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IHS iSuppli: Apple iPad takes 69.6 percent of tablet brand market share in Q2, reader tablets take a bruising
An earlier portrait of the second quarter's tablet market share made it quite clear that the iPad was on a rebound, if it was ever in a slump to start with. All those numbers focused on platforms and not brands, however -- we didn't know how the individual makers were doing. If IHS iSuppli's figures are on the ball, there's even more of a discrepancy if you break down the period's results by manufacturer. The iPad staked out 69.6 percent of tablet shipments in the spring. That wasn't just an 11-point jump over a year earlier; it was a level of share Apple hasn't had since the Motorola Xoom was just cutting its teeth early in 2011. As for the rest? Transformer Pads kept ASUS growing, but it's not a pretty sight if you're making an Android reader tablet; both Amazon and Barnes & Noble shed roughly a point and a half each, which is no small amount relative to their size. Samsung also lost share by this after its deliveries of Galaxy Tabs mostly stayed flat. We'd add that there's some wiggle room as to real performance knowing that units shipped and sold aren't always one and the same. Most of these companies are leaving clues regarding upcoming tablet refreshes that might level the playing field, some not so subtle, but it's currently Apple's game to win.
Barnes & Noble cuts prices across its Nook lineup, vies for your budget tablet affection
In what could be seen as a response to the positive reaction that Google's $200 Nexus 7 has garnered, Barnes & Noble has just cut down the prices on all three of its Android-based, seven-inch Nook Tablets. The 16 and 8GB models have been respectively reduced to $199 (from $249) and $179 (from $199), while the Nook Color is priced 20 bones cheaper than before at $149. Not sure whether those prices too good to be true, even up against the likes of the Kindle Fire? Feel free to peruse our reviews of B&N's reading-focused slates before potentially taking the plunge at its webstore.
E Ink acquires SiPix, may dominate e-paper universe
If challenging E Ink's supremacy in the e-paper market was hard before, it just became Sisyphean. The company is acquiring e-paper module maker SiPix through a share buyout worth about NT$1.5 billion ($50.1 million) if all goes smoothly. What goals E Ink has with the merger aren't as apparent, although the company wants to go beyond just supplying the parts for another Kindle Touch or Nook Simple Touch -- the aim is to "diversify into newer applications" even as the company corners those markets it already leads. The deal should close in the fall if regulators sign off on the deal, although we wouldn't be too quick to assume clearance is a sure thing. As NPD DisplaySearch warns, the deal would give E Ink complete control of the electrophoretic display technology that dictates the e-paper field. That doesn't allow for a lot of variety in the space when alternatives like Qualcomm's Mirasol are being scaled back.
Skobbler brings maps to Nook Tablet, Color with ForeverMap 2
We've seen attempts to bring mapping functionality to Barnes & Noble's Nook Color in the past, but Skobbler's going full out with the arrival of ForeverMap 2 for that device and its more clearly defined tablet successor. The app utilizes WiFi positioning, offers route guidance and features both global and local maps. The standard version is free and a pro version can be picked up for $5, offering up added functionality like unlimited offline map downloads. Skobbler also used today's launch to announce that it's working on broader implementation by making it available to Nook app developers.
Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 app lands on Nook Tablet, turns eBook fans' gazes skyward
eBook enthusiasts love some good quadricopter action as much as anyone, and now those with a Nook Tablet can get in on flying the Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 that launched this May. Today Barnes & Noble announced that the AR.FreeFlight 2.0 app is available for a free download in its Nook Store. The program lets owners of the RC copter control the device over WiFi. Users can capture photos and videos with the Drone 2.0's embedded cameras and share them via the app or YouTube and Picassa, and double-tapping the button of the right side of the Nook makes the Drone 2.0 perform flips. The $299 AR.Drone 2.0 is available through B&N's site -- get more info in the PR below.
