Kindle and eBook Xmas Success to Fuel Change?

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The day after Christmas, Amazon announced that Kindle and its eBooks are still on top of the eReader/Book mountain. It's supposed to be the most "gifted" item in its company's history and that their eBooks outsold the physical ones. Granted they only compared the sales to themselves and not with their competitors, still it's a big achievement considering that selling physical books online is their main bread and butter.

Is this the start of something big or is it just a phase? Will people finally be convinced to leaving their hardbounds and paperbacks for eBooks? Some who have been collecting books for a long time aren't that too sold on eBooks: they are saying that it strains the eyes after reading for a few hours, while some are afraid of missing holding a thick book or even the smell of a freshly unpackaged novel. For me and all of the people who bought the Nook and clogged up the Barnes & Noble site will agree with me that it's time to shift mediums: from paper to electronic.

However, the main problem seems to be the availability of the medium: the eReaders. Most eReaders are in the West and most European countries while the bookworms of the East would have to sell their arm and leg just to get one. And don't even get me started with using credit cards to buy an online book.

The good thing is that the seeds have been sown, it may take quite a while, but eventually eBooks will take over and more trees will love the world for it.

Nook's Coming to You Soon...Hopefully

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So the Nook was a big hit, although it wasn't much to most tech bloggers after they were able to get their hands on one. I guess eventhough something isn't critically acclaimed doesn't mean that it won't sell. The problem now for Barnes & Noble is that it was too big of a hit: they are currently getting swamped by pre-orders that they were unable to supply their stores or send it to buyers in the appropriate time.

The original plan was to ship pre-orders by November 30 but that date was pushed back to December 7. It took a mere month for the entire order process to break down. Now a small number of pre-orders still haven’t arrived and most brick and mortar stores are sold out and even then they were only available in “higher volume” stores on December 7.

It's so big that it's giving Barnes & Noble a headache. However, don't fret if you're one of them as there's a silver lining in this dark cloud.

B&N is assuaging those customers whose pre-orders and early orders haven’t shipped with a $100 B&N gift certificate if the device doesn’t ship by December 23. The company wrote:“With our sincerest apologies, we will send you an e-mail notification on December 23rd with a $100 Barnes&Noble.com Online Gift Certificate.”

In my opinion, this is a win-win for both B&;N and the buyers. For the company, it shows how much a success their gadget is, for the buyers: they get a $100 Gift Certificate and a Nook (possibly early next year). However, there will be some negative effects as some can't hardly wait and have begun cancelling their order.

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Barnes & Noble misses opportunity to sell more

The Nook should be an immediate best seller but it seems to have a weird way of selling to customers. Barnes & Noble has more than 700 stores nationwide but only a select of them will be selling the eBook Reader in its stores.

"Instead, I was told as a customer, the booksellers will order a device for in-store customers from the BN.com website to be shipped to their home, much as the buyer could do online from home."

Good point, why go trek to a Nook-less Barnes & Noble store when you can do the same thing online? This leads to some people thinking that there's a shortage of actual devices since it will take a few days for the online purchases to get delivered to their house.

"Why they've chosen to go this route is a mystery to me—why would they want to add an extra step for consumers? We're not sure yet exactly which stores will be getting Nooks (or why—maybe a supply issue?); it's not a huge deal but it can't help the Nook's chances."

Nook's chances are already slim since its getting a wee bit crowded in the eBook Reader niche. Can this be a case of too early of a release? Is there a technical problem they're taking care of? Whatever the reason maybe if a product doesn't move fast enough then people may not be that patient enough to wait for them and transfer to another eBook Reader.

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Source (Gizmodo)

Kindle Strikes Back with "Kindle for PC"?

Amazon's got a big target on its back. Sony, Barnes and Nobles, etc. want a piece of the eBook Reader pie and  they're doing all they can to get it. So far, we haven't heard anything from Amazon, until today. Announcing the Kindle for PC! It is a Windows only (sorry Mac and Linux users) free program that allows you to read Kindle books on your PC.

