Education publisher Pearson has purchased a major stake in Nook Media, the company announced today.

Nook Media is a joint venture between Barnes & Noble and Microsoft that was finalized just months ago. The new joint company will focus on producing the line of Nook e-readers and tablets, the Nook digital media store, and college bookstores.

Pearson spent nearly $90 million in cash for a 5 percent stake in Nook Media, with an option to acquire up to 10 percent in the future. That gives Microsoft, which initially invested $300 million back in April, 16.8 percent of the company, with Barnes & Noble retaining the remaining 78.2 percent. The total investment values Nook Media at an estimated $1.8 billion.

“With this investment we have entered into a commercial agreement with Nook Media that will allow our two companies to work closely together in order to create a more seamless and effective experience for students,” Pearson North America CEO Will Ethridge said in a statement. ” It is another example of our strategy of making our content and services broadly available to students and faculty through a wide range of distribution partners.”

Pearson’s newly announced stake is interesting because it gives Nook devices even more potential to take on Amazon’s Kindle for use in the classroom. Pearson’s stake may also prove helpful now that Apple, which reaffirmed its commitment to education tech earlier this year, has the relatively cheaper iPad Mini on retail shelves.

The U.S. Patent Office recently granted Apple a patent for the functionality of turning a page on an e-reader application.

That’s right, you read that correctly. Apple now owns digital page turning, aka patent D670,713), which is officially titled “Display screen or portion thereof with animated graphical user interface.” Theoretically, this means Apple can now wage a legal war against companies that make apps that compete with iBooks, such as Google Books.

Apple, which filed the patent application nearly a year ago, claimed that its own page turning animation was unique to other e-reader applications. Apple’s page turning mimics how you’d turn a physical page from the edge of the paper, slowly pulling it back to see the following page. By contrast, the e-reader application from Google mimics turning by pressing your finger in the middle of the page to advance to the following page. Personally, I like Google’s method better, but I at least see the contrast.

At the same time, I realize, we’re discussing ownership for methods of turning a damn book page, which is about as arbitrary as outlining the difference between tying your shoes using the Bunny Ears method verses the Crisscross method.

And while Apple’s new patent is about as ridiculous as getting a patent on pressing buttons, it serves as only the latest example for how absolutely stupid our patent system has become.

Apple was also granted 38 other patents, which deal with location services, channel scanning, and other multi-touch gesture functionality.

Via NYT

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Amazon has just announced the Kindle Paperwhite, the newest edition to the Kindle family. It has a higher resolution screen and adjustable lighting. It completely blows away the older Kindle models that put Amazon on the e-reading map.

The Paperwhite with Wi-Fi runs for $119, while the Paperwhite model with 3G connectivity costs $179. Amazon also slightly updated the old Kindle and has dropped it to an astoundingly low $69. (How soon before it’s $29 or even free?)

While the older Kindle is cheaper, the Paperwhite is still a way better e-reader, based on its just announced specs. E-readers are still much better than tablets for reading lengthy books, so we can see why it’s important for Amazon to keep innovating in this area.

Here are the big points that we know so far that make the Paperwhite better than its predecessors:

• Higher resolution screen at 221 pixels per inch — 62 percent more pixels than previous Kindle
• 15 percent faster page turns
• New font choices
• 25 percent more contrast — whiter whites, blacker blacks
• 8-week battery life
• Adjustable back lighting
• Shows time left in reading your book
• 9.1mm thick, weighs 7.8 ounces
• New “X-Ray” feature shows most popular characters in chapter or book

Let us know in the comments if you plan to buy a Kindle Paperwhite.

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Rakuten’s Kobo line of e-readers has been updated just hours before many expect Amazon to reveal two new Kindle Fire models, a “Paperwhite” Kindle, and maybe even its first smartphone.

Kobo hasn’t had the visibility of big e-reading players Amazon and Barnes & Noble, but it still puts out a decent set of products. But this time, it’s now launching three new e-readers on the same day as Amazon is putting on a show with new Kindles. Perhaps it will help give them a reputation as a scrappy underdog who is willing to keep the big dogs on their toes.

The three e-readers are as follows:

• Kobo Glo: Read comfortably, day or night. (Only $129.99.) We’ve all been there, completely engrossed in a good book while the daylight hours fade. The Kobo Glo and its ComfortLight technology is for any book lover who wants to keep the pages turning 24/7. And with ultrafast page turns and highly responsive touch interactivity, nighttime reading becomes a dream. Get this 6-inch e-ink e-reader in a selection of colours including, Pink Sunset, Blue Moon, Silver Star, and Black Night.

• Kbob Mini: With the Kobo Mini, small is a big deal! (Only $79.99.) Meet the Kobo Mini, the world’s smallest and lightest full-featured e-reader. Measuring in at just 5 inches and a light 134 grams, this e-ink e-reader proves that great things come in small packages—loaded with all the great features Kobo customers have come to know and love, including storage to carry up to 1,000 e-books, an unmatched e-ink touch screen giving readers crisp and clear text, and customizable font options.
• Kobo Arc: This “reads” you like a book. (Starting at $199.99 for 8G and $249.99 for 16G) The Kobo Arc is designed to reflect your personal experiences by discovering preferences, tastes, and passions for a variety of content. With the revolutionary new interface called Tapestries, finding new videos, movies, e-books, webpages and more has never been easier. Just “pin” things you like and the Kobo Arc learns to bring you more of what you love! And with a stunning 7-inch, 16-million color display, the stuff you love never looked so good. The Kobo Arc is a powerful tablet, with a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor, that delivers a rich multimedia experience— including a front-facing camera to easily Skype your favorite people to tell them about the latest new read! Powered by Android 4.0, the Kobo Arc also has access to over 600,000 apps through Google Play giving you the ultimate customizable experience.

