Tag: EBOOKS

So e-books are all the rage these days. It's the wave of the future! Apart from dedicated devices such as the Nook or Kindle, there are various cross-platform software implementations, such as the Kindle App for Windows and iPhone, etc. One of the most interesting attempts is the Ibis reader, which is actually an HTML5-driven website, which is almost as cross-platform as you can get. I say ...

Back in November Jay told us about an ebook reader called Ibis Reader that would get around Apple's app store by being built as a web app rather than a native iPhone app. Well, Ibis Reader is now available, and the implementation is beautiful. As expected, Ibis Reader is not a native iPhone (or Android) application, but rather is a mobile-optimized web application that makes use of HTML5 offline ...

Amazon is taking another step at showing that Kindle is a platform rather than simply a piece of hardware for reading eBooks. The company has already released Kindle eBook software for the iPhone and Windows PCs. And today Amazon launched a beta version of a BlackBerry Kindle application. In other words, you don't need an Amazon Kindle in order to find, purchase, download, or read eBooks from ...

Just days after Amazon.com decided to stop selling all books by Macmillan and its imprints, the online book giant has relented and added buy buttons back to Macmillan titles. The publisher vs. retailer dispute arose when Macmillan wanted to raise prices on its eBooks to $15, which is well over what Amazon currently charges (and, arguably, more than consumers will pay). You can get the details of ...

For the last few days Amazon and Macmillan have been waging a tiny little war over the future of eBook pricing. You may have missed it, because unlike most wars, the stakes in this battle aren't all that visible. Digital book sales still make up a relatively small portion of the digital media world and pale in comparison to the growing markets for digital music and movie downloads. But as eBook ...

You may have heard that Apple introduced a new tablet computer called the iPad today. Our friends at Engadget are covering the heck out of the announcement. But one aspect I wanted to touch on was the launch of a new application designed specifically for the iPad, called iBooks. Basically iBooks is like iTunes for eBooks. Apple has reached deals with 5 major book publishers and starting today ...

Don't get me wrong, I know that people have been posting digital copies of copyrighted books online for decades. While recent technological advancements have made digital distribution of music and movie files easier than ever before, eBooks are tiny, tiny files. It didn't take very long to download a book over a 56k connection. But it's not internet bandwidth or digital distribution channels ...

Amazon has just launched a new program that addresses my number one reason for not buying a Kindle or most other dedicated eBook readers: Why would anyone spend $250 or more on a device that only reads eBooks? After all, you don't need any money at all to read a book. Just pop on over to the closest library and you'll find thousands of books that you can read without paying a dime. Anyway, ...

As expected, Amazon has launched a version of its Kindle eBook reader for Windows. The software is available for Windows XP, Vista, and 7, with a Mac version "coming soon." As an eBook reader, Kindle for the PC is pretty no-frills. It lets you adjust fonts, read books, and create bookmarks. And that's about it. But the software can also synchronize with other devices. So if you have Amazon's ...

Amazon has been adding public domain titles to the Kindle eBook store at a frantic pace over the past few days. As of this afternoon, there were over 18,000 titles in the eBook store available as free downloads. Most are public domain works, which means they are no longer protected by copyright. Of course, Amazon's in the business of selling books, not giving them away. But by giving away ...

Google Book Downloader is a free utility that lets out download any book that's available in "full view" from Google Books. Of course, most of these books also feature download links right on the web page, but Google Books Downloader lets you queue up multiple jobs and convert all of the downloaded books to PDF files. The application is available for Windows and requires Microsoft .NET ...

There's been a lot of buzz this week about Sony's new eBook readers which will go head to head with the Amazon Kindle. But it's not all about hardware. Sony also released version 3.0 of its eBook Library desktop software this week. It's available for Mac (for the first time) as well as Windows, and it lets you purchase, download, organize, and read eBooks whether you have a Sony digital eBook ...

It's been 25 years since 1984 came and went. But if you ever needed proof that we're living in a world where Big Brother is watching, all you need to do is look at Amazon's recent actions regarding the book, 1984. Basically, the company was offering a digital version of the title in its online Kindle store, but at the book publisher's request, Amazon pulled the title. And not just from the store, ...

When Amazon created an iPhone app based on its popular e-reader device, the Kindle, it became clear that $10 books were as big or bigger than $400 readers in Amazon's business model. By allowing reading on other devices, Amazon has been able to make sales to customers who would never have bought a Kindle, and that's worked so well on the iPhone that other devices and book formats are now on the ...

Scribd has been providing a quick and easy way to share documents over the web for a while. Now the company is hoping to move into the eBook arena with the Scribd Store, which lets you purchase, read, download or print premium content. This week publisher Simon & Schuster announced plans to bring 5,000 titles from its eBook library to the Scribd Store. User will also be able to browse ...