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Amazon makes Kindle documents available via Cloud Drive
If you have any documents (or e-books acquired in a "non-standard" way) stored on your Kindle, now you can access them anywhere via Amazon Cloud Drive. Starting today, documents uploaded to your e-reader via your browser, mobile device or email will automatically be stored in a new "My Send-to-Kindle Docs" folder within Cloud Drive. Unlike previous document uploads that were automatically converted to Kindle format, new additions will be saved in the cloud in their original format. That means you'll be able to edit the Word doc for your book on show ponies (might we suggest a working title of Pageant Ponies: America's Real Beauty Queens?) from your desktop seconds after catching a typo. With the move, Kindle owners can combine their existing 5GB of free cloud storage with the 5GB offered to Cloud Drive users for a total of 10GB of space. You know what that means: plenty of room to store sequels to your equine masterpiece once you hit it big. Image source: Flickr/Zhao!
Amazon buys popular comic book app platform Comixology (update)
There's nothing quite like taking a massive, heavy library of beloved books and shrinking it into an e-reader. Amazon, having already accomplished that with its tremendously popular digital book service, is now targeting the comic book market. The company is purchasing Comixology, a digital comic book service with hundreds of millions of users and apps for all of your devices. Comixogy CEO David Steinberger is quite fond of the agreement, the terms of which were not disclosed (we're assuming it's at least $3.50 -- comics these days are awfully expensive). "There is no better home for comixology than Amazon to see this vision through," Steinberger says in the announcement. "Working together, we look to accelerate a new age for comic books and graphic novels." It's just a wild guess, but we're expecting the first such "acceleration" will involve integrating Amazon payments and the Comixology userbase over to Amazon. It's not yet clear if Comixology brand will stand on its own (Amazon already sells single issues and graphic novels on Kindle), but we're asking the company for more, but don't expect to hear much -- the deal hasn't closed just yet, but it's expected to in the next few months. Update: We heard back from Amazon -- join us below for more.
Gadget Rewind 2006: Sony Reader PRS-500
Sony may not have been at the forefront of the digital music revolution, but when it came to e-books and e-readers, the company was certainly a pioneer. It all started in the '90s with Sony's first chunky, flip-topped Data Discman. This two-pound, paperback-sized player came bundled with a selection of reference books on disc, each capable of storing up to 100,000 pages of digital text. When that cumbersome early e-book solution failed to gain traction, Sony went right back to the drawing board and returned in 2004 with the Japan-only LIBRIé e-reader. This particular device used an innovative E Ink display and relied on an e-book loan program -- a distribution model that proved unpopular with consumers at the time.
Judge Cote grants class action status to consumers in e-book lawsuit
Reuters is reporting that a federal judge has given consumers the go-ahead to proceed with a class action lawsuit against Apple for colluding with a number of publishing houses to raise the price of e-books. U.S. District Judge Denise Cote said the plaintiffs had "more than met their burden" to allow them to sue as a group. She rejected Apple's contentions that the claims were too different from each other, or that some plaintiffs were not harmed because some e-book prices fell. "This is a paradigmatic antitrust class action," wrote Cote, who has scheduled a trial later this year to determine damages, which could reach hundreds of millions of dollars. Of course, Apple's ongoing e-book price fixing saga with the US Justice Department and U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in particular is not without its fair share of controversy. Recall that Apple expressed major reservations about Cote choosing Michael Bromwich to serve as the company''s external anti-trust compliance monitor, even attempting, albeit unsuccessfully, to remove him. What's more, those who feel Apple has been getting a raw deal in all of this have pointed out that Cote, in the past, has been accused of pre-determining which side she favors in a legal dispute. That said, it's worth pointing out that the Reuters report relays that Cote this past Friday "denied Apple's motion to exclude the opinions of Apple's two damages" while at the same time deciding to throw "out the opinions of Apple's two damages experts, saying they were not based on 'rigorous application of economic methods.'" And speaking of economics, and with respect to Cote's statement that Apple's e-book saga represents a "paradigmatic antitrust class action", two Professors of Economics earlier this month published a 30-page amici curiae brief articulating that Judge Cote's ruling in favor of the US Justice Department was completely misguided and belied a fundamental lack of understanding of economics. The brief, put together by Bradford Cornell from CalTech and Janusz Ordover of NYU, reads in part: Efficient markets depend on firms acting in their independent business interests. In this case, the District Court's failure to consider the economics of the vertical agreements between Apple and the Publisher Defendants led it to infer that Apple facilitated and