The new Kobo e-readers may be found at many U.S. retailers, including Target, Staples, Best Buy, and Sears.

“Our focus has remained firmly on delivering a superior experience for book lovers around the world,” CEO Michael Serbinis said in a canned statement. “With 11,000 booksellers and leading retail partners across five continents, we are bringing the new Kobo Family to book lovers everywhere. The new Kobo Family provides more choice for book lovers and a superior ereading and content discovery experience.”

On top of the release, Toronto-based Kobo also offers e-reading apps for the iPad, iPhone, BlackBerry, and other devices.

We will have coverage of Amazon’s Kindle launch event later today as it happens. Stay tuned.

Photo credit: Kobo

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

There used to be a time in technology reporting when a product going “unavailable” was an unintentional hint that a company had a new product in the pipeline.

But those days are long gone. In preparation for its September 6 product unveilings, Amazon is announcing — yes, announcing – that the Kindle Fire is out of stock.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos wasn’t coy on what the move means. “Kindle Fire is sold out, but we have an exciting roadmap ahead—we will continue to offer our customers the best hardware, the best prices, the best customer service, the best cross-platform interoperability, and the best content ecosystem,” he said in a statement today.

The reference to “an exciting roadmap” is the most important bit, as it’s a clear message from Amazon that tells consumers one thing: “Don’t buy a Kindle Fire right now. Seriously.”

Fortunately, those consumers will only have to wait exactly a week before the new Kindle Fire is announced. How convenient.

Amazon’s announcement comes three days after its Kindle Touch eReader also went out of stock. As with the Kindle Fire news, that move was also a not-so-subtle indication that Amazon has a new eReader on the way. Don’t act too surprised.

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

If you needed further proof that Amazon is planning a sequel to its Kindle Touch eReader, look no further.

Amazon’s eReader is no longer available on the company’s website,  signaling that Amazon plans to announce its follow-up very soon. Right now, the best bet for the announcement date is Sept. 6, when Amazon will hold a press event in Santa Monica, Calif.

Most speculation for the Kindle Touch follow-up points to a device that, while largely similar to its predecessor, will feature the big addition of a front-lit screen. This will make it the prime competitor for the Nook Simple Touch with Glowlight, which Barnes & Noble released in May.

But while the Barnes & Noble’s device has had a big head start on Amazon, the bookseller has largely failed to capitalize on it. As the company announced in its first quarter earnings last week, demand for the Glowlight Nook far outstripped supply. This leaves Amazon with a very clear attack plan: Go after all the wannabe-Nook owners who haven been able to get their hands on the Glowlight device.

Though Amazon lists the Kindle Touch as out of stock, the same can’t be said for the Kindle Fire. Amazon’s 7-inch tablet is still available –though we wouldn’t recommend you buy one until after Amazon’s event next week.

U.S. bookstore chain Barnes & Noble is bringing its Nook e-reader device to the U.K, the company announced today.

The company noted that this would be the first time the Nook was made available beyond the U.S. Barnes & Noble will bring both the Nook Simple Touch and the Nook GlowLight to the new market along with a U.K. version of the Nook digital bookstore, which offers over 2.5 million books, graphic novels, and news publications for sale.

For now, however, it appears that the Nook Color and Nook Tablet won’t be available across the pond, which mimics Amazon’s decision not to offer its 7-inch Kindle Fire tablet beyond the U.S.

Despite its relative success in the U.S., the Nook already faces some tough competition in the U.K. market from the likes of Sony, Kobo, Apple/iPad, and of course Amazon’s Kindle. Amazon will prove to be a particularly difficult competitor not only because of its previous dominance in the e-book market, but also because of its partnership with major U.K. brick and mortar retail bookstore Waterstones.

Barnes & Noble plans to launch the Nook this October, just in time for the holiday shopping season.

Photo via Devindra Hardawar/VentureBeat

Barnes & Noble’s Nook segment was a mixed bag for the fourth quarter.

Though quarterly revenues dropped 11% year-over-year, digital content sales were up 65%.

Much of this loss was due to lackluster hardware sales. The company’s Q4 saw the release of the Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight, which was announced in April. There’s no explicit mention on how the new device sold, but B&N did note that hardware sales were, on the whole, down during the quarter.

This decline, the company says, came from lower selling prices, third-party channel partner returns, and, of course, plain old lower sales volume.

It’s possible the wait for the Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight cannibalized the sales of its predecessor.

In summary: While consumers bought fewer Nook devices, they made up for that decline by buying more books, magazines, and apps.

Overall, B&N reported a slightly narrower loss during the quarter: $57.7 million compared to the $59.9 million loss during the same quarter last year. Total revenues rose 0.4 percent to $1.38 billion.

Going forward, the big thing to pay attention to will be Newco, the subsidiary the company formed with Microsoft  in April. B&N isn’t completely sure what it plans to do with the company, but it is sure that it wants to double down on its digital strategy going forward. And Newco will be at the core of that endeavor.

Amazon rolled out a software update for its Kindle Fire tablet today that adds lots of new functionality for sharing, offline media consumption, movie rentals, textbooks, and more.

With the new update, Kindle Fire owners can share passages or notes from their ebooks on social networks without navigating away from the page. You can also choose to share those notes/passages with other Amazon users  interested in reading the same book. While sharing video clips and snippets from news stories has become much easier over time, books have always lagged behind. This feature, in theory, could change that.

Another way Amazon is trying to enhance the reading experience on its Fire tablet is through a new “Book Extras” feature, which is powered by Shelfari. Book Extras gives you character descriptions, a glossary of common terms, author information, settings/location references, and more. It’s basically like an imdb for readers.

