Monthly Archive: April 2011

Los Angeles Times Technology: E-book Sales Triple from a Year Ago, Now Top-Selling Book Format
 “E-book sales are piling up fast. In February, a couple of months after huge numbers of readers got electronic reading devices for the holidays, sales of e-books reached $90 million — more than tripling the number from a year earlier, according to the Assn. of American Publishers. Although that number was still smaller than sales for all paper formats combined, it outstripped any single print format — hardcover, trade paperback or mass market paperback…” 

Publishers Weekly: Kobo Gets $50 Million in New Financing
“E-book and e-reader retailer Kobo has received a financial shot in the arm with $50 million in new financing, including $13 million from its majority shareholder Indigo Books and Music, Canada’s largest book retailer. Kobo said the balance came from “leading institutional investors,” which it did not identify, and Cheung Kong Holdings, one of the original investors in Kobo when it was spun off from Indigo in late 2009. As a result of the new investments, Indigo’s ownership has decreased somewhat, but it maintains its controlling interest at 51%…” 

PRnewswire: CourseSmart Launches the First eTextbook Application for Android Devices
“CourseSmart, the world’s largest provider of eTextbooks and digital course materials, further expanded its mobile footprint today with the launch of CourseSmart for Android 1.0, a mobile application specifically designed for the Android Operating System (AOS). Students and faculty across the country can now access all of their eTextbooks on their AOS-enabled smart phones, netbooks and tablets. “Increasing demand for mobile access to eTextbooks coupled with the exponential growth of Android-run devices has led to record numbers of students and faculty embracing mobile devices across their institutions,” said Sean Devine,

NPR: Cheaper Than A Tablet: ‘Rooting’ Your E-Reader
“What if you could buy a tablet with a slightly smaller screen than the iPad for half the price or even less? Hackers have been turning e-book readers into tablets for cheap Internet on the go. In fact, San Francisco hacker Mitch Altman doesn’t read e-books on his Kindle at all. He only uses its Web browser to access maps and restaurant listings when he’s traveling. The Amazon Kindle has 3G data connectivity so that readers can download e-books anywhere there is cell service. As many Kindle owners know, the device can connect to Google and Wikipedia to look up things mentioned in e-books, too. That connectivity is all the opportunity hackers need to turn an e-book reader into a tablet…” 

Bloomberg: Amazon.com to Sell Kindle Digital Reader With Ads for $114
“Amazon.com Inc., the world’s largest online retailer, unveiled a $114 version of its Kindle electronic-book reader that requires customers to view ads in exchange for getting the lower price. The new device, called Kindle With Special Offers, costs $25 less than the current lowest-priced model, the Seattle-based company said in a statement. It will be available May 3 at Best Buy Co. and Target Corp. stores, in addition to Amazon’s site. Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos is counting on the Kindle, unveiled in 2007 for $399, to capitalize on digital-book demand. With the new approach, he gains a bigger price advantage over rivals and opens an additional source of ad revenue…”

TheBookseller.com: Continuum Launches eBook Store
“Independent publisher Continuum has launched an e-book store, featuring a selection of titles across Continuum’s humanities, education, and religion lists. Around 2,000 titles will be available for download in Adobe PDF and ePUB formats on the platform by the end of April, with that total expected to rise to 3,500 titles by June. The publisher plans to release the majority of its frontlist titles on the store simultaneously with print edition publication. The store is currently open to individual customers, with the publisher planning to offer packages aimed at academic institutions from the end of June…” 

PRnewswire: XanEdu Announces New Version of Industry-Leading iPad App for Higher Education
“XanEdu, the leading faculty-preferred provider of custom course materials and textbooks, announces the release of its new XanEdu iPad App version 1.5. Advanced collaboration features and search capabilities enable students to study smarter, save time, and improve team collaboration. The new version is available now for free download in the App Store…” 

PRnewswire: The Princeton Review Releases SAT® Score Quest™ App for iPad
“The Princeton Review, a national leader in education services and test preparation, today announced its SAT Score Quest App for iPad is now available on the App Store. SAT Score Quest is built upon The Princeton Review’s 30 years of expertise in preparing college-bound students for the SAT while leveraging the large, high-resolution display and Multi-Touch capabilities of iPad…”