participated in a horizontal price-fixing conspiracy. The District Court never considered evidence and economic reasoning that the vertical agreements were in Apple's independent business interest in entering e-book retailing, wholly apart from any horizontal conspiracy. The provisions of the agreements at issue-agency, 'most-favored-nation' (MFN) clauses, and price caps-can be instrumental in facilitating new entry, particularly into markets with an entrenched, dominant firm. In this case, the District Court disregarded economic evidence and reasoning that these provisions served Apple's independent business interest in entering the e-book market, where Amazon was a near-monopolist. The District Court also ignored economic evidence and reasoning suggesting that Apple's entry into e-book retailing, and not the MFNs, allowed the Publisher Defendants to persuade Amazon to switch from a wholesale to an agency business model. The District Court also erred in equating price increases for some e-books with harm to competition. Apple's entry into the e-book retail market dramatically increased competition by diminishing Amazon's power as a retail monopolist (and its ability to pursue a "loss-leader" strategy that inefficiently priced e-books below their acquisition cost). That increased competition gave publishers more bargaining power, thereby bringing ebook pricing closer to competitive levels. These errors threaten to chill competition by discouraging the use of common vertical contracting techniques that are often essential to facilitating the expensive and risky investments needed for entry into highly concentrated markets. Our antitrust laws should encourage, not penalize, vertical contracting arrangements that facilitate entry and enhance competition.
Amazon paying e-book settlement cash back to Kindle users
Remember that antitrust suit concerning publishers, ebooks and price rigging? The good news, at least if you bought one of the affected titles between April 2010 and May 2012, is that Amazon is sending some money your way. If the book you purchased had ever been a New York Times bestseller, then you'll receive a credit of $3.17 in your Kindle account, but if the book was, erm, less popular, you'll get $0.73. The only exception is for residents of Minnesota, since the state negotiated for a few more cents for both the bestseller and non-bestselling settlements. If you haven't already received an email letting you know about your cash bonus, head over to the Kindle bookstore where you'll be notified if you have a credit -- which can be used to purchase any book through to March 2015, even if it wasn't published by the five companies on the Department of Justice's naughty list.
Dual-display YotaPhone now shipping to the UK for £419
We're not entirely convinced that this is the right time to hop aboard the YotaPhone express, especially when a greatly improved second-gen handset has been promised before the end of this year. Nevertheless, if you're in the UK and you're willing to drop £419 in order to experiment with a genuinely unique e-reader / smartphone hybrid (as opposed to a phone that is e-ink only), then the Yota Devices web store will now ship to you via the source link below.
Barnes & Noble brings Nook Press self-publishing to parts of Europe
Does your agent constantly reject your manuscript about a teen wizard who falls in love with a vampire and has to fight for their life in a televised death zone? Barnes & Noble feels your pain, and is opening up the Nook Press self-publishing platform to parts of Europe to get your story told. From today, the web-based service launches in the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium. But how much do you stand to make? If your title is priced between £1.50 (€2.50) and £7.99 (€9.49) you'll receive 65 percent of the fee, and if it's under £1.50 (€2.49), you'll get 40 percent land in your bank account. Just remember that Amazon is the only e-reader company that'll let you write your GI Joe opus.
Barnes & Noble to drop its Nook app for Windows in revised Microsoft deal
We hope you weren't too attached to the Nook app for Windows, because it's going away -- well, sort of. Barnes & Noble's Nook Media subsidiary and Microsoft have amended their partnership with terms that let Nook Media stop distributing its Windows e-book software. The company won't leave bookworms completely stranded, though. Instead, it will steer them toward "Microsoft Consumer Reader;" ZDNet believes this is a previously rumored e-reading app that will support both Nook content as well as generic text. The updated pact also lets Nook Media scrap progress on a Windows Phone app, although that's not as big a loss when the client hasn't reached the public. We don't yet know how the revised deal will affect Windows-bound Nook fans, but let's hope that Microsoft does a good job of picking up any slack.
First-gen Kindle Paperwhite gets second-gen features, at last
First-gen Kindle Paperwhite owners are woefully missing a bunch of features, including Goodreads integration, available on the device's successor. Thankfully, this latest software refresh brings their e-readers up to par -- and, yes, that means early Paperwhite adopters can now place The Winds of Winter on their to-read roster from within the device. Just like on the second-gen Paperwhite, Goodreads' familiar "g" icon should appear on the menu bar after installing the software. Clicking it will launch the app where users can segregate books into lists, share digital bookshelves, look for weekend reads or post excerpts.
