Consumerist reported on an e-mail sent to customers who ordered Barnes & Noble’s Nook in which the retailer reassures that they “are aiming for your order to leave the warehouse” in time to arrive December 24–and promising that if it doesn’t, a $100 BN.com gift certificate will be sent in its place. Spokesperson Mary Ellen Keating told the WSJ “there may be a very small percentage of customers who may not receive” their units in time for the holiday.Consumerist Also Engadget cites a reliable tipster who tells them that Nook will get its promised software update later this week. “The […]
eNews
It's Google's Turn Again: French Court Finds Infringement in Google Books; Preparing for Google Editions
French publisher La Martiniere’s Editions du Seuil unit, joined by the French Pulishers Association and authors groups, has prevailed in their copyright infringement suit against Google Books in France, where today a court found the search company “violated author copyright laws by fully reproducing and making [books] accessible on the site.” Google owes La Martiniere a 300,000 euro-fine (far less than the 15 million euro damages sought in the suit) and will pay a token one euro fine to the two associations, and was ordered to stop displaying copyrighted material by French publishers. Google attorney Benjamin du Chauffaut said they […]
Today's eReader Bulletins
iRex had initially promised their new readers would be on sale in Best Buy by October. They have encountered so many “unexpected delays” the company has stopped promising new delivery dates.MocoNews Amazon’s secret monthly sales record for Kindle, which reached a new mark just last month, has rather predictably ridden holiday sales interest to another new, still secret record.Release Their site seems to be down this morning, but yesterday Quill and Quire confirmed in an interview that Kobo intends to launch their own ereading device internationally in 2010, reaching all major markets through the partners who joined in the recent […]
Sony Finally Figures Out How to Add Newspaper Subscriptions to their Reader
Sony announced that their Reader has partnered with News Corp. to sell subscriptions to the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post (an exclusive), along with summaries from the WSJ and its Marketwatch service. They say their delayed new Reader Daily Edition “will offer a more intuitive newspaper-reading experience to go with features like a touch screen.” It has not been revealed if Sony is giving newspapers more than the 30 percent share of revenue provided by Amazon, but Rupert Murdoch “indicated that a partnership with Sony would include other favorable terms, like sharing the names of subscribers, which […]
New Macmillan eBook Policy Mixes Enhanced Editions and Frontlist Delays
Macmillan ceo John Sargent reported a new ebook policy for the house yesterday, blending enhanced, premium price e-versions with a delay of “several months” on other titles: “Our goal is to give the consumer what they want, when they want it, at a fair price. In 2010 we will publish our bestsellers in several ways. Some bestsellers will be enhanced with additional content and priced to reflect their increased value to the consumer. These will be published at the same time as the hardcover and will be available for three months as special editions. We will publish other bestsellers, without […]
Edelweiss Pairs with NetGalley
In other digital announcements, the Edelweiss digital catalogs will now give publishers the option of providing selected retailers, reviewers and others access to electronic galleys from NetGalley. The first electronic galleys will be available through the program in the second quarter of 2010.