya Luft and Martha Medeiros. In addition, Kindle Direct Publishing and the various mobile apps are also available in Brazil. “We are excited to launch this new Kindle Store for Brazilian customers, offering […]
Apple News (iPad Mini Sales; Sony’s App; Smashword’s Sales) and ABA Advice to Kobo Sellers
Trying to counter reports the iPad mini has not caught fire immediately among the faithful, Apple announced somewhat ambiguously that “it has sold three million iPads in just three days since the launch of its new iPad mini and fourth generation iPad–ouble the previous first weekend milestone of 1.5 million Wi-Fi only models sold for the third generation iPad in March.” CEO Tim Cook adds that they “practically sold out of iPad minis. We’re working hard to build more quickly to meet the incredible demand.” Almost two years after Apple first rejected Sony’s ereading app over violations of the iTunes […]