Barnes & Noble brings out Nook for Web, comes full circle with e-reading (update: not on iOS)
We'd say it's about time. Although it's almost two years late to the party, Barnes & Noble is responding to Amazon's Kindle for the Web with Nook for Web. Much like its counterpart across the virtual aisle, the Nook web edition lets readers browse free samples and whole books entirely from a web browser while preserving the bookmarking and layout options we've come to know and love. Social mavens will like the options to share over Facebook and Twitter without having to leave the page, and recommendations will pop up as you shop. There's no highlights, however, so it won't quite replace the Nook app on your iPad just yet. Nook for Web is already ready and waiting as part of Barnes & Noble's online store, so those who can't be bothered with native apps can get their fix immediately. Update: It most definitely won't replace that Nook app for the iPad. As TechCrunch found out, the web version won't load on iOS devices.
DC Comics arrive on Nook Tablet, Barnes & Noble lets you watch, zoom the Watchmen
When we initially did our Nook Tablet / Kindle Fire battle royal, the choice between the devices for comics fans largely came down to the preference between the Marvel and DC universes. The lines, however, are blurring. Thanks to today's announcement, Justice League fans should find as much to love in the Nook Tablet and Color as Avengers devotees. DC has brought more than 100 graphic novels to the aforementioned devices and Android tablets running the Nook app. Barnes & Noble also used the opportunity to announce the new Zoom View feature, which lets readers focus on individual panels -- functionality that sounds fairly similar to what Comixology offers in its own popular app. For more information about Crisis on Infinite Nooks, check out the press release after the break.
Flipboard officially launches on Android, in multiple app stores and for more countries
Popular newsreader Flipboard is finally officially available on Android, coming out of beta and Galaxy S III exclusivity. As seen in the latest test version, it now supports integration of shared articles from your Google+ feed alongside Twitter and Facebook feeds, and has also added support for YouTube video feeds (all of these are now available on iOS as well). Beyond the Google Play app market, it's also available in the Amazon Appstore, Nook Store and Samsung Apps, so slinging the APK to your Android device of choice should be too difficult. We gave the final release edition a quick run through ourselves and found it just as smooth on a Samsung Galaxy S II as it has been on any iPhone or iPad, and being ICS-ready out of the gate is a nice touch, although we couldn't force it to switch to landscape viewing. Another handy toggle is the option to go full screen with no menu bar up top, if you need a few extra pixels on your display (optimized for screens up to 7-inches in size). Article sharing is also here and like other Android apps, shares to any services you have installed, not just Twitter or Facebook. The final update is news that Flipboard is launching fully localized editions for Germany, Korea, Italy, Spain and The Netherlands, in addition to the existing localizations for Japan, France, China, United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. All of the details are in the press release after the break, or you can check out pretty much any app store to give it a try yourself. Update: It's out! As of 1AM or so. Hit the source link to grab it from the Play Store.
Barnes & Noble's Q4 and FY 2012: revenue up, losses up, hopes Microsoft hurries up
Barnes & Noble has released its financial results for both the final quarter and full financial year of 2012. It's a picture of a company that's holding steady in the face of continued onslaught from its rivals, albeit with some hope on the horizon. In preparation for its as-yet-unnamed venture with Microsoft, the company has begun the process of spinning off its Nook and College businesses -- while sales from stores and BN.com now come under the umbrella term of "retail." On that front, it sold $1.1 billion worth of books in the quarter and $4.85 billion for the year -- down from $4.92 billion in 2011. Nook-wise, the company had turnover of $933 million, with device sales increasing 1 percent for the quarter and 45 percent of the year -- but had to eat a loss on taking back unsold Simple Touch readers. Content sales on its various devices increased 65 percent in the quarter and 119 percent in the year -- clearly showing where the market is headed.
