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Barnes & Noble ends its Nook partnership with Microsoft
For a long while, it looked as if Microsoft and Barnes & Noble would become more than just firm friends. The pair had been entangled in a similar partnership that the software giant had with Nokia, throwing $300 million to support the ailing bookseller. Back then, the idea was that B&N would create reading apps for Microsoft's devices while, presumably, Microsoft gained an ally that could stand up to Amazon in the e-book market. Since B&N is now planning to spin-off Nook Media, which uses Samsung hardware for its e-readers, there's little need for Microsoft's further involvement.
Vellum ebook publishing app gets update and images
Back in December of 2013, the world was introduced to Vellum, a Mac app designed to make ebook publishing painless. I personally loved the ease of use of the app, since it lets potential authors and publishers create and edit their books for free, then make an in-app purchase of US$49.99 (regular price) to have the book published on both the iBookstore and Amazon Kindle Store. My only gripe at the time was that Vellum didn't allow the insertion of images in the text (cover images were allowed), whether they were simple chapter page icons or full page images. Well, with the introduction today of Vellum 1.2, that limitation of the app is now gone. Over the past month or so I've had an opportunity to beta-test the app on OS X Yosemite and I've found it to be not only stable, but still probably the easiest way to create and publish an ebook. As noted in last year's review, by publishing in ebook format only to the two biggest ebook stores on the planet, you don't need to run up the expense of getting an ISBN number. Since it's also possible to generate the ebooks in their native formats prior to sending them off for publishing, it is very easy to make sure that they're going to look great in the ebook reader apps (Kindle and iBooks) before you publish. Text can either be entered directly into the app -- it has its own built-in editor -- or imported from a Microsoft Word .docx file. Add chapter headings, select a style, and add a cover image. And now, if you wish, you can insert images anywhere in your ebook with a few clicks. If you're in the process of writing your NaNoWriMo novel and you feel that it's good enough to self-publish, you might want to take advantage of Vellum developer 180g's limited-time 50% off sale. Get an ebook published for about $25, or pay just $75 to get ten of 'em into the ebook stores? Heck of a deal, but it probably won't last for long. There's also an unlimited package for you prolific authors, which is available during the sale for $149.99. Anyone who feels that they wouldn't have the ability to publish an ebook using Vellum should just download the free app and go wild. You'll like what you find.
Amazon adds instant definitions, family sharing to newer Kindles
Remember all those new Kindle software features Amazon promised? You know, the ones that were announced alongside the shiny new Kindle Voyage? The company's been coy about when exactly we'd get them packaged up for our installing pleasure, but it's now ready to spill the metaphorical beans -- a software update will ferry those features to the Voyage, the new $79 basic Kindle and the second-generation Kindle Paperwhite over the air during the coming weeks... unless you want to just install the update yourself right now.
Amazon and Hachette call a truce in their e-book pricing war
Well, that was anticlimactic. Online retail titan Amazon and the publisher Hachette have been sniping at each other for months because they couldn't see eye to eye on how much e-books should cost (and how much revenue Amazon should get off of them). Now, just when it seemed like the war would stretch out even longer, both sides have announced that they've brokered a peace to end the Great Book War of 2014. The most frustrating part? Neither side seems willing to disclose the juiciest details of the deal. Still, the official PR blast mentions that Hachette got what it really wanted all along -- once the terms of the agreement take effect in early 2015, it "will have responsibility for setting consumer prices of its e-books, and will also benefit from better terms when it delivers lower prices for readers."
Scribd adds 30,000 audiobooks to its subscription service
Scribd's e-book subscription service seems to be making some inroads on Amazon's turf, and now the company is looking to take a swipe at Audible's lunch. From today, subscribers will be able to access a library of 30,000 audiobook titles that include big name authors like Suzanne "Hunger Games" Collins, Haruki "Norwegian Wood" Murakami and Cormac "The Road" McCarthy. Fortunately, there's no extra charge despite the bounty of new content, so users will still only be paying their regular $8.99 fee, and is available on Android, Kindle Fire and Nook devices. What about iOS users, you presumably ask? The company's still working on that particular app, but it's scheduled to land "in the coming days."
Cast your vote for the next crowd-selected Kindle books
Similar its original series' pilot season, Amazon is opening up its Kindle publishing arm to crowd voting. The so-called Kindle Scout program allows you to peruse portions of unpublished works before nominating worthy pieces for proper e-reader release. If you're looking to lend a hand with the vetting process, voting is now open for submissions that span sci-fi, romance, mystery and other genres. After a 30-day nomination window, the folks at Amazon will review the tallies before picking what gets made into a Kindle edition. In return for backing a chosen author, you'll get the published book for free one week before it releases for the masses to download. Not too shabby.
The history of EverQuest Next, Cliffs Notes version
If there was ever a world with a deep, rich history behind it, it's Norrath. But EverQuest Next is giving its own spin to the lore. If you're tired of feeling left out and clueless in conversations about the Dragon War because you haven't had time to read through the 11 lore e-books that have been published, you've got a chance to get in the know! EQHammer offers a handy Cliffs Notes-style overview that gives fans a foundation of the story, from the formation of the world up though the Combine Era. Go ahead and read through it to grab the major highlights, then you can delve into the full story in the e-books when you find larger chunks of spare time.
