There are some conflicting stories coming out the BookExpo America today about Google's plans for Google Books: one story speculating that Google may be planning an e-book rental service and another speculating that Google may be closing its e-bookstore. The shuttering of the e-bookstore was something that Melville House Publishing wrote about today, contending that publishers are finding it difficult to get started in the bookstore and that Google has pulled its developers from the project. When ReadWriteWeb asked Google to comment, the company responded, "We refuse to comment on rumor and speculation," pointing to a blog post from Monday touting some of the successes from the first 6 months of the Google Books program: three million free Google eBooks and 250 independent booksellers selling them, for example. But more interesting - although difficult to say if more plausible - is the possibility of an e-book rental service. Sponsor Talk about this [...]

We have some rather breaking news with online giant Amazon and their highly successful line of Kindle e-readers. It seems many publishers have been told by the company that in the near-future, they should be submitting their books to Amazon in EPUB format and not exclusively MOBI. They also went on to let us know that Amazon was indeed planning something BIG and that soon the Kindle ereader will have the full capability to read ePub books. This news has been confirmed by at least 4 publishing companies we have spoken with during the last few days. The Amazon Kindle, for the last six years and more, has exclusively sold books on its Amazon Bookstore in the Mobi format. They also devised applications for major platforms such as Android, iOS, PC, Blackberry, and Windows Phone 7 for reading their books. This insured that if you had purchased a Amazon Kindle e-reader or [...]

This is part of an ongoing series related to Peter Meyers' project "Breaking the Page, Saving the Reader: A Buyer & Builder's Guide to Digital Books." We'll be featuring additional material in the weeks ahead. (Note: This post originally appeared on A New Kind of Book. It's republished with permission.) Is anyone happy with today's ebook note-taking tools? I'm talking about what you get with Kindle, Nook, iBooks, and so on. You can highlight passages and add notes, but that's pretty much where things start and stop. Think about how limited that is, compared to what you can do in a print book: Jot notes anywhere you like (e.g. blank pages in the back) to keep track of your overall reaction to the book. Highlight non-contiguous phrases on a page, editing out all the boring bits and spotlighting the author's best points. Draw arrows, circles, and all manner [...]

Il Salone del Libro è ormai alle nostre spalle, ma ci ha dato molti spunti e molte idee per guardare avanti. Il digitale è uscito da grande protagonista, ma tutto è stato ormai già detto, sviscerato, cinguettato, riassunto, fotografato e condiviso. Restano da raccontare le curiosità, vere chicche che fungono da dolcificante per l’amaro sapore del day after.Se l’eBook non poteva essere messo in bella mostra con la sua copertina, sfogliato, odorato, cosa si poteva esporre nello stand di uno store online? Idee. Il visitatore poteva respirare l’atmosfera nuova, odorare il cambiamento. E allora perché non puntare sul senso che più fa discutere gli habitué della carta stampata per la mancanza di quel mix di odore di carta, colle e, spesso, muffa? Se lo è chiesto Bookrepublic che ha regalato boccette di profumo alla cellulosa.L’idea ha riscosso molto successo, complice la smania collettiva di fare incetta di gadget [...]

  In questa settimana si sta tenendo a Los Angeles il SID Display Week, una manifestazione internazionale organizzata dalla Society for Information Display. Accanto dunque alle notizie relative ai prossimi display per tablet e smartphone, ha destato molto interesse l’annuncio di un prodotto giunto alla fase di produzione, grazie all’accordo tra la E Ink Holding ed Epson, ovvero un pannello da 9,7 pollici, e risoluzione di 2400 x 1650 pixel, arrivando quindi a 300 dpi. Come già visto in passato, la prima azienda si occuperà del pannello mentre la seconda dell’elettronica di controllo. Non si hanno purtroppo notizie di quando potranno uscire sul mercato i primi prodotti con questo schermo, né della velocità di refresh delle pagine che può raggiungere. Come termine di paragone, il Kindle 3, con tecnologia E Ink Pearl ha un risoluzione di 800x600 pixel su un display di 6 pollici, arrivando quindi a 167 dpi, una risoluzione che a quanto sostenuto [...]