Switched On: The leader, the bleeder and the reader
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. Sony recently bid farewell to three device categories. The long-struggling Japanese consumer electronics giant is selling off its PC division, spinning out its TV group into a separate company and getting out of the e-book business by handing it over to Kobo. While each has a unique history, they all demonstrate the difficulties Sony has had in dominating any one category. Sony's introduction of the Trinitron in the 1960s accelerated its ascent to the top of the consumer electronics food chain in the following decades. By the 1980s, virtually any TV buyer knew that nothing compared to Sony and the company's big-screen offerings were bolstered by the arrival of CRT screens that lacked the convex curve of the time. (Back then, curved screens were passé, not leading edge.)
How would you change Amazon's Kindle Paperwhite (2012)?
Gone are the days when, if you wanted to read a book in bed, you'd need to take a torch with you. Nowadays, as long as you've got a Kindle Paperwhite, the books will happily illuminate themselves. The device's even front-lighting and engineering outshone the rival Nook, even if it had a slender 2GB of on-board storage and wasn't as comfortable in the hand. But if you've been toting one of these around for the last year, why not tell your friends and colleagues what it's been like? Head on over to our forum and begin the discussion.
Oyster now offers all-you-can-read children's books, including Disney titles
Got a kid with an insatiable appetite for books? You may want to sign up for Oyster, then. The subscription e-book service has just launched a children's section, giving young readers all the titles they can handle. The deal also brings Disney Publishing to Oyster's catalog, so little ones can keep up with the adventures of Mickey and crew on their iPads. Parents who want to foster digital literacy at an early age -- or just need a fresh source of bedtime stories -- can learn more at the source link.
Court rules that Apple can't get rid of antitrust monitor Michael Bromwich
Well it looks like Apple and antitrust monitor Michael Bromwich will have to put up with each other, for better or worse. Reuters reports the US Court of Appeals on Monday ruled that Bromwich can continue his monitoring duties even while Apple appeals his appointment to that position in the first place. The court articulated that Apple provided insufficient evidence to support the notion that allowing Bromwich to continue his duties as an antitrust monitor would cause Apple irreparable harm. The court was similarly unpersuaded by Apple's attempt to show that Bromwich was intent on expanding the scope of his court appointed duties. You might recall that Apple previously levied concerns that Bromwich was contacting Apple personnel who have nothing to do with any antitrust related matters, including board member Al Gore and Senior VP of Design Jony Ive. Gigaom adds: Monday's ruling amounts to a face-saving measure for U.S. District Judge Denise Cote, who has been criticized harshly in the Wall Street Journal for appointing Bromwich, who is reportedly her friend and political ally. The appeals court decision serves to remind Bromwich of the limits of his investigation, even as it sides entirely with Cote and the Justice Department. And so Bromwich will be getting back to work as Apple continues its appeal of Cote's decision.
Sony to close Reader store and move users to Kobo's e-book platform in 'late March'
With its eye firmly fixed on a return to profitability, Sony's been making extensive cuts to its business arms in recent days (bye bye, VAIO!). So it's no surprise the company would train that cost-cutting eye onto another underperforming unit -- its e-reader business. Sony announced today that it'll be shuttering its Reader store in the US and Canada come "late March" and that all Reader accounts (including library content) would be moved to Kobo's platform during that time. Existing users shouldn't have much to worry about though, as Sony claims the "migration process" should be painless and that it'll issue a how-to email to walk users through it. The deal will also see Kobo's app pre-installed on select Xperia devices, which should give Kobo a significant boost in audience reach. That's assuming consumers start buying Xperias in bulk. Update: Sony contacted us to clarify that the Kobo app will only come pre-loaded on select Xperia devices.
