E-Books

Google Book Settlement Gets Preliminary Approval; Hearing in 2010

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 20, 2009 - 11:02am.

New York - The judge overseeing the settlement agreement between Google (NASD: GOOG) and authors and publishers over the direction of its massive book-scanning project has pushed a hearing on a revised settlement back to Feb. 18, while at the same time granted preliminary approval to the new deal. "The preliminary approval order sends a positive initial message; this agreement promises to benefit readers and researchers, and enhance the ability of authors and publishers to distribute their content in digital form," Google said in a statement.

Wall Street Journal Counts 30,000 Kindle Subscribers

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 19, 2009 - 12:00pm.

New York - News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) The Wall Street Journal currently counts around 30,000 subscribers via Amazon's (NASD: AMZN) Kindle e-book reader, PaidContent reported, citing comments made by Down Jones head Les Hinton on Thursday. With a subscription fee of $15 per month, that translates to about $5.4 million in annual revenues -- although PaidContent notes that Dow Jones's cut would be less than half that figure.

Google, Authors Submit Revised Book Settlement to Court

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 16, 2009 - 11:49am.

New York - A revised settlement agreement was submitted on Friday, in the closely-watched case of Google (NASD: GOOG) and the authors who sued the company over the details of its plans to scan the world's books into a digital index. The revised settlement addresses many key issues raised by the U.S. Justice Dept., copyright and consumer advocates, although some concerns remain. Under the agreement, the scanning of out-of-print books will now be limited to works published in the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia.

Google Book Settlement Parties Ask Court for Extension

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 9, 2009 - 9:47am.

New York - Facing a deadline to submit a revised settlement agreement on Monday, attorneys hammering out a new deal between Google (NASD: GOOG) and authors and publishers over Google's massive book-scanning project have asked the judge for an extension until Friday, The New York Times reports.

Marvell, E Ink Introduce New E-book Reader Chip

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 3, 2009 - 9:02am.

Santa Clara, Calif. - Marvell, a provider of storage, communications and consumer silicon technology, and partner E Ink on Tuesday announced the launch of a new line of semiconductors aimed at the e-book reader market.

Amazon Releases Free "Kindle for PC" Application

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 22, 2009 - 12:09pm.

Seattle - Amazon.com (NASD: AMZN) on Thursday released a new, free software application that will allow users to read books purchased from its Kindle Store on a PC. The Kindle Store offers over 360,000 titles for $9.99 or less. The Kindle for PC application includes Amazon's Whispersync feature, which will save and sync bookmarks in e-books across devices, including the Kindle, iPhone and now PC. Separately, the company knocked $20 off the price of the international version of its Kindle 2 e-book reader, which will now sell for $259 -- the same price tag sported by the version sold in the U.S.

HP to Print Paperback Copies of Digitized, Out-of-Print Books

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 21, 2009 - 10:52am.

Palo Alto, Calif. - HP (NYSE: HPQ) on Wednesday announced a new service that will print on-demand bound copies of digitized, out-of-print works. The HP BookPrep service launches with a deal to make some 500,000 public domain titles from the University of Michigan available. HP estimates that a 250-page paperback book will cost about $15 on BookPrep, the Associated Press reported.

Barnes & Noble Unveils $259 Nook E-book Reader

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 20, 2009 - 9:59am.

New York - Bookseller Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS) on Tuesday introduced its own e-book reader device, the $259 Nook, which features both a six-inch reading display and a color touch-screen display with virtual keyboard, The New York Times reported. The Nook sports both Wi-Fi connectivity, and a link to AT&T's 3G wireless network for browsing and purchasing e-book titles.

Google to Launch Its Own E-book Store Next Year

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 15, 2009 - 10:04am.

Frankfurt, Germany - Google (NASD: GOOG) announced on Thursday that it plans to open its own online e-book store next year, Google Editions, that will deliver e-books to any device with a Web browser. The store will launch with around a half-million titles, secured from publishers with whom Google already has relationships.

Gizmodo Posts Images of Barnes & Noble E-book Reader

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 14, 2009 - 11:39am.

San Francisco - Gadget site Gizmodo has published what it claims are images of the forthcoming e-book reader device from Barnes & Noble, which sports both a Kindle-like, black-and-white e-ink screen, and a multi-touch color screen similar in functionality to the iPhone. Barnes & Noble is also planning a "major" press event for next Tuesday, the site noted. Gizmodo said that "a source from within" provided the images and details, available at the link below.

tags: E-Books | Publishing | Books | Barnes & Noble |

Amazon Dumps Overseas Web Access on International Kindle

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 13, 2009 - 11:05am.

San Francisco - Amazon.com's (NASD: AMZN) new international version of its Kindle e-book reader will not feature wireless Internet connectivity, at least at launch, Wired.com reports.

WSJ: Barnes & Noble Developing E-book Reader Device

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 9, 2009 - 9:12am.