The update also adds support for an archive of personal documents via Amazon Cloud, a simplified reader mode for viewing things in the Amazon Silk browser, improvements to Wi-Fi connectivity after waking a sleeping Kindle Fire, and many general performance enhancements (like the movie rental availability time beginning only after you first start watching the rental).

Probably the strangest addition included with the new update is for what Amazon calls “Print Replica Textbooks”. This is basically a photocopy version of a traditional printed textbook, meaning you cannot select text like you can in other digital books. You also can’t search for words, which is a deterrent for a digital version of a book. (This is especially true when studying.)

The Print Replica Texbooks do, however, let you add notes, highlight sections, zoom in, and quickly jump between chapters listed in the book’s table of contents. Why on earth would you want to bother with a textbook without being able to utilize the actual text itself? Well, apparently they are up to 60 percent less expensive than the printed version, which will come in handy for poor college students. And I’m guessing that since most textbooks don’t have digital counterparts, this is also a nice alternative to lugging around a heavy backpack full o’ knowledge.

Overall, the Kindle Fire 6.3 software update adds lots of new stuff not available on both more expensive tablets (iPad, Galaxy Tab, Xoom) and similarly priced competitors like Barnes & Noble’s Nook Tablet.

The new software is available as an over-the-air update on the Kindle Fire or through Amazon’s website. (And for those who like to tinker, it’s also worth noting that a 6.3 Kindle Fire update root is now available, too.)

Amazon’s Kindle lineup is en fuego and selling at a rate of more than one million units per week.

For three weeks in a row, the Kindle maker has seen this astounding statistic repeat itself.

The Kindle Fire is also the site’s top best seller, its most popular gift and the product that appears on the most wishlists for all of Amazon.com.

“Kindle Fire is the most successful product we’ve ever launched -– it’s the bestselling product across all of Amazon for 11 straight weeks, we’ve already sold millions of units, and we’re building millions more to meet the high demand,”Dave Limp, Amazon’s Kindle-focused vice president, told Reuters today.

The VP further revealed that Kindle Fire sales had been growing week-over-week since Black Friday shopping began.

The Kindle Fire was announced in late September, when its pre-sales started. It represented a new breed of consumer mobile devices: an e-reader/tablet hybrid that could contain books as well as surf the web, run apps, deliver and send email, display video content and more.

And at a price point under $200, it was destined to score big with holiday shoppers and any gadget-lover trying to deal with a tough economy.

By the beginning of this month, Amazon had already shipped between 3 and 4 million units, making the Kindle Fire the second-most popular tablet behind the iPad.

For the entirety of Amazon’s Kindle lineup, Black Friday shopping numbers quadrupled year over year, Amazon executives revealed a few weeks ago. At that time, the company also stated the Kindle Fire had been its top-selling product for the previous eight weeks.

Yes, it’s time for another installment of VBWeekly. This week we discuss, in free form, the release of the latest Android-based e-readers, the Kobo, the Kindle Fire and the Nook. We wonder if they can be considered a different class of tablets from the pricier devices, such as the iPad or Galaxy Tab.

We then pay our final respects to Flash mobile, as Adobe announced it will stop developing Flash mobile in order to put more effort into HTML5. We also drift into a discussion of how developers will start working on HTML5 instead of native apps, and if phones and tablets will become more powerful and not need to run native code.

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

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 $500 and up for an iPad or Galaxy Tab when I could get a slightly smaller tablet for a fraction of the price?

We’re glad you asked. We can help you answer both questions. Here are the features, pros and cons of a number of tablets and e-book readers, sorted by price from low to high. What did we miss? Let us know in the comments and we’ll update this list.

$79 Kindle

Amazon’s newest entry-level Kindle is based on the same E Ink technology as previous Kindles, but deep-sixes the keyboard. Its chief advantage: Crazy-low price.

• Screen: 6-inch E Ink, 800 by 600 pixels
• Weight: 6 ounces
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi and USB
• Battery life: Two weeks to a month, depending on use*
• Price: $79 from Amazon.com

Kobo Wireless

Kobo offers two e-book readers. The less expensive model is the Kobo Wireless Ereader, and it’s just about $100. Bonus: It comes in a variety of colors, including “lilac,” and has a soft, quilted back.

• Screen: 6-inch E Ink
• Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Connectivity: USB, Wi-Fi
• Battery life: 10 days
• Price: $99 from Kobo retailers, including Walmart and Best Buy

TouchPad

HP’s ill-fated, webOS-based tablet was a bust at $500. But at $100, lots of people thought it was a great idea. If you can get your hands on one of these devices (they’ve been discontinued, but HP has plans to bring them back), you might have a workable reading device. The app ecosystem is nearly nonexistent, however, and don’t count on support from HP.

• Screen: 9.7-inch LCD, 1024 by 768 pixels
• Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and USB
• Battery life: 8 hours
• Price: $100 (16GB model), $150 (32GB model) from HP

Kobo Touch

Kobo’s higher-end touchscreen model has longer battery life than Kobo’s other model, and it’s a smidge lighter. It also comes in a variety of colors, making this one of the most fashionable-looking e-readers on the market.

• Screen: 6-inch E Ink
• Weight: 6.5 ounces
• Connectivity: USB, Wi-Fi
• Battery life: 1 month
• Price: $130 from Kobo retailers, including Walmart and Best Buy

Nook Simple Touch

Barnes & Noble’s E Ink reader has a touchscreen, elegant interface and the ability to read EPUB books. It lacks some of the Kindle’s wireless panache, but until Amazon’s $79 Kindle, the Simple Touch was the best deal going for simply reading books and PDF documents.