"Kindle for PC is the perfect companion application for folks who own a Kindle or Kindle DX," said Ian Freed, Vice President, Amazon Kindle. "Kindle for PC is also a great way for people around the world to read the most popular books of today even if they don’t yet have a Kindle."

With Kindle for PC, readers can take advantage of the following features:

• Purchase, download, and read hundreds of thousands of books available in the Kindle Store
• Access their entire library of previously purchased Kindle books stored on Amazon’s servers for free
• Choose from over 10 different font sizes and adjust words per line
• Add and automatically synchronize bookmarks and last page read
• View notes and highlights marked on Kindle and Kindle DX
• Zoom in and out of text with a pinch of the fingers (Windows 7 users only)
• Turn pages with a finger swipe (available in a future release for Windows 7 users)

I'm still thinking how this would fight off the eBook Reader competitors as all it does is basically target those people without Kindle. I'm guessing that Amazon's focusing right now on eBook rather than Kindle 2 sales. Are they going to just let their competitors walk all over them?

Good luck to Amazon.

Price and availability to be announced soon.

Press Release

Nook's a Success and Alex is a Tease

eBook Readers are the it tech gadgets of this season as almost every big time tech company is dipping its hands into this niche market. We've got an update from the two that are making news right now.

Barnes & Noble's Nook is a critical success!

Barnes & Noble's eBook Reader, called the Nook, is out and it is making a splash--no, a tsunami--of an effect on the eBook Reader market. It's even being touted by Gizmodo as the one to beat Amazon's Kindle 2 with a post like 8 reasons why you can finally love eBook Readers.

"...the Nook makes even the relatively benign-looking Kindle 2 seem like it was beaten with an ugly stick."

As for the official specs, it was in the hastily pulled down Nook site. Good thing that Gizmodo was able to get a screenshot of it before it disappeared. As a bonus, it's also got a feature by feature comparison with the Kindle 2.

The success of a particular product doesn't depend on the features but on the sales that it generates. We've heard of so many critically acclaimed gadgets that failed to make a profit, hopefully that doesn't happen here. Only time (and sales) will tell...

Spring Design's Alex has a video!

With eBook Readers coming out of the woodwork and it's no surprise that the eBook Reader we mentioned last time, Spring Design's Alex, has a video of an actual working product!

Everything seems to be in good order: Android OS, the second screen, music speakers, etc. Looks swell!  My only complaint is that they could've used a better video camera and have a healthy presenter--he sounds like he had a really bad cold!

Still no news on when it'll be coming out.

Nook Source
Alex Source

eReaders coming: Nook and Alex

eBook Readers seem to be making a mark on its own as Amazon's Kindle is in danger of losing its stamp on being the top eReader on the block. Here are just a couple of them.

Barnes & Noble eReader

They may deny that they're developing an eBook Reader, called the Nook, but all signs (and advertisements) point to Barnes & Noble developing one.

According to the WSJ, the Barnes & Noble reader will be announced tomorrow at $259. The descriptions match our exclusive photos exactly. They found the device through a premature ad shown on the NYTimes website!

Accidental or a marketing strategy to whet the appetites of eBook lovers everywhere? The next question is whether it will have enough features and pricing that can go up against Sony's and Amazon's eReaders? So far it's supposed to have colored screens and on screen keyboards. Unfortunately, it will be priced at $259. Not enough to really rock the eBook market, but is possible to get enough attention from possible buyers.

SUPPOSEDLY, it will be available on Tuesday (which is a few hours from now), so it's just a waiting game then...

Spring Design's Alex

Another eBook Reader, called Alex from Spring Design, is coming to the scene shows a feature that the current eReaders don't have: dual screen.