Amazon now indulges in your GI Joe fan fiction
Admit it -- as a kid, you got a little tired of the GI Joe team winning the battle in every cartoon episode. Wouldn't it have been nice if Cobra emerged victorious now and then? Thankfully for you, Amazon has just given you the freedom to rewrite your childhood memories: it has reached a deal with Hasbro to sell GI Joe fan fiction in Kindle Worlds. And if you didn't spend your youth watching animated soldiers, you'll be glad to hear Amazon has also scored licenses from Warner Bros. and Valiant Entertainment. The arrangements let you post stories set in Veronica Mars, the Pretty Little Liars spinoff Ravenswood and new Valiant comics like The Lizzy Gardner Files. Amazon's expansion still leaves just 20 Kindle Worlds to choose from, but it should please anyone who wants to give Cobra Commander his due. [Image credit: Pat Loika, Flickr]
Apple and the DOJ square off in US Court of Appeals over antitrust monitor Michael Bromwich
Reuters reports that Apple appeared before the US Court of Appeals on Tuesday. The company argued before a three-judge panel that antitrust monitor Michael Bromwich's duties should be put on hold until a final determination can be reached regarding his role as an antitrust-compliance monitor. It's no secret that Apple and Bromwich's relationship has been rocky from the start, and Apple has been anything but shy about articulating why it wants him removed. Recall that Apple took issue with Bromwich's hourly rate (more than US$1,000 an hour) along with his efforts to meet with high-ranking Apple personnel, some of whom have nothing to do with anything e-book- or antitrust-related. The gist of Apple's argument was that allowing Bromwich to maintain his monitorship position will cause Apple irreparable harm if it's subsequently determined that his appointment was erroneous. "The court can't give us relief," Apple attorney Theodore Boutrous explained. "It can't turn back the clock. The DOJ, not backing down an inch, stressed that Apple, having already been found guilty of violating antitrust law, needs to fulfill the terms of its punishment "not a year from now, but today." While reports from the hearing indicate that the three-judge panel was receptive to Apple's concerns regarding Bromwich's "roving investigation," the same can't be said for Apple's assertion that Bromwich's interview requests are disruptive and soak up valuable employee time. "Maybe if they had spent some of their valuable time keeping the company from violating antitrust laws, perhaps they wouldn't be in this position," Judge Gerald Lynch said at the proceeding. Ouch. In an effort to broker some sort of compromise between the two parties, Lynch floated the idea that Bromwich's mandate be more carefully sculpted as to ensure he doesn't overstep his assigned task. Not surprisingly, Apple said it "would still oppose the monitorship as unnecessary." Apple is also appealing Judge Denise Cote's initial ruling, which found Apple guilty of colluding with a number of publishing houses to artificially raise the price of e-books.
Scribd takes on Amazon, brings its subscription e-book service to Kindle Fire tablets
The whole point of owning an Amazon tablet is that you're eventually gonna buy stuff. Want movies? Amazon's got you covered. Music? Time to check out Amazon's MP3 store. And then, of course, there's books: Amazon expects you to buy lots and lots of reading material through the built-in Kindle app. Now, though, another company is trying to get in on the action. Scribd, which already runs a $9-a-month e-book subscription service, is opening up shop on Kindle Fire tablets. As on the existing apps (Android, iOS and a web version), the Kindle version offers unlimited monthly access, allowing readers to share what they're reading and embed books onto websites. The catch? Scribd only has a deal with one major publishing house, HarperCollins, with the rest of the catalog comprised of titles from independent publishers. So, while you'll enjoy authors like Michael Chabon and classics like Sh*t My Dad Says, you'll be missing out on things like the Game of Thrones series. Then again, if you read even two books a month, that $9 fee could pay for itself.
Apple parts ways with external antitrust monitor, for now...
Just days after Judge Denise Cote ruled that Apple couldn't get rid of antitrust monitor Michael Bromwich, Retuers reports that a federal appeals court has granted Apple a temporary reprieve from its court-appointed monitorship. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York granted Apple an "administrative stay" of the court order appointing the monitor, Michael Bromwich, while the company seeks permission for a longer stay during its appeal. In a brief order, the 2nd Circuit said a three-judge panel would hear Apple's motion for a stay pending appeal as soon as possible. It gave the government until January 24 to file opposition papers. The government did not oppose the request for an administrative stay. In short, Apple is hoping that they can put off supervision from Bromwich until a decision regarding Apple's appeal of the original ruling is reached. If you recall, Apple and Bromwich didn't exactly get off to a good start, with Apple levying complaints about Bromwich's hourly rate and his interest in securing interviews with top Apple executives and board members who have no involvement in the e-book case or antitrust matters at large. The DOJ, meanwhile, accused Apple of engaging in "character assassination."