Ebooks aren't a straight path to fortune and fame. I never said they were.But I have said, repeatedly, that writers are better off self-publishing than going through a legacy publisher. In the long run, you'll make more money, and sell more books.However, I keep seeing writers making the same mistakes when it comes to self-pubbing. So here's a hot dose of reality to temper those dreams of vast riches.Why You Won't Succeed As A Self-Published Ebook Writer1. You're not self-publishing any ebooks. If you're a writer who would rather complain about ebooks, embrace the past, and spend all of your free time coming up with crummy arguments about why ebooks suck, congrats. You have fulfilled your own dim-witted prophecy, and you won't make a dime.2. You expect instant success. This is a marathon, not a sprint. It takes time to find an audience. But you have a [...]

Earlier this week, I asked what had changed in the standoff between Apple and magazine publishers, who want to sell subscriptions to iPad editions in the iTunes store but, until last week, weren’t prepared to accept Apple’s rules. Now I know. It turns out that the publishers’ fear that Apple’s policies would deny them the consumer data they need to do business was unfounded. As often as not, to get the customer’s email’s name and email address, all you have to do is ask. As things stand, if you buy a subscription to The New Yorker or Popular Science in the iTunes store, you will get a little dialogue box asking if it’s all right if Apple shares some of your personal information with the publisher. Initially, publishers were worried, reasonably enough, that users would overwhelmingly say no. But they don’t. In fact, [...]

Le edicole si riempiono di riviste, libri, e gadget in omaggio con i quotidiani, diventando dei veri e propri bazar.C’è però una testata che ha deciso di invertire la tendenza, riducendo l’ingombro al minimo avviando una splendida iniziativa nella quale verranno, di settimana in settimana, regalati 14 eBook dedicati alla Puglia. Parliamo dell’iniziativa “lo scaffale virtuale“, realizzata dalla Repubblica – Bari, che da questa settimana e per altre 13 offrirà un eBook gratis ai propri lettori virtuali. Il primo della serie è “Neppure quando è notte“, romanzo di Mario Desiati, autore emergente e già candidato al Premio Strega con un altro romanzo, “Ternitti“.La Puglia viene raccontata in 14 eBook tra narrativa e saggistica. Dal “mal di Levante” di Cassano, edito da Laterza, a “Qui Radio Bari” di Rossano, edizioni Dedalo, e “Capatosta” di Beppe Lopez, in una edizione tutta nuova con rivisitazioni dello stesso Lopez.Passando anche per una piccola curiosità: quel “[...]

Amazon is well positioned to advance the Kindle platform much faster and further than they have in any 6-12 month period up to now.  Here's where I hope they end up between now and the middle of next year: An insanely inexpensive entry-level device.  Picture the current Kindle, but for $99 or less.  How about $49?  Better yet, how about free with a customer commitment to buy a minimum of X books in each of the next 2 years?  Sounds a lot like a cell phone plan, doesn't it?  If instead your'e looking for something a bit more powerful and extendable, how about... An Android tablet device with an LCD screen.  This one is the worst kept secret since the iPhone 4.  Amazon didn't launch that Appstore for Android because they want to push more cell phone sales.  The only questions here are (1) when?, (2) how much?, and (3) how open?  If [...]

E Ink Corporation continua a lavorare nell’ambito degli schermi a basso consumo energetico, sempre più sottili e privi di base in vetro, il che li renderebbe finalmente antiurto. Ecco qualche informazione su E Ink SURF (Segmented, Ultra-thin, Rugged and Flexible). La settimana scorsa sono apparsi due video in cui vi sono schermi E Ink SURF applicati su tessuto normale e su tessuto di tipo Tyvek, quello ad alta resistenza e durata che si usa per le spedizioni o come isolante negli appartamenti (ideato dalla DuPont, quelli che hanno inventato il Kevlar con cui si fanno giubbotti antiproiettile/scheggia ed elmetti come quelli presenti nel PASGT americano). Qualcuno ne sa di più?