• Screen: 6-inch E Ink, 800 by 600 pixels
• Weight: 7.5 ounces
• Connectivity: USB, Wi-Fi
• Battery life: Up to 2 months
• Price: $139 from Barnes & Noble

Kindle Touch

Add a slick new infrared-based touchscreen to the Kindle and you get the Kindle Touch. It’ll be available November 21.

• Screen: 6-inch E Ink, 800 by 600 pixels
• Weight: 7.5 ounces
• Connectivity: USB, Wi-Fi and (optionally) 3G
• Battery life: Six weeks to two months
• Price: $149 from Amazon.com (3G version), $99 (Wi-Fi only version)

Kindle Fire

Amazon dropped a bomb on the tablet world with the Kindle Fire, which is both cheaper and more powerful (with a dual-core processor) than anyone expected. It won’t ship until November 15, so we won’t know until then whether its performance lives up to its promise, but you can place orders now.

• Screen: 7-inch, 1024 by 600 pixel LCD screen
• Weight: 14.6 ounces
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi, USB
• Battery life: 8 hours
• Operating system: Android 2.2 (modified)
• Price: $199 from Amazon

Nook Color

Barnes & Noble’s other entry into the e-reader market, the Nook one-upped earlier Kindle versions with a slew of glossy tablet features. Running Android, the Nook Color has a full-color display and email, web, and video capabilities.

• Screen: 7-inch, 1024 by 600 pixels, 169 ppi
• Weight: 15.8 ounces
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi, USB
• Battery life: 8 hours
• Operating system: Android 2.1
• Price: $249 from Barnes & Noble

BlackBerry PlayBook

Research in Motion’s PlayBook has its fans, and with about 5 percent of the tablet market, it’s doing okay. It’s probably better-suited to people who already have BlackBerry smartphones, though: Many of its features, like the e-mail and calendar clients, depend on being tethered to a BlackBerry. Note: Best Buy has reportedly cut PlayBook prices by $200, meaning you could pick one up for as little as $299.

• Screen: 7-inch LCD, 1024 by 600 pixels
• Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi, BlackBerry tethering, USB, HDMI
• Battery life: 10 hours
• Operating system: BlackBerry Tablet OS
• Price: $499 from RIM (16 GB) to $699 (64GB) from RIM
  

Xoom

Announced at CES in January 2011, Motorola’s tablet is a slick-looking 10-inch Android tablet with optional 3G.

• Screen: 10.1-inch, 1280 by 800 pixels; 150 ppi
• Weight: 25 ounces
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB, 3G (optional), LTE 4G
• Battery life: 10 hours
• Operating system: Android 3.1 (Honeycomb)
• Price: $499 from Motorola (Wi-Fi only, Wi-Fi + Verizon 3G, with plan) $599 (Wi-Fi + Verizon 3G, no plan)

iPad 2

The product that started the tablet trend, Apple’s iPad is still the market leader. It’s set apart by great hardware design, Apple’s slick mobile operating system, and a well-stocked App Store. It’s also the priciest tablet currently available.

• Screen: 9.7-inch, 1024 by 768 pixels, 132 ppi
• Weight: 21.3 – 21.6 ounces
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3G (3G version only)
• Battery life: 10 hours
• Operating system: iOS 4
• Price: $499 – $699 from Apple (Wi-Fi only), $629 – $829 (Wi-Fi + 3G) from Apple

Galaxy Tab

The Galaxy Tab is Samsung’s Android tablet, announced in late 2010. Apple is currently battling with Samsung over patent infringement, which means that the Tab might not be available in your country.

• Screen: 10.1-inch, 1280 by 800 pixels, 149 ppi
• Weight: 13.8 ounces
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB, 3G (ounces)
• Battery life: 7 hours
• Operating system: Android 3.1 (Honeycomb)
• Price: $600 from Samsung

* Battery life claims come from the device manufacturers, and depend on usage. For instance, you’ll get less battery life if Wi-Fi is turned on and you’re watching a movie than you will reading a black-and-white text document with Wi-Fi and 3G off.

Additional reporting by Heather Kelly

Related articles

• Amazon has yet another hit on its hands with Kindle Fire tablet, Kindle Touch (video) (venturebeat.com)
• 10 things you need to know about the Kindle Fire (venturebeat.com)

Today Kobo, the maker of the third most popular ereader in the world with 4.9 million users, announced Kobo Pulse, a social reading platform that gives each page of every book a “pulse.” The strength of the pulse is dictated by who and how many people are reading, what they are saying and what they are thinking. Kobo Pulse readers can give a book a life. Readers can connect with friends, share their opinions of the story and engage in discussions.

The coolest part is the ability to connect with anyone reading the same book. Friends, strangers, even the President, if he happens to have a Kobo.

Kobo Pulse, an extension of Kobo’s Reading Life platform, is also integrated with Facebook. Which is interesting, because Kobo was the only ereader present at the recent F8 conference.

“We’re the only ones the view social as a core part of the experience,” says Kobo CEO Michael Serbinis in an interview with VentureBeat. “That has been our mission from day one. We believe ereading is about shopping and reading but, most importantly, it’s about sharing and expressing.”

Serbinis describes Kobo and its social reading platform as “a natural fit” for Facebook’s new Open Graph (turns Web pages into a social graph) and Timeline (a new way to share who you are with photos on your Facebook profile). Kobo Pulse activity will show up in the new Facebook Ticker, and a person’s reading activity will be reflected in Timeline.

Just in case you were wondering, Serbinis says Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has a black Kobo.

Kobo Pulse will be available for free initially in Kobo’s eReading App for iPhone and iPad users, and will be quickly extended to Android, Kobo eReaders and additional platforms. The new Facebook integration features will roll out gradually over the coming months.

“Every book has a life of its own and that pulse ebbs and flows based on the time of day and time of year,” says Serbinis. “We are opening the book and enabiling readers to tap into that pulse as they are reading. This is a revolution in books and how we read.”