Florida university lets students buy titles for its e-book-only library
It's not uncommon for libraries to offer e-books in addition to dead-tree copies, but the newly opened Florida Polytechnic University takes its digital tome offerings a lot more seriously. The institution has decided to completely forego stocking its library with paper books and will instead rely solely on e-books, which its 550 students (the school is so new, it's not even licensed yet) can browse on tablets, laptops or e-readers. Now, here's the kicker: the students can browse any book they want using the school's proprietary software, but they can access it for free only once -- the second time someone clicks on it, he/she ends up purchasing it for the whole school. In fact, the university has set aside $60,000 for e-book purchases, leaving the library's catalog in its student body's hands.
Engadget Daily: Amazon's war on e-books, Ralph Lauren's smart shirt and more!
Today, we break down Amazon's controversial e-book-pricing model, learn about Ralph Lauren's smart shirt for athletes, anticipate LG's round-faced G Watch R and more! Read on for Engadget's news highlights from the last 24 hours.
EverQuest Next unveils a new lore eBook
While Landmark has been the star of the show lately (being in very open and active testing), EverQuest Next is still humming along behind the scenes. A new eBook has just been released for players looking to get a headstart on lore for the game. "From Ash Comes Fire" focuses on twins dealing with the events following the Dragon War, a major conflict detailed in previous eBooks for the game. If you're not a dedicated fan the overall importance of the sweep of events might be lost on you, but you can still enjoy the story. It also offers a peek at the formation of the Ashen Order, which will have great importance in the main game's storylines. You can grab the novella now if you're interested.
The TUAW Daily Update Podcast for July 17, 2014
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get some the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the player at the top of the page. Be sure that your podcast software is set up to subscribe to the new feed in the iTunes Store here.
Apple conditionally agrees to $450 million settlement in e-book price fixing suit
Apple's ongoing e-book antitrust saga has been nothing short of a headache. Accused of colluding with publishers to artificially raise the price of e-books, Apple had the opportunity to settle the matter early on and avoid a trial altogether. But as Tim Cook explained, Apple felt it did nothing wrong and wasn't going to cop to something it didn't do. For Apple, it was a matter of principle. And now that principled stance looks like it's going to cost Apple to the tune of almost half a billion dollars. Reuters reports that Apple yesterday agreed to pay a cool $450 million to consumers and States in order to settle class action charges stemming from alleged price fixing. That's a lot of dough, but still decidedly less than the $840 million plaintiffs were seeking. The hefty payout, however, is contingent upon the outcome of Apple's current appeal. The settlement, which would provide $400 million for consumers, is conditioned on the outcome of a pending appeal of a New York federal judge's ruling last year that Apple was liable for violating antitrust laws. A ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York reversing the judge could, under the settlement, [would] either reduce the amount Apple pays to $70 million, with $50 million for consumers, or eliminate payments altogether. Apple's statement regarding its potential payout reads as follows: Apple did not conspire to fix ebook pricing, and we will continue to fight those allegations on appeal. We did nothing wrong and we believe a fair assessment of the facts will show it. The iBooks Store has been good for consumers and the publishing industry as a whole, from well-known authors to first-time novelists. As we wait for the court to hear our appeal, we have agreed to a settlement which is contingent on the outcome of the appeal. If we are vindicated by the appeals court, no settlement will be paid. Of course, Apple certainly has money to spare (and then some), but one can only imagine that they'd like to put this whole e-book price fixing scandal behind them once and for all. Recall that Apple's trial with the DOJ last year resulted in Judge Denise Cote assigning Apple an external monitor who Apple quickly accused of overstepping his bounds and charging exorbitant fees.
Amazon testing Netflix-style subscription service for e-books
Ever heard of Kindle Unlimited? Us either, at least not until now. Originally spotted by kboards, a forum site that welcomes Kindle chatter, this previously unknown service appears to be an upcoming all-you-can-read subscription service from Amazon. For $9.99 monthly, as described by the image above, Kindle Unlimited is said to offer access to more than 600,000 books and "thousands" of audiobooks. Not surprisingly, that healthy digital library doesn't appear to include any of the major US publishers (Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin Random House and Simon & Shuster) -- something e-book subscription service Scribd is very familiar with, since it only carries titles from two of the "Big 5." Amazon has yet to announce Kindle Unlimited, but after seeing these ads slip through the cracks, we can safely say it's only a matter of time before it becomes official.
Apple settles ebooks price-fixing claim and other news for June 17, 2014
We've got three top stories for you this morning. Apple settles its eBook price-fixing claim out of court, new kids camps are set for Apple Stores this summer and FiftyThree teases a new goodie for Pencil owners. Let's get to it. Apple has settled the eBook price-fixing claim out of court. The details have not been made public, but Attorney Steve Berman, representing the plaintiffs, believed Apple should pay $840 million. Apple announces filmmaking, iBooks Author camps for kids. I'd love to send my kids to one of these camps. Apple has announced that it will host filmmaking and iBooks Author camps for kids ages 8 to 12 in Apple Stores this summer. The 90-minute classes will run for three days. Sessions begin in mid-July and wrap up in August. FiftyThree will add natural 'Pencil' stylus to 'Paper' with iOS 8. FiftyThree has given us another reason to get excited for iOS 8. A new Surface Pressure feature will let those using the FiftyThree Pencil (US$49.99) to angle the tip and the eraser to produce broader strokes.
