The Kindle Fire allows third-party e-book apps, starting with Wattpad
After some back-and-forth between Amazon and Wattpad, a third party e-reader app, Kindle Fire owners can now use a different apps to read e-books on their device.
Before now, Amazon had been hiding competitor’s e-reader apps in the Kindle Fire’s Amazon Appstore. The apps still showed up in the web-based Appstore, but weren’t available for download onto the Fire. Hidden e-reader apps included Wattpad, Kobo, and Bluefire, all competitors of the Kindle.
For those who … Continue Reading
Hands-on with the Kobo Vox e-reader (video)
The Kobo Vox e-reader went on sale Friday, and we were lucky enough to get our hands on one at the VentureBeat offices. While the word “e-reader” often evokes images of the iPad or the Kindle Fire, (there are some other, less popular Android tablets out there, too), Kobo general manager, Matthew Welch, says that the Kobo is “For readers, of readers, and about readers.”
This last fact bears repeating: The Kobo Vox is a … Continue Reading
Amazon reports Q3 earnings, misses Wall Street estimates big-time
Amazon today released its 3rd Quarter earnings, turning in a per-share performance of just 14 cents, missing Wall Street expectations of 25 cents per share by a wide margin. The ecommerce giant saw revenue decrease by 73 percent, to just $63 million, which is likely to further punish the stock price.
Amazon‘s Q3 earnings in 2010 were $231 million, or 51 cents per share. Overall revenue for the quarter rose 44 percent, to $10.88 billion.… Continue Reading
Kindle, Nook, Kobo or iPad: Which tablet or e-reader should you buy?
Amazon’s announcement of the Kindle Fire today threw down the gauntlet for both tablets and e-book readers. At just $199, it’s not much more expensive than previous e-readers, and it’s a heck of a lot cheaper than competing tablets.
In fact, you might be asking yourself: Why would I want a drab, monochrome E Ink reader when for a little bit more money I could get an awesome 7-inch tablet?
Conversely, why would I spend … Continue Reading
It’s finally here: Amazon’s Kindle Fire (photo gallery)
Amazon confirmed rumors with the announcement of its own tablet device called Kindle Fire, which features a seven-inch touch screen, eight gigabytes of storage, an eight-hour battery and all the benefits of Amazon’s cloud services.
While you won’t be able to get your hands on a Kindle Fire until November 15, you can enjoy some product shots from Amazon.
We’ve also included some hands-on photos of Amazon’s new Kindle e-ink Readers taken by VentureBeat’s Devindra … Continue Reading
Inkling lands $17M, promises more innovative digital textbooks than Amazon
Digital textbook company Inkling announced Wednesday that is has scored $17 million in second-round funding from Tenaya Capital to compete with major competitors entering the space.
Collegians are getting more attention with companies like Chegg and CampusBookRentals, which recently raised $20 million, taking over the textbook rental market. But what about textbook innovation? Sure, the ability to hack down prices is A+ (get it?), but Inkling thinks interactive elements are key and believes the publishing … Continue Reading
Big Fish launches game for the Amazon Kindle
Big Fish Games is launching a game for the Amazon Kindle electronic book reader today as part of a diversification into new markets.
The Kindle has primarily been an eBook reader to date, so this move shows that just about any electronic gadget — even those that weren’t meant to host games — can become game-playing devices over time. It could also be a harbinger of more things to come, since Amazon is reportedly working … Continue Reading
Amazon’s ad-supported Kindle is its best-selling e-reader
The digerati pooh-poohed it, but Amazon.com’s advertising-supported Kindle 3G with Special Offers is now the company’s top-selling e-book device.
Amazon made the revelation in its quarterly earnings report Tuesday. The $139 device is $50 cheaper than the comparable Kindle 3G, and costs the same as a Kindle with Wi-Fi connectivity only (and no 3G). The advertisements appear only in screensavers (which appear when the reader is in an idle state) and at the bottom of … Continue Reading
Amazon net sales up 51%; investing in digital
During Amazon’s quarter two earnings call, the company reported the strongest growth it has seen in ten years, in addition to digital offerings growth.
In this past quarter, Amazon’s net sales increased 51 percent to $9.91 billion compared year-over-year with $6.57 billion in Q2 of 2010.
In the earnings call, chief financial officer Tom Szkutak supported the increase by saying, “The growth rate you see in Q2 really stems from investments we’ve made over a … Continue Reading
Could Google make Web-based books free?
Books have long stood apart from the rest of the media world, run by an oddball clutch of publishers, distributors and retailers whose practices have little in common with other traditional media formats, let alone new media. But as books head into the cloud, driven by players like Amazon.com and Google, they stand to be transformed by advertising and social networks.
This week, Google and Amazon.com both announced Web-based bookstores. For now, they’re just offering … Continue Reading
Amazon.com's exclusive e-book deal with literary agent riles publishers
As e-books upset the publishing industry’s applecart, an announcement by the Wylie Agency Thursday that it would bypass publishers and sell e-books exclusively to Amazon.com for two years is sure to make people talk.
For Amazon, the deal helps ensure that its Kindle e-reader has a supply of books only available on its device. During his company’s quarterly earnings call Thursday afternoon, Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos confidently announced that the company is now selling more … Continue Reading