Kobo is backed by majority shareholder Indigo Books & Music Inc, Cheung Kong Holdings and institutional investors.

If Amazon manages to convince publishers to sign onto the plan, which would grant Prime subscribers access to a collection of e-books for no extra charge, it could end up being as fundamental a shift for books as Netflix’s streaming video service has been for movies and TV shows.

Book publishers would get a “substantial fee” for participating. But some publishing executives aren’t convinced the plan is in their best interests, as they think it could ultimately lower the value of books, the WSJ says.

Amazon Prime costs $79 a year and offers customers free two-day shipping, $3.99 next-day shipping and access to Amazon’s library of streaming video content. Having access to a bundle of e-books would fit right into Prime and would add more value to the service for existing subscribers.

Sources tell the WSJ that the e-book library would consist of older titles (another similarity to Netflix) and that Prime subscribers would be limited to downloading a few titles from the library every month. Amazon’s Kindle e-book store currently has over 950,000 items.

It certainly wouldn’t cost Amazon much to offer Prime subscribers a choice selection of free e-books, and it would also help to solidify Amazon’s relationship with Kindle owners and tempt many to Prime. The company is also expected to launch a tablet, dubbed simply “The Kindle”, this November for $250.

Despite having a multi-year head-start, Sony’s Reader has lagged behind Amazon and its wildly successful Kindle for years. Even the last-generation Sony Readers — which added features that the Kindle doesn’t have, like a touchscreen interface — have failed to catch on much with buyers.

And considering the other major competitors, like Barnes and Noble’s Nook and the iPad, it seems like Sony will have an even more difficult time with its Reader over the next year.

Sony is planning to update its Reader line in August, VP of digital reading Phil Lubell at Sony Electronics told Bloomberg on Thursday. (Update: Sony has issued a statement below, saying this information is incorrect. We’re keeping the original report because Sony may just be covering for an unannounced leak.)

Judging from the Bloomberg report, it appears that Sony is rushing to get the new e-readers out before it releases its first Android tablets later this year. Lubell said the new Readers are expected to offer the usual software and hardware upgrades, so they’ll likely look a bit nicer and perform faster. But there’s no sign that Sony is doing anything significant to chip away at the Kindle’s dominance.

Amazon has never released any Kindle sales figures, but estimates from last year projected that the company sold more than 8 million units in 2010. Kindle sales were mostly driven by the new $139 third-generation model, which Amazon said was its fastest-selling Kindle ever. Amazon also said late last year that it held around 70 percent of the e-book market, though those numbers could look a bit different today. By comparison, Barnes and Noble said its Nook had 20 percent of the e-book market late last year. If those numbers are correct, that leaves a measly 10 percent for Sony and other players, like Kobo, to scrap over.

Sony could score big by lowering the price of its Readers, which are currently priced between $180 and $300. A sub-$140 reader seems necessary at this point, especially since recent rumors suggest that Amazon will offer an even cheaper Kindle soon.

But it may be that there’s nothing Sony can do to make its e-readers matter any more. Sony only sells e-books via its online store, and it has no apps to give users access to their Sony e-books on other devices. (Update: Actually, there is a Sony Reader Android app, and it appears that Apple pulled the initial Reader iOS app due to issues with in-app purchasing. I’m sticking with my following points though, since Amazon has spent considerably more effort getting Kindle on other platforms.) Amazon, on the other hand, has made Kindle apps available on iOS, Android and other platforms, giving users seemingly universal access to their Kindle content.

For Amazon, it’s clear that e-book sales are more important than device sales, and that’s something Sony may never be able to compete with.

Update: Sony has responded to this post, saying that the Bloomberg report is “inaccurate.” Sony issued the following statement:

It is true that Sony is committed to the Reader category and believes there is a market for both tablets and dedicated e-readers. And, since we have historically released new Readers every year since our initial launch, it is reasonable to assume we will do so again this year. However, the details about a new Sony Reader included in this article are inaccurate. We have not released any pricing, timing or features of a new Sony Reader. When we do have Sony Reader news, we will share all the details with you.

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Global tablet shipments fell 28 percent to 7.2 million units in the first quarter, compared to fourth quarter sales in 2010, according to market intelligence firm IDC.

Sales of ereaders, which IDC counts separately from tablets (rightly so), also fell for the quarter. But IDC notes that for the first time ever, Barnes & Noble’s Nook Color — an ereader with a healthy dose of tablet-like functionality — has toppled Amazon’s Kindle as the lead device in the category.

The tablet sales dip reflects seasonal trends that normally affect more mature consumer electronics categories, IDC said, which hints that consumer demand for tablets may be far less than the hype the category has built up. That’s bad news for every tablet manufacturer except Apple, whose iPad (now the iPad 2) continues the dominate the category.

Despite the slower tablet sales, IDC has increased its tablet shipment forecast to 53.5 million units this year, up from a 50.4 million unit projection. Android tablet sales now account for 34 percent of the total, a jump of 8.2 points over last quarter.

Ereader shipments fell from the holiday rush to 3.3 million units, but still saw a 105 percent increase compared to last year. As for the Nook Color’s success, IDC points to Amazon’s lack of a color ereader as a reason for losing the lead sales spot. Rumors remain strong that Amazon will announce its own tablet devices in a few months, and I would imagine at least one will be an inexpensive Kindle-branded tablet/ereader device like the Nook Color.

The 7-inch Nook Color retails for $250 and features a multitouch screen that functions just like a tablet. Barnes & Noble recently updated the Nook Color to support a limited selection of apps, a Flash-capable web browser, and more. For consumers who can’t afford a $499 iPad, the Nook Color seems like a no-brainer compromise.