Microsoft's rumored tablet may be a Barnes & Noble collaboration with Xbox Live video streaming
Rumors swirling around Microsoft's mystery event on Monday have repeatedly centered on a tablet, but if TechCrunch sources are right, Microsoft may only play a partial role in the project. The unveiling, according to the claims, may instead be a tablet, e-reader or a crossover of the two built in teamwork with Barnes & Noble -- a company that just recently established a vague partnership with Microsoft after many months of legal wrangling over Android and the Nook. The slate may not include Windows 8 RT at all, despite earlier assertions, but that's not to say that Microsoft wouldn't be breaking ground in other areas. One of the reported insiders believes it could be the first device without the Microsoft badge to get Xbox Live video streaming, which might explain Redmond's eagerness to turn Xbox into a general media brand at its E3 keynote. It's still very much unknown if there will be any hardware at all, although decisions to host the event in the media capital of Los Angeles and detach the invitation from any existing Microsoft division provide at least indirect support for the notion. Whatever happens, we'll be there tomorrow to give you the lowdown.
Oprah launching 'Book Club 2.0,' your mom now knows what 'webisode' means
Everyone! Check under your chairs! It's a...new book club from Oprah! Yep, the former queen of daytime TV is revamping her famed literary organization for the 21st century. Winfrey says she was so taken by Cheryl Strayed's Wild, that she absolutely had to get back on the book peddling bandwagon. The talk show icon will be launching digital editions of the book for the Kindle, Nook and iPad on Monday, featuring exclusive content like a reader's guide. Webisodes featuring Winfrey will go up each week and readers can submit questions via Twitter and Facebook. The whole thing leads up to a live streaming interview with the author on July 22nd. More info -- and a video of a woman who desperately needs someone to give her that talk show back -- after the break.
iFixit reveals Nook Simple Touch With GlowLight's magic -- with lasers
Turns out the secret to the new Nook's patent pending magic glow isn't so magic after all. Nope, it utilizes the wonder of diffraction. Yep, the driving force behind this marriage-saving device is science! Says iFixit in its latest teardown, The display assembly contains the front glass, digitizer, and array of GlowLight LEDs, all fused together into one component. The glass over the E-ink screen takes the light from the eight LEDs and evenly distributes it across the screen. How did the site discover the pending patentness after peeling back the e-reader's layers? Why, lasers, of course, beaming one through the aforementioned glass, which diffracted the green light before it hit a wall, proving once and for all that science can be fun. And ripping gadgets apart, naturally.
IRL: Sparrow for iOS, Nikon D800 and the Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight
Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment. One of the reasons we launched this column was to make sure our reviews and hands-on posts weren't the final say on products -- after all, you often need to live with something for more than a week to notice its WiFi signal cuts off past 15 feet, or there's a nasty bug in the settings menu. Indeed, that theme is what ties together this week's roundup of stories: Darren explains why he ditched Sparrow for iOS, Kevin laments the file size of photos he's taken with his Nikon D800 and Brian finds a flaw in his Nook Simple Touch with Glowlight.
Engadget's tablet buyer's guide: spring 2012 edition
As spring reaches full blossom, it's not just the flowers that are beginning to show -- so are the new slates heavy hitters teased back at CES. So, what does that mean? It means it's high-time that we cast a fresh glance over the tablet landscape, took in a deep breath of slate-infused air and exhaled a hearty Engadget tablet buyer's guide. We've been running the smartphone equivalent for a little while now, so we thought it only fair to give the now-mature tablet category one of its own. We're going to look at the main categories of fondleslabbery and carve out what we think are the finest offerings on the market right now. It doesn't matter if you're looking for something big, small, just good enough or so powerful that it could replace your laptop: we've collected our favorites and shepherded them safely into this one humble guide. Of course, if you want to cast your net a little wider, you can always check out our tablet review hub, but if you struggle with indecision, head on past the break to see what's hot right now in Tablet Land.
How would you change the Kobo Vox?
Kobo is the underdog trying to scrape points while the e-reader heavy hitters of Amazon and B&N duke it out. The Vox was the Canadian outfits response to the Nook and Kindle Fire, but despite a similar price tag, our e-reader expert found that its last-generation hardware was no match for the big boys. That said, plenty of people must have bought them so tell us; how has it been? Do you regret shunning the other two for it, or does it have hidden charms that we didn't see first time around? Let us know in the comments below.