New York - Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BN) is preparing to release its own e-book reader device, which will sport a 6-inch touch-screen from E-Ink and a virtual keyboard, The Wall Street Journal reported. The device could go on sale as early as next month, sources told The Journal.

Amazon Debuts International Kindle; Cuts U.S Price to $259

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 7, 2009 - 9:44am.

Seattle - Amazon.com (NASD: AMZN) on Wednesday introduced an international version of its Kindle e-book reader device, the which will come bundled with AT&T 3G network coverage available in 100 countries, and retail for $279 when its ships on Oct. 19. Over 85 U.S. and international newspapers will be available in the Kindle Store, including La Stampa (Italy); El País (Spain); El Universal (Mexico); O Globo (Brazil); The Daily Telegraph (UK); Le Monde (France); and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (Germany).

Google Book Settlement Hearing Rescheduled for Nov. 9

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 7, 2009 - 9:29am.

New York - The judge overseeing the proposed settlement between Google (NASD: GOOG) and authors over the company's creation of a digital books archive has set a new hearing date of Nov. 9 to discuss a revised settlement plan, the Associated Press reports. A hearing had been scheduled for Oct. 7, U.S. District Judge Denny Chin agreed to a postponement in light of criticism from the Justice Dept. and others in opposition to the deal as it was structured at the time.

Amazon Pays $150K to Settle Suit Over Kindle E-book Deletions

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 5, 2009 - 9:56am.

Seattle - Amazon.com (NASD: AMZN) has paid $150,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by two Kindle e-book reader device owners over the company's remote deletion of their copies of George Orwell's "1984."

Franklin Electronic Publishers Agrees to Merger, Will Delist

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 1, 2009 - 7:50am.

Burlington, N.J. - Franklin Electronic Publishers, a distributor of e-books that has sold over 41 million units to date, announced that its board has approved a proposed merger with Saunders Acquisition Corporation, a firm owned by current senior management of the company.

Judge Postpones Hearing on Google Book Settlement

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 28, 2009 - 6:45am.

New York - The judge overseeing the contentious settlement between Google (NASD: GOOG) and the Authors Guild on Friday delayed a planned Oct. 7 hearing indefinitely, as the two sides confer with the Justice Department to alter the deal to allay a range of concerns. "The current settlement agreement raises significant issues, as demonstrated not only by the number of objections, but also by the fact that the objectors include countries, states, nonprofit organizations and prominent authors and law professors," U.S. District Court Judge Denny Chin wrote in his ruling.

Best Buy, Verizon Team to Sell iRex E-book Reader Device

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 23, 2009 - 8:46am.

New York - Electronics and media retail store chain Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) has partnered with mobile network operator Verizon (NYSE: VZ) to sell the iRex, a European e-book reader made by a unit of Philips (NYSE: PHG), in the U.S. market.

Justice Dept. Opposes Google Book Settlement in Current Form

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 21, 2009 - 7:22am.

Washington - The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday urged the court overseeing Google's (NASD: GOOG) settlement with authors to reject the deal in its current form, "due to concerns of the United States regarding class action, copyright and antitrust law." The Justice Dept. said that "the partied should be encouraged to continue their productive discussions to address those concerns."

European Lobby, U.S. State AGs Oppose Google Book Deal

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 18, 2009 - 9:53am.

Los Angeles - A Microsoft-sponsored (NASD: MSFT) lobby group in Europe has asked the European Commission to investigate antitrust concerns related to Google's (NASD: GOOG) proposed $125 million settlement with authors empowering it to create a digital books index, Reuters reported. ICOMP, whose members also include PR firm Burson-Marsteller, and the U.K's Premier League, Foundem and Double Jump Media, said in a statement that the settlement "is unacceptable in its present form as it violates the rights of copyright holders and authors and would lead to a de facto monopoly" in areas like search advertising.

Google Book Settlement Gets Preliminary Approval; Hearing in 2010

Wall Street Journal Counts 30,000 Kindle Subscribers

Google, Authors Submit Revised Book Settlement to Court

Google Book Settlement Parties Ask Court for Extension

Marvell, E Ink Introduce New E-book Reader Chip

Amazon Releases Free "Kindle for PC" Application

HP to Print Paperback Copies of Digitized, Out-of-Print Books

Barnes & Noble Unveils $259 Nook E-book Reader

Google to Launch Its Own E-book Store Next Year

Gizmodo Posts Images of Barnes & Noble E-book Reader

Amazon Dumps Overseas Web Access on International Kindle

WSJ: Barnes & Noble Developing E-book Reader Device

Amazon Debuts International Kindle; Cuts U.S Price to $259

Google Book Settlement Hearing Rescheduled for Nov. 9

Amazon Pays $150K to Settle Suit Over Kindle E-book Deletions

Franklin Electronic Publishers Agrees to Merger, Will Delist

Judge Postpones Hearing on Google Book Settlement

Best Buy, Verizon Team to Sell iRex E-book Reader Device

Justice Dept. Opposes Google Book Settlement in Current Form

European Lobby, U.S. State AGs Oppose Google Book Deal

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