That’s a major shift for Amazon, which has been selling physical books for more than 15 years but has only been offering e-books for less than four years. Amazon also made it clear that it wasn’t counting free Kindle book sales.

Now for the first time ever, the term “book store” can refer to a book retailer that sells more digital books than physical copies.

Driving the e-book charge was Amazon’s recently announced ad-supported Kindle, which retails for $114. Amazon said the ad-supported Kindle has “quickly become the bestselling member of the Kindle family” in its first five weeks on the market.  Though, as usual, the company didn’t offer up any specific sales numbers.

Amazon said that since April 1, it has sold 105 Kindle e-books for every 100 print books. The strong e-book sales also led Amazon to see its fastest year-over-year growth for all book sales. The company also says it has sold more than three times as many Kindle books this year than in the same period in 2010. Amazon now has more than 950,000 Kindle titles available for sale.

Kindle book sales show no signs of slowing down anytime soon. We need only count the days until Amazon’s next milestone: when digital books account for twice as many sales as physical books.

We recently reported that overall e-book sales in the US exploded this past February (tripling sales from last year) to surpass paper books.

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Even though Barnes & Noble hasn’t been pushing the Nook Color as an iPad competitor, its low price and slick hardware seem to have made it one.

Barnes & Noble shipped close to 3 million units of the $250 Nook Color since it launched in November, Digitimes reports, based on estimates from suppliers of the device’s components. Its success led the suppliers to calculate that the Nook Color currently accounts for over 50 percent of the iPad-competitor market (which includes all other tablets).

While far from official sales figures (shipment numbers only tell us how many devices are sent to retailers, not how many are sold), the estimates are still a decent indicator of how consumers are responding to the Nook Color. And not surprisingly, it seems buyers want cheap tablets. (B&N previously said that the device was its best-selling product for this past holiday season.)

Barnes & Noble made several bold decisions with the device, including pricing it well below other tablets and bringing it more in line with the Kindle and other e-readers; offering a portable 7-inch size with a high-quality screen; and having it run a locked-down version of Android, which left the door open to expand the Nook Color’s capabilities with apps and other tablet-like features (which are now headed to the device in an April update).

It’s also not too surprising to hear that the Nook Color may be dominating the small field of iPad-competitors, most of which are two to three times its cost. Hackers have also taken a liking to the device because it’s cheap and easy to turn into a full-blown Android tablet.

According to the suppliers, B&N shipped one million Nook Color units in the fourth quarter of 2010 and shipped 600,000 to 700,000 units a month for January and February.

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Barnes and Noble confirmed growing rumors this morning that it would bring apps, email, and other tablet features to the Nook Color.

The $250 Nook Color has been a curious entry since it was first announced in October: Barnes and Noble was marketing it as an ereader with tablet-like features, but it seemed clear from the hardware (and the fact it ran Android) that it was a tablet in ereader clothing. With the April update, the Nook Color will finally be able to live up to its potential as a tablet.

The rumors were first reported by CNet this morning, who noticed that the Home Shopping Network’s Nook Color page listed the April additions. Rumors that the Nook Color would be transformed into a tablet with a software update go back to shortly after the device’s release.

It’s unclear if the update will allow third-party developers to submit their own apps to work on the Nook Color. The company has previously denied that it would ever allow full access to Google’s Android Market, which would effectively make it the same as its more expensive Android table cousins. The Nook Store, as HSN’s site calls it, will offer apps like the popular game Angry Birds, and the Lonely Planet Phrasebook.

Other features that may pop up in the update include Adobe Flash support, as well as improvements to the Nook Color’s web browser. HSN’s site refers to a “full web experience” that will come in the April update that will allow users to watch online videos — that sounds like Flash to me.

Hackers have been enjoying a full tablet experience on the Nook Color since December. Now with recent hacking improvements, the Nook Color can even run Android 3.0 “Honeycomb,” Google’s tablet-centric OS.

I’m not sure what took Barnes and Noble so long to deliver the new features. At $250, the Nook Color is the most inexpensive tablet-like device on the market. The company would be better served embracing its tablet abilities — including opening up the device to the full Android Market — because it will likely have the price advantage for some time.

Via Electronista

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July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Apple may be considering more restrictions for its App Store, which runs counter to the company’s more relaxed stance over the last few months.

The company has reportedly told some developers that it won’t let apps access content purchased outside of the App Store, in addition to continuing its restrictions on in-app purchases, the New York Times reports.

If true, the news could have drastic implications for iPhone and iPad apps like Amazon’s Kindle application, which allows you to read ebooks purchased from Amazon.

The story seems to have stemmed from Apple blocking Sony’s e-reading app, which would have allowed users to read and purchase books from Sony’s Reader Store. I’m not entirely sure why Sony thought it could get away with in-app ebook purchases, as it’s something that Apple has long prevented. To get around that restriction, Amazon’s Kindle app sends users to the web to make purchases.

Honestly, it doesn’t really make much sense for Apple to get more restrictive, especially since it’s trying to be more open to avoid scrutiny from federal regulatory agencies. It’s more likely that Sony just wanted to make a stink about getting its app rejected when it didn’t fully understand Apple’s current rules. So this may not be an example of Apple getting any worse — just Apple being Apple.

Update: A Sony PR representative tells Technologizer that its app didn’t feature in-app purchases, it instead sent users to the web browser like the Kindle app. Curiouser and curiouser, indeed. We’ll have to wait until Apple responds to hear the whole story, but for now, I think the NYT may be overblowing the story.

Update 2: Apple has finally clarified the situation. In a statement to All Things Digital, Apple says that it hasn’t changed its rules, it’s instead going to start enforcing an existing rule that will require apps like Amazon’s Kindle to have in-app purchases, even if the apps direct users to buy content outside of the app. Users won’t be forced to buy content in-app, but the in-app feature must be implemented and Apple will be making its usual 30 percent cut from purchases.

