TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home

Archive for the ‘TeleRead contributor’ Category

By a TeleRead Contributor

I received the following first class report from Rachel who has visited the Book Fair. She checked out the readers on display and this is what she found:

Hi Paul!

Just returned from Frankfurt. Didn’t have internet access while I was there (the Messe wanted me to pay 49€ per day for wifi, but I wasn’t that desperate), so I’m glad to be home.

I had an opportunity to check out three e-reader booths while I was there: IREX (with their two readers), Bookeen, and the new German txtr. I got some photos, too. I spoke with the folks at the different booths. My interactions were, I think, indicative of the differences between the companies themselves. At IREX, I spoke with Willem Endhoven, who is the VP of Marketing and Business Development of this Dutch company. It felt more like a formal interview than just a conversation, and he got a bit defensive when I asked him about the future of dedicated e-readers. He basically told me that if reading is what’s important to the consumer, than a dedicated e-reader will provide a high-quality reading experience. The US-only and consumer-aimed IREX is very sleek and appealing, though I’m not a stylus fan. Back in August, IREX and the Barnes & Noble eBookstore announced a partnership, but I wonder how that will be impacted by the introduction of the Nook. IREX says their new focus will be a color e-reader for 2011 (which they will need to pull forward if they want to remain competitive). Their professional reader is huge – rather like Bookeen’s old school reader that they use as an example of how far they’ve come. It’s very cool that users can hand-write notes with it (an “unending notepad”) and use it as a tool (for folks in the book trade, academics, etc.) plus has wifi and Bluetooth connectivity, but it costs 699€ and isn’t very attractive. Still, it had many of the capabilities I’d like to see contained within a sleeker, smaller, slimmer exterior. Wait, what am I talking about again? Hmm. Anyway, one of the first lines in the handout I was given: “The start of IREX Technologies in 2004 is so inextricably linked to the invention of the first commercially produced eReader that the stories must be told as one.” Something IREX should consider, in regards to their marketing materials, is that no one really cares who did what when. We just want to know who will do what next. In any case, the booth seemed quite busy when I stopped by, though I’m not sure who was working vs visiting. Still, Willem assured me that it was practically dead compared to earlier traffic.
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By a TeleRead Contributor

Editor’s Note: This is from Johannes Haupt. I really like the idea of AA batteries. I hate carrying chargers; and what good do they do you if you are in the Bolivia and you lose the unit, as happened to me?. After that I try to use only stuff that contains plain old batteries. You will have no trouble getting an AA battery in La Paz or Port au Prince!  If you play the video you’ll hear them mention that they have a deal done with Barnes & Noble.  Parts of the video are in English. – Paul Biba

Hey:

Ectaco announced a quite extra-ordinary eBook Reader at current Frankfurt Book Fair. Like the Ectaco jetBook ($179 at newegg.com), Ectaco jetBook Lite has a transflective monochrome TFT-Display (5″).

The Device has an unusual form factor caused by the power supply which comes of 4 regular AA-Batteries (good for 23 hr reading). Ectaco guys at the booth told me it’s 7.5 Oz though it felt a bit heavier.

jetBook Lite will be available “very soon” in the US. Sales price is $149 which makes it the cheapest dedicated eReader in the market.

You can find pictures and a HD hands-on Video (feel free to embed it) here.

By Ted Treanor, publishing consultant

Editor’s Note: Here’s a contribution by digital publishing and eBook strategist Ted Treanor. His website is here and you can follow him on Twitter. Unfortunately the chart he refers to is copyrighted and I don’t think fair use will permit me to duplicate it. However you can find it at the Publishing Perspectives website. Paul Biba

The list [include chart of 20 co’s] of the top 20 publishers in the world shows a profoundly changing landscape in book publishing. The original post by Rüdiger Wischenbart at Publishing Perspectives in Germany, provides excellent analysis of the changes, and offers some forward thinking of the transformation of the publishing industry. Additionally, I’ve added my analysis.

Some publishers are fairing much better economically, while others are steadily sliding downward in revenue and in their global standing. The changing dynamics between the professional information, education and trade sectors has affected this year’s ranking. The good news is that publishers that have reinvented themselves (responded to market demand by listening to the customer) have done much better than most.

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By a TeleRead Contributor

Editor’s Note: This is reprinted, with permission, from L’Ombre del l’Olivier, The Shadow of the Olive Tree, being the maunderings of an Englishman on the Cote d’Azur. Paul Biba

Dear Publishers

Other than a select few (and you know who you are) that is,

As ebooks become more popular the question of ebook pricing is beginning to become more important. As more and more people get their Kindles and Sonys and the like the more they begin to notice that ebooks aren’t always cheap and that the price seems to vary in highly inconsistent ways.

