Barnes & Noble has just enough Nook inventory to display units in high-traffic stores, but will give all the inventory to those who pre-ordered online: Mary Ellen Keating tells the WSJ, “Based on the high volume of preorders and our commitment to fulfilling those preorders, we’ve decided to hold off on providing inventory to the stores until after the holidays.” Reviews are starting to appear now that some units have landed. Here’s a long enthusiastic one, though the excitement is more over what the nook should turn into soon (with apps for the LCD screen, etc.) It “is not as […]
eNews
Once Again, Google Books Judge Denies Motion–This Time from Amazon
As predicted, Amazon’s effort to have the amended settlement thrown out was denied by Judge Denny Chin. He assures in his ruling that “the many nuances of the amended settlement agreement will be considered after the fairness hearing is held on February 18.” And Amazon is welcome to “set forth its arguments in its objections” as part of that process. He also throws them a small bone, saying that if they need to “refer to their prior objections now to present ‘cohesive and accurate’ filings” though may so do without incurring his wrath. (Earlier, he said that new objections could […]
Court Denies Request for Injunction Blocking Release of BN's Nook
A California judge acknowledged that “there is a genuine dispute over whether the nook was derived from information disclosed by” Spring Design to Barnes & Noble “or was the product of earlier independent development” by BN but denied Spring Design’s request for a preliminary injunction blocking release of the ereader. The judge did agree to expedited pre-trial procedures to move the process along.Ruling at Engadget
eNews: DailyLit Goes Free; Forrester's 2010 Predictions
Having concluded that their readers “most appreciate the wonderful books, stories and installments available for free,” DailyLit.com announced that all of the service’s books and stories will be provided at no cost to the reader. Their model will be driven by sponsors–currently comprising publishers as well as author Diane Von Furstenberg, who is “giving the gift of her favorite book, free through January.”Blog post Though I’m not always the biggest fan of numerical guesswork from the likes of Forrester Research, this list of ten predictions for the ereader and ebook market for 2010 has plenty of good sense in it. […]
The Risks of Experiments: Distribution of Moody's Twitter Story Surprises Readers
Experimentation is how you learn but sometimes the lessons are tough ones. Long-form narrative may not belong on Twitter and after this week’s tweeting of a short story by Rick Moody through Electric Literature, we may not have to think about it for a while. Encouraged by the start-up quarterly whose “mission is to use new media and innovative distribution to return the short story to a place of prominence in popular culture,” Moody wrote the story specifically for Twitter “and used it as a source of creative inspiration” according to a release from EL. He comments “it really was […]
Kindle Sales Close to Half of Physical Sales?
Amazon spokesperson Cinthia Portugal updated a restated version of the company’s claim of acceleration in Kindle sales for a column in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, telling the paper that “for every 100 books we sell in physical, we sell 48 Kindle books. This is up from 35 books for every 100 in May.”PG In a more official (though not more specific) statement today, Amazon said that their own unpublished “record” for monthly sales was broken in November “even before Cyber Monday.” Kindle vp Ian Freed says in the announcement, “we’re seeing lots of people buying from one to a handful of […]