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The hacking process involves “rooting” your Nook Color, which lets you modify the device’s software, as detailed by the site Blog Kindle.

Several minutes of work can grant you access to the Android market and a wealth of apps on the Nook Color, including Amazon’s Kindle app. If successful, you can effectively turn the $250 Nook Color into an Android tablet almost on par with Samsung’s Galaxy Tab, which retails for over $400 (and usually with a monthly cellular contract).

For Windows users, the rooting tool is a simple application that does most of the work for you. Mac and Linux users will have to break out their command line terminals to get the job done. Hardware-wise, you only need a microSD memory card (larger than 128MB) and a dedicated card reader for your computer (many laptops have these built-in).

After successfully rooting your Nook Color you’ll have access to the Android Market, as well as some apps like YouTube and Gmail, in the device’s “Extras” folder. As with any hacking method, there’s always the risk that you can permanently damage your device in the process. Additionally, it’s unknown how this hack will affect the Nook Color’s ability to receive updates from Barnes and Noble. But given the end result, the hack certainly seems worth the risk.

Blog Kindle reports that not every Android app works perfectly. The Kobo ebook reader app, for example, doesn’t seem to load its book library properly. But imperfection is a given with any hack, and we can expect these issues to be fixed over time as the hacking tools improve.

We recently reported that Barnes and Noble may be preparing for a major Nook Color update that will bring with it some more Android tablet functionality, but the company has been quick to point out that it doesn’t ever plan to grant full access to the Android Market.

Via CrunchGear

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos pointed to the Kindle’s new $139 price point as a major factor in its success over color tablets like Apple’s iPad. “It’s low enough that people don’t have to choose,” he said. Amazon customers report that they’re using their tablets for games, movies and web browsing, while the Kindle is mostly used for reading sessions.

We’ve been saying for a while that the Kindle isn’t actually competing with the iPad and other tablets, and the e-reader’s continued success over the holiday season proves it.

We reported last week that Amazon was expected to sell around 8 million Kindles in 2010, based on information from people familiar with Amazon’s sales projections. In comparison, Amazon sold 2.4 million Kindles in 2009, and Apple reported that it had shipped 7.5 million iPads as of October.

Amazon says that the Swedish bestseller “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” was its most purchased and most gifted Kindle book on Christmas.

Now it looks like the Kindle is set to surpass 8 million units sold this year, 60 percent more than many analyst predictions, two people familiar with Amazon’s sales projections tell Bloomberg. If true, it tells us that consumers are far more interested in standalone e-readers than analysts expect.

Analysts at Citigroup, Barclays Capital, BGC Partners and others previously projected that Amazon would sell around 5 million units this year.

The 8 million number is particularly impressive in the face of competition from the iPad, which has shipped more than 7.5 million units since it was released in April. In comparison, Amazon sold 2.4 million Kindles in 2009.

Ever since the newer Kindles were announced, it seemed clear that Amazon had finally reached a price point that would drive mass consumer adoption. Amazon announced in August that it was the best-selling Kindle ever. Given how difficult it was to find the new Kindle in stock once it finally started shipping, it almost seemed as if Amazon couldn’t make enough of them to satisfy demand. The company also cited the device as a key element in its revenue and profit gains this past quarter.

But as great as Kindle sales are, Amazon still seems more interested in pursuing the proliferation of the Kindle platform. The company recently showed off Kindle for Web, a web-based interface for reading ebooks meant to compete with Google’s recently announced foray into ebooks. With web interfaces, ebooks can be read on any device with an internet connection — no app, or Kindle, necessary.

Hanvon

The company will be demonstrating the color e-reader at the FPD International 2010 trade show in Tokyo, which is dedicated to flat panel display technology. In doing so, Hanvon will beat out Amazon’s popular Kindle e-reader, which is still stuck with a black and white E Ink display. Meanwhile, Barnes and Noble ended up relying on LCD technology for its recently announced Nook Color.

But don’t expect Hanvon’s color device to beat the iPad just yet. The New York Times reports that the colors are muted, “as if one were looking at a faded color photograph.” And like all E Ink displays, it can’t handle full motion video since the screen refreshes at a slow rate. Still, it will be able to offer killer battery life (e-reader battery life is measured in weeks) and full readability in sunlight — unlike LCD screens.

Color E Ink displays have been talked about for years, but until now they haven’t made it to consumers. Hanvon’s color display was achieved by laying a color filter over the standard black-and-white E Ink panel, so it offers the same battery life as existing e-readers. The color filter does reduce the screen’s brightness, which will likely be a worthy compromise for many consumers.

Both Amazon and Sony are apparently waiting for color E Ink displays to mature before they jump on the technology. “There’s no question that color is extremely logical. But it has to be vibrant color. We’re not willing to give up the true black-and-white reading experience,” Sony e-reader president Steve Haber said to the NYT.

Hanvon plans to release its first color E Ink reader — which features a 9.68-inch display — in China this March for around $440. The company says it may bring the device to the US — it already sells its products through the web and Fry’s Electronics stores.

At this point, Amazon must be feeling the pressure. The company’s $139 third-generation Kindle has been selling like crazy, but now that it’s facing color competition from China, it will likely need to step up its color plans for the Kindle.

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Computer manufacturer Asus will finally launch its tablets starting in December, the company’s president Jerry Shen told news site Digitimes.

We’ve been reporting on Asus’s nebulous tablet plans since March, with the latest report landing in August, but now it seems like things are finally beginning to coalesce. The company will launch its 12-inch Windows 7-powered device first in December (the Eee Pad EP121, which Shen previously said would retail around $1,000 with a keyboard dock), and will follow that up with two 7-inch tablets and two 9-inch tablets in March 2011.