Warner Bros. intros 'Inside the Script' eBook series, gives film buffs a deeper look
From time to time, we see movie studio Warner Bros. bring forth ways to give its oldies-but-goodies a longer life span. On this occasion, Warner's launching a novel eBook series titled "Inside the Script." The new release will give movie buffs a deeper look into a handful of the studio's films, which will include tidbits such as complete shooting scripts, deets about the flick's development and other "rare" goods. At launch, Warner will offer classics like Casablanca, Ben-Hur, An American in Paris and North by Northwest -- all available now on iBooks, Kindle and B&N's NOOK for $10 each. Those eager to flip through the antique pages can head to the source below, where you'll be able to grab the version best suited for your device.
Barnes & Noble's Nook e-readers getting NFC, says CEO
Now that all of that Microsoft-related news is out in the open, Barnes & Noble's CEO William Lynch is ready to talk about the future. Fortune sat down with him to discuss the deal and what's next for the Nook. The answer to the latter is, at least in part, near-field communication. The exec talked up plans to begin embedding NFC chips into the readers, offering up a bit of synergy between physical books and their electronic counterparts. Says Lynch: We can work with the publishers so they would ship a copy of each hardcover with an NFC chip embedded with all the editorial reviews they can get on BN.com. And if you had your Nook, you can walk up to any of our pictures, any our aisles, any of our bestseller lists, and just touch the book, and get information on that physical book on your Nook and have some frictionless purchase experience. As for whether that functionality will actually be hitting this year, Lynch offered up a big old "maybe."
Microsoft invests $300 million in new Barnes & Noble 'strategic partnership'
Well, that's an interesting end to all those legal tussles. Microsoft and bookseller Barnes and Noble have decided to buddy-up in the face of competitors like Amazon and Apple. The strategic partnership -- Microsoft loves 'em -- would come in the form of a new Barnes and Noble subsidiary that deals with all things Nook, in addition to its education business. The bookseller would hold onto the lion's share at 82.4 percent, with the remaining 17.6 percent in Microsoft's control. The first benefit posited would be a Nook app for the incoming Windows 8. Barnes and Noble's Nook Study software would also benefit from a friendly boost on all that Windows hardware. Maybe all those other legal matches will resolve in similar warm-and-fuzzy business hook-ups -- but we doubt it.
Sun stops shining on E Ink Holdings: company reports first loss in two years
E Ink Holdings made a loss of over $25 million last quarter, despite supplying its backlight-free panels to popular e-readers like the Kindle and the Nook. Why the poor showing after ten quarters of solid money-making? The company's accountants blame "off-season effects" and "inventory adjustments" by customers, which may simply be corporatese for "the screens aren't selling so well." Overall revenue tumbled 63 percent compared to the same period in 2011 and the outlook remains "conservative" -- although it's hard to believe that everyone suddenly wants to stay indoors and stare at pixels.
3M launches its Cloud Library e-book lending service, hardware and apps in tow
Almost a year after it was first announced 3M's Cloud Library e-book lending service is getting a proper rollout. Introduced today at a beta site in St. Paul, the system is now ready for its kiosks, e-readers and apps to hit the hands and eyes of library patrons. The touch-based Discovery Terminals allow catalog browsing for visitors and selections can be checked out -- along with 3M's eReaders -- like other library materials. Already have a mobile device? E-books will play nicely with your iPad, Nook or Android device via the Cloud Library app. If you find yourself needing to read a bit on your computer, checked out items are compatible with both PCs and Macs as well. "With this technology, we are able to offer cutting-edge technology to all our patrons, whether they own their own e-reader or not," said Kit Hadley, director of the Saint Paul Public Library. A handful of other library systems across the US have also implemented the service. The list of those sites and all details on the introductory period await your click in the PR below.
