E-reader Petting Zoo: The PSP Brings Us a Menagerie of Toys and Devices
E-reading devices were shown off at the 2010 PSP Annual Meeting. Unfortunately, the iPad probably still dominated the setting, even in abstentia.
Two Updates: Amazon Buys to Build a SuperKindle, Google Parries Aardvark
Amazon and Google respond to competitive moves.
Who Controls Publisher Prices? Amazon Fires the First Shot, Then Forges a Bitter Truce
This weekend Amazon pulled all of MacMillan’s books, both electronic and paper, from their store due to a dispute over eBook pricing policies. Is this the first battle in the war for control of the publishing industry?
Things About the iPad That Already Annoy Me
OK, I’ve read enough — there are 5 things about the iPad that might just annoy me (and others).
Kids Increase Their Media Consumption, But Many Mysteries Remain
A Kaiser Foundation study finds that kids are consuming electronic media more than ever. But there are suprises in the data and potentially important caveats for scholarly publishers with an eye to the future.
Amazon’s Latest Moves: Is Bezos Conceding the e-Reader Space to Apple?
Is Amazon giving up on the Kindle? Maybe, maybe not. But it’s certainly being pressured in an area of publishing that has heated up quickly and almost counter-intuitively.
Highlights from This Week’s Comments in the Kitchen
Highlights from this week’s reader comments, pointing the way to dialog you might have otherwise missed. Also, let me know if you like this as a weekly feature.
The End of Kirkus Reviews: Gloom, Doom, and Sunshine
Kirkus Reviews is doomed. But for all the losses of old ways of discovering books, new ones keep cropping up. The future is bright for book publishing.
Doing the Kindle Math — Does Amazon’s Opacity Conceal a Shameful Truth?
Is the Kindle really a success? Do the vague and convoluted statements from Amazon about Kindle sales mean anything? The backlash against Amazon’s lack of transparency has apparently begun.
Fighting Fire with Fire — The Only Remaining Option?
The shift to the Systems Age is happening so fast and completely that publishers are left with only one option — fight fire with fire. Will they? Can they? Some examples show the way.
Some Memorable Dishes from the Kitchen in 2009
As 2009 comes to an end, here is a selection of entries that left an especially nice flavor on the palette.
Churn in the Book Space: Rational & Irrational Behavior Among Book Publishers
Two fiction publishers decide to delay release of their e-books, further marginalizing their books. Meanwhile, an STM book publisher gets it right.
A First Look at the Nook: An Also-Ran That Can Barely Get Out of the Box
The new Nook is over-packaged, and has design and technical issues that keep it from competing well with the Kindle. Too bad.
The Real-time Web May Kill the Radio Star — Unless Radio Toughens Up
The WSJ stance against Google reveals the power of the real-time Web and value-inertia among the ad sales people at WSJ, not predation by Google.
Is the Apple Tablet Being Previewed by “Sports Illustrated”?
“Sports Illustrated” is showing off a new reading tablet for TIME properties. Is it also a preview of an Apple tablet?