One of the 7-inch models will only have WiFi, while the other will features 3.5G mobile broadband capabilities. As for the 9-inch tablets, one will be an Android device running Nvidia’s Tegra 2 mobile processor, while the other will run a Windows platform (which may be the Windows Embedded Compact 7 device Asus previously mentioned). The 9-inch models will have a price gap of $100 — previous pricing listed the Android model at $399 and the Windows model at $499.

The company is shoring up its tablet manufacturing operations by transferring 200 technicians (out of 800) from its handheld device department to support tablet research and development. The company plans to release a 9-inch ebook reader soon, and its previously-announced 8-inch Eee Note is now aiming for a November release.

The Nook Color is pretty much a 7-inch Android tablet, but don’t expect it to be as unrestricted a device as something like the Samsung Galaxy Tab. Instead, Barnes and Noble has developed a new user-interface that still caters to ereader functionality, while also including some tablet bells and whistles. The device includes Facebook and Twitter functionality, as well as some apps like Pandora.

Instead of the black-and-white e-ink display used in most e-book readers, the Nook Color uses a LCD display running at a high 1024 by 600 pixel resolution with 16 million colors. The screen is an IPS, or in-plane switching, panel — so it will offer more realistic colors than your average LCD screen. It also features a “full lamination screen film” above the LCD, which B&N says says will reduce glare from the device’s backlight, as well as external light sources.

There’s no 3G connectivity at this point, but the Nook Color does include your typical WiFi support. It packs in 8 gigabytes of storage, and also includes a microSD slot (like the original Nook) to plug in additional storage. It’s fairly thin at about half-an-inch thick, and weighs about one pound. Given that it’s now powering a full-color LCD panel, the Nook Color offers about 8 hours of battery life with its wireless turned off — a far cry from its bigger brother’s 7 to 10 days of juice.

The Nook Color won’t run typical applications from the Android Market. B&N instead is working on its own developer program to foster third-party applications. While developers won’t automatically be able to get their apps on the Nook Color, it shouldn’t be very difficult to translate an existing application for the eereader — assuming it doesn’t require very fast hardware.

While the battery life isn’t exactly conducive to bringing a large novel on vacation, the Nook Color’s screen means that B&N can now offer color children’s books, as well as newspapers and magazines.

The company isn’t abandoning the original Nook, which is currently awaiting a big software update, but I suspect that it will receive less attention than the sexier color addition. B&N has actually stumbled into an interesting niche with the product, since it could serve as a basic tablet for consumers who don’t want to splurge for a more expensive iPad or Galaxy Tab.

Given that the Nook Color is more tablet than ereader though, my position that the original Nook is dead remains firm. Strangely enough, by releasing this product B&N has seemingly killed the Nook themselves, leaving Amazon to remain king of dedicated ereaders. But in the process, Barnes and Noble has become the first company to release a desirable sub-$400 tablet.

The Nook Color is available for pre-order now, and will ship on November 19.

Via Engadget

Just as with the Nook, Amazon says you won’t be able to read ebooks while they’re lent out. The feature won’t be available for all ebooks either, as it will be entirely up to publishers and rights holders to enable it.

It remains to be seen if Amazon will innovate beyond Barnes and Noble with the feature. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos last year criticized the Nook’s book lending implementation as being “extremely limited”, so I suspect the company has some ideas in mind to differentiate the Kindle’s sharing. At this point, the Kindle seems just as limited as the Nook.

What does book lending on the Kindle mean for the Nook? With the feature matched by the Kindle, all the Nook has to differentiate itself now is its superfluous secondary color touchscreen. Sure, it supports expandable storage via MicroSD cards, and it also can read DRM-free ePub ebooks (unlike the Kindle) — but those aren’t exactly features that can combat the widespread name recognition of Amazon’s device.

Barnes and Noble tried to one-up Amazon earlier this year by introducing a WiFi-only Nook for $149, and reducing the price of the Nook 3G to $199, but Amazon fired back a month later with its revamped third-generation Kindle at $139 and $189 price points. While Amazon doesn’t divulge exact Kindle sales numbers, the company noted in its third quarter earnings report that strong sales of the new e-reader model led to significant revenue and profit gains. Barnes and Noble maintains that it has 20 percent of the ebook market and that sales of the Nook have been strong, despite missing analyst estimates in its recent second quarter earnings.

Barnes and Noble still has the advantage of using its retail stores to push the Nook, but Amazon matched that as well by bringing Kindles to Best Buy and Target stores in September. At Best Buy, Kindles are now displayed alongside Nooks and other e-reader devices, and I can’t imagine why anyone would choose the Nook over the Kindle in its current form. The Kindle hardware feels more refined, and it has a more complete ebook library with over 630,000 books versus the Nook’s 166,000 (Barnes and Noble advertises having over a million ebooks, but it’s including nearly a million free public domain ebooks in its figures which are also supported by the Kindle). Amazon has even released an SDK so that developers can create Kindle applications.

I recently picked up a third-generation Kindle, and I’ve noticed that many other e-reader holdouts — both among my circles and general users — are doing the same. The $139 price point is working wonders for Amazon, and it’s also part of a gradual move towards $99 pricing — at which point e-reader adoption will see new heights. Perhaps Barnes and Noble will attempt that lower pricing first (once again), but it can only drop the price so far before it becomes unfeasible.

Despite the release of the iPad, and the promise of even more tablets to come, there definitely seems to be a demand for low-cost portable devices dedicated to reading. I’m certain the Kindle will remain a dedicated presence in the market for some time, but at this point I’d have to say that the Nook’s days are numbered. For Barnes and Noble’s sake, I hope that rumors of a color Nook are more fact than fiction.