Judge orders Apple and antitrust monitor to play nice
Judge Denise Cote yesterday published a ruling elucidating her decision to deny Apple's request to have antitrust monitor Michael Bromwich removed. Apple, if you recall, took umbrage with Bromwich's excessive fees (more than US$1,000/hr), his desire to confer with Apple employees like Jony Ive who are far removed from anything antitrust related and a number of other actions that led Apple to conclude that Bromwich wasn't an impartial party. Cote's ruling explained that many of the arguments laid out by Apple have since become "moot," while also adding that Apple didn't make a strong showing that keeping Bromwich in his position would cause Apple irreparable harm. Taking an optimistic slant, Cote writes that she hopes Apple and Bromwich can start over with a clean slate. The deterioration of the relationship between Apple and the Monitor is unfortunate and disappointing. Hopefully, that relationship can be "reset" and placed on a productive course. But it is strongly in the public's interest for the Monitor to remain in place. Now, it's worth pointing out that appointing an external monitor in the first place, in the eyes of many, seemed extremely heavy handed. Cote, however, and for whatever reason, seemed to treat Apple as a company in dire need of serious punishment for not taking the antitrust accusations as seriously as she would have hoped. Cote, for example, previously wrote that she would have preferred Apple "adopt a vigorous in-house antitrust enforcement program..." thereby making the appointment of an external monitor wholly unnecessary. But when Apple subsequently disclosed its plan to enhance its antitrust compliance program with a special antitrust legal department, Cote wasn't impressed. Cote noted at the time that there was "no showing of institutional reforms to ensure that its executives will never engage again in such willful and blatant violations of the law." But what I find particularly troubling about Cote's ruling is that it seemingly glosses over many of Apple's valid complaints. Again, Cote conveniently trots out the argument that because many of Apple's concerns are now moot, there is nothing for Apple to be worried about. For example, recall that Apple had 90 days under which to implement internal antitrust safeguards. Bromwich, however, decided to begin his investigation as early as November where he demanded to meet with Apple bigwigs like Ive and Al Gore. He also demanded to see the weekly schedules of Apple employees who claimed that they didn't have the time to meet with him when he desired. That type of behavior is understandably worrisome from Apple's perspective. But not to Cote, who takes the position that because the 90-day period has since passed (as of this week), Apple's argument falls flat. In its motion for a stay, Apple argued that the Injunction did not authorize the Monitor to conduct interviews during the first ninety days of his appointment. That ninety day period has now passed, and any complaints regarding it are now moot and could provide no basis for a motion for a stay. While technically true, doesn't Cote miss the larger picture here? Namely that Bromwich seems to be unjustifiably expanding the scope of his court-mandated role? Cote, though, takes the position that Bromwich was well within his means to begin his appointment before the 90-day period so he could become familiar with Apple personnel and "relevant aspects of the company" and its procedures. In any event, should Apple take issue with Bromwich's behavior going forward, Cote writes that there are now dispute-resolution mechanisms in place to address any concerns that arise. And then there's this doozy of a statement. While Apple would prefer to have no Monitor, it has failed to show that it is in the public interest to stop his work. If anything, Apple's reaction to the existence of a monitorship underscores the wisdom of its imposition. A little self-serving, wouldn't you say? It's quite the stretch to state that any objections Apple has is de facto proof that Cote's appointment of her good friend Bromwich was a wise choice. The full ruling is available here courtesy of AppleInsider.
The Engadget Show 49: CES 2014 wrapup
Grab a wearable, switch on the 'ole curved TV and fire up your favorite 3D printer. We came, we saw, we conquered and now we're ready to distill it all for you in the form of some high-quality video content. We're not going to suggest that it'll replace the seemingly endless stream of posts we've churned out over the past week or so, but if you've got a cocktail party full of guests you need to impress tonight, it'll help you drop some serious CES 2014 tech news knowledge on their collective heads. We've pulled together some top editors to offer up an abbreviated view of tech's biggest show of the year, charting trends in old standby categories like HDTV, mobile, tablets and cars, to emerging spaces set to define the changing face of the show for years to come. Oh, and we've also tossed in some fun video of the show's gadgets, because, well, it wouldn't be much of an Engadget Show without that sort of thing, now would it? Toss in a bit of video of your long-time host getting a bit welled up the end, and you've got yourself a little thing we like to call The Engadget Show 49. 'Til we meet again, Engadgeteers.
