The issues between publishers and libraries over the purchase and lending of ebooks are complicated and nuanced, and depending on how one wants to frame the reporting, you could see a session at the AAP’s New York office featuring ALA president Maureen Sullivan on Thursday as conciliatory, inflammatory, or both. Perhaps the best takeaway is that it’s more productive for both sides to communicate with each other directly rather than through posted statements. A number of publishers (and the media) attended the AAP’s presentation and moderated discussion featuring Sullivan, who was joined by a number of other ALA officers and […]
eNews
Hachette Moves Quickly to Replace Faulty eBook File for The Casual Vacancy
Little, Brown reports that the ebook file for JK Rowling’s THE CASUAL VACANCY that the publisher provided US retailers on Wednesday had “issues,” including affecting “the adjustability of font color and size and adjustability of margins.” What that means, according to customer reports online, is that for many people the book displayed at a tiny font size that could not be adjusted. The company says that “as soon as Hachette was made aware of these issues, a replacement file was uploaded to all ebook retailers.” By customer accounts, and this report on PaidContent (with some screen shots), those issues made […]
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 […]
Barnes & Noble Hires Patrick Rouvillos To Oversee International Nook Expansion; Dixons Retail Added As New UK Partner
Barnes & Noble has solidified its plans to expand NOOK beyond the US and the UK with the appointment of Patrick Rouvillois as vp, managing director for international, reporting to Jamie Iannone. Rouvillois, who will work out of Luxembourg, was most recently global cmo and head of eCommerce for Carrefour. “We’re thrilled to have Patrick join the team as we embark on our international expansion of the NOOK brand into the UK and beyond,” Iannone said in a statement. “Patrick brings strong leadership to the role, and his vast background in the retail, consulting, telecom and media sectors will be […]
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 […]