The latest person to encounter this is Test Driver Liz over at SBTB:

During the media blitz for Tempt Me At Twilight the price of $14.99 was floated. This led to the very natural assumption that the book was probably going to be a trade paperback. Since Lisa Kleypas’s last two books were hardcover – a great deal right? Then, when the loyal reader of Ms. Kleypas is offered the e-book at $9.99 (or $12.99 depending on your e-tailer) it seems like something you can swallow. Sure, it’s more than a mass market, but it’s not as much as a hardcover and you won’t have to wait a year to read one of your favorite authors. Ok, let’s buy it!! So you do. And then you go to Target to buy some Cheerios. Cereal is cheaper there and we’re all watching our money these days.

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By a TeleRead Contributor

Editor’s Note: Many thanks to Nathan Groezinger for a first rate review. Nathan can be found at The EBook Reader.com and you can find otherSony reviews on the site here. Paul Biba

I have seen the future, and it’s all so obvious now.

Most people will own various dedicated reading devices—some small and portable for casual reading and others thin and flexible like paper for large periodicals—all capable of holding tens of thousands of books, textbooks, newspapers, and magazines. All this reading material will be wirelessly and instantly available to anyone owning such a device. Paper books will gather layer upon layer of dust, rendered useless, and bookcases will serve as clothes hangers and storage bins. Paper mills will be sold to the government and relegated to printing more stimulus money. Librarians will wander the streets, lost and confused.

While that future is still a ways off, there are a plethora of new dedicated reading devices coming onto the market in the coming months. Sony has been making e-book readers since 2003, and the PRS-300 Pocket Edition is their first attempt at a 5-inch e-book reader. One of the smallest e-readers on the market, it is 6.2” x 4.2” x 0.4” and weighs just 7.76 ounces.

The PRS-300 went on sale on August 25th for $199, the lowest price for a dedicated e-book reader to date. To accommodate such a low price the Pocket Edition lacks many features that other Sony Readers offer, but it’s not without its own merits.

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By a TeleRead Contributor

Previously we had reported on this talk, “Google, Libraries, and the Digital Future”, and I asked if any of our readers could attend and report back. Well, many thanks to Peter Meyers who did attend and wrote up a precis of Darnton’s talk. Peter Meyers is the associate publisher of the Missing Manual series at O’Reilly Media and here is his report:

Robert Darnton, head of the Harvard University Library, spoke at Columbia University last night on “Google, Libraries, and the Digital Future”. While much of his talk rehashed the by now familiar (at least to Teleread regulars) Google Books settlement and next month’s ruling, the most interesting part of his speech concerned the future of university libraries in the Age of Google. He was surprisingly, albeit cautiously, optimistic.

To begin with, despite his grave concerns about Google’s monopoly over a large portion of the world’s books, he seems resigned to a ruling next month in favor of the firm. To be sure, he presented a list of wished for elements in the judge’s ruling–ranging from the plausible (ongoing monitoring of prices for non-free titles in Google Books) to the admittedly utopian (turning the entire collection into a national digital library). But I sensed an undercurrent of resignation from Darnton that suggests he isn’t holding his breath. And I should also mention that he gave a nod to the great public service that a thriving Google Books could provide, especially to people who don’t have access on a regular basis to big libraries like those at Columbia and Harvard. (more…)

By a TeleRead Contributor

Editor’s note: Slightly edited, here is Part Two of Luke Bergeron’s series from his blog mispeled. Three more parts are on the way. – Paul Biba

How can self-published e-books become a “legitimate” way to publish? In particular, what if you want to list your self-published e-books on your resume?

The options below all have their pros and cons. I’ve listed them to be as complete as possible, not to advocate them all.

Several people in the publishing industry commented on these ideas; and ahead, with permission, I’ll reproduce remarks from Cory Doctorow, the author and blogger. He has successfully used free e-books to promote his traditionally printed works.

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By a TeleBlog Contributor

Editor’s note: here is a very interesting article by Steve Weber, which is reprinted, with his permission, from his website, Weber Books. One of the nice things about this gig is that I learn so much new and interesting stuff. Thanks, Steve! PB

Quick, how many copies of your books sold this month?

Most authors know their Amazon Sales Ranks, but few can tell you how many books have sold, and where.

Amazon’s ranks are the poor man’s Nielsen BookScan, they reveal the rate at which a title sells relative to competitors. But if you want real, hard numbers — how many copies sold and where people bought them, you need BookScan.

Remember those checkout scanners at your local Barnes & Noble? BookScan is watching. Unlike some other bestseller lists, BookScan actually counts the cash readers pay for books.

BookScan is like an author’s credit report. Just as you can’t get a loan without a decent credit report, you can’t get another book deal if your BookScan numbers stink. In this blog post, editor Alan Rinzler explains why authors need BookScan, and how lousy numbers can ruin your career. (Problem is, most authors need a loan to pay BookScan’s subscription fee, $5000 a year for full access.)

BookScan includes sales from Amazon and the brick-and-mortar chains, covering about 75 percent of retail sales. But BookScan doesn’t reach one growing channel — big-box retailers like Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, and BJ’s Wholesale Club. They don’t report to BookScan.

Now, perhaps there’s an even bigger leak in the hose: eBooks. Until recently, they’ve been an afterthought, and BookScan hasn’t even bothered. The conventional wisdom was eBooks were stuck at 1 percent or 2 percent of the business.

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