While Apple is taken to task for e-book antitrust violations, Amazon wields true monopolistic power
Last summer, Judge Denise Cote found that Apple colluded with publishers to artificially raise the price of e-books across the board. As a result, Cote imposed rules constraining Apple's ability to negotiate with book publishers while also appointing an external monitor tasked with ensuring Apple refrains from antitrust abuse in the future. Indeed, the only winner in the Apple e-book saga appeared to be Amazon, despite Judge Cote's assertion that punishing Apple would restore competition to the e-book space. Recent negotiation tactics from Amazon, however, serve to highlight that the real company prone to wielding monopolistic power in the e-book space is Amazon. The New York Times last week highlighted some of the discouraging antics Amazon has engaged in during the course of heated negotiations with Hachette book publishing. Taking drastic measures, Amazon has delayed delivery of some Hachette titles (in some cases from a few days to a few weeks) while removing others altogether from its online store. Amazon, under fire in much of the literary community for energetically discouraging customers from buying books from the publisher Hachette, has abruptly escalated the battle. The retailer began refusing orders late Thursday for coming Hachette books, including J.K. Rowling's new novel. The paperback edition of Brad Stone's "The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon" - a book Amazon disliked so much it denounced it - is suddenly listed as "unavailable." In some cases, even the pages promoting the books have disappeared. During the course of Apple's e-book trial, Apple stressed time and time again that the iBookstore provided consumers with more choice and operated to "break Amazon's monopolistic grip on the publishing industry." While Amazon's power in the e-book space certainly doesn't give Apple a free pass to do whatever it wants, many have long questioned the DOJ's strategy of pursuing aggressive legal action against Apple when the real 800 pound gorilla in the e-book space is and has always been Amazon. As writer John Moltz comically and snarkily wrote of Amazon's actions, "Time for more ebook sanctions against Apple."
Samsung gives up on its homegrown Music and Book Hub services
Just like HTC with its doomed movie service, Samsung is apparently starting to realize that its in-house efforts can't compete with specialist alternatives. While Spotify has been busily publicizing its rapid growth, the Korean manufacturer has been quietly warning Galaxy phone and tablet owners about the impending closure of its similar, own-brand Music Hub. Users can no longer sign up for the premium monthly subscription option, and a message inside the app says they'll need to re-download any purchased tracks and use up any vouchers before the entire service shuts down on July 1st. This at least suggests that any stored tracks will continue to work after that date, perhaps via 7Digital, whose platform underpinned the Music Hub in the first place.
Don't just Watch Dogs, read about them in an upcoming eBook
When Ubisoft's highly-anticipated hacker adventure Watch Dogs debuts on May 27, it will be accompanied by a newly-announced eBook dubbed "Watch Dogs //n/Dark Clouds." As that grammatically baffling title suggests, the book centers on the sort of near-future cyberpunk intrigue that fuels the plot in Watch Dogs. Storyline details are scant, but we do know that the novel follows ex-military operative Mick Wolfe as he becomes embroiled in the dangerous world of Chicago's underground hacker elite. It's currently unknown if Aiden Pierce, protagonist of the Watch Dogs video game, will feature in the novel, but given the promotional aims of this eBook, it seems likely that Mr. Pierce will show up somewhere in the text. Sci-fi and fantasy author John Shirley has been tapped to pen the eBook. No stranger to genre adaptations, Shirley's previous efforts include novels based on Borderlands 2, BioShock and id Software's DOOM. "Working on Watch Dogs was enormously interesting to me because its world offers the convergence of cyberpunk and the edgy tech reality of our times; it all plays out with action and energy against the inner city backdrop that I thrive in," Shirley said. "Working with Thomas Geffroyd and Kevin Shortt at Ubisoft to develop the book was a rocking experience - Ubisoft is right out there on the frontier of videogame development. I couldn't ask for more inspiration." [Image: Ubisoft]
Amazon's making a custom Kindle store for Samsung Galaxy devices
Samsung seems to be on a roll with bagging media partnerships for its Galaxy line of phones and tablets. First music streaming service Deezer, and now it's getting a custom-built Kindle book store in a deal with Amazon. Announced this morning, the service also gives Galaxy owners referred to the service (starting with the GS5, but more to follow) 12 free books a year. Users will get four "prominent" titles a month to choose from, which have been "chosen specifically" for Galaxy owners (whatever that means). Samsung's already laden with bespoke services, such as its Milk internet radio platform, its own custom app store, and there's even an existing Samsung Books app. Of course, let's not forget the existing Kindle app for Android. However, if you want to snag yourself those free libros, Kindle for Samsung launches in the next two weeks.
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!
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.