Spring Design’s new design brings two screen to an ebook reader and not in the notebook fashion like Asus’ design.  The Spring Design device, Alex, will feature a 6” e-ink display for reading large blocks of text.  It will also feature a 3.5” LCD touchscreen below that screen that will be used for functions such as web browsing.  The bottom screen will be powered by Android.  The device will have Wi-Fi as well as a 3G data connection, though no carrier is named yet.  All we know so far is the name of the device, its features and design.

Is this eReader blurring the lines between laptops, netbooks, and eReaders with this extra screen? We'll see soon as new info on this device rolls in.

Barnes & Noble eReader Source
Dual-screen eReader Source

Barnes & Noble E-book Reader in the Works?

Image via CrunchBase

Rumors are circulating that Barnes & Noble, known as the Internet's largest bookstore, is developing an E-book reader.

With Sony, iRiver, and the still gigantic Kindle in the e-reader market do we really need another one? What's special about this one (supposedly)? The even bigger news regarding this particular rumored e-reader is that it will be powered by Android! Yes, the same OS that's been turning heads in the mobile phone industry today!

However, according to CNet Barnes & Noble is denying that they have one via a representative

"We have made no announcement of an e-book reader device," said Mary Ellen Keating, senior vice president of corporate communications and public affairs, pointing out that the company was already supporting a variety of e-book reader devices. However, she declined to comment specifically on whether Barnes & Noble was developing its own device.

Hmmm, are they or aren't they? According to the Wallstreet Journal and Engadget, they will be pushing this out by the Holidays. They even got a few details from their sources:

The device is expected to feature a six-inch screen from digital-paper maker E-Ink Corp. with touch input and a virtual keyboard, like the one used on Apple Inc.'s iPhone. The Barnes & Noble device is expected to also use a wireless connection to download books from the online e-book store that the books retailer unveiled in July, those people said.

If this is true then the Barnes & Noble e-reader should even be priced lower than it's competitors just because it's being powered by Android. Definitely something to watch out for this coming Holiday season.

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The iRiver Story: A New e-Reader

From the looks of it, a few months ago e-books was Amazon land, the Kindle was the only king of e-readers, and most customers were stuck with reading their favorite e-books on a few devices that Amazon allowed. Then came the challenge from Sony: three e-readers to cater to your wallet and wants, great discounts on bestselling e-books, and a library where you can rent e-books for free for at least 21 days. Kindle users will most likely take a look at the tag price disparity between the Kindle and Sony's e-readers and the prices of e-books available at the Sony store--how can you beat free anyway?

It looks like this move inspired a lot of other companies to try their luck in the e-reader business. iRiver, a company known for the its DVD and mp3 players in the past, will be rolling out its own e-book reader called The iRiver Story.

You won't find wireless downloading like Amazon and Sony offer in their devices, but the Story does support SDHC cards and a slew of useful formats without conversion: PDF, E-Pub, txt, e-comics and Microsoft Office (PowerPoint, Word and Excel docs).

From the looks of it, it's a Kindle clone. The price is not as competitive as the Sony's, but it can read more than a book though. The first ones to get will be Korea this month, while iRiver's still negotiating a deal with both the Europe and US publishers. We hope that they can cut the price lower than $300 to ensure some competitiveness in this market.

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Sony E-Book Reader Trifecta

Since Sony announced their foray into the Amazon cornered e-book niche market, they've been figured to be the one to push the behemoth from the top of the mountain--and it looks like they're on their way to actually doing it.

Sony introduces a third e-reader!

Sony called a press conference today to announce something connected to their e-readers: The Touch and The Pocket. We thought we had most of it covered already until they unleashed a THIRD e-reader to put the nail in the Kindle's coffin: The Reader Daily Edition.

The Reader Daily Edition gives consumers wireless access via AT&T's 3G mobile broadband network to Sony's eBook store from just about anywhere in the U.S. Book lovers will be able to browse, purchase and download books as well as select newspapers and magazines when and where they want. There are no monthly fees or transaction charges for the basic wireless connectivity and users still have the option to side load personal documents or content from other compatible sites via USB.

How much would you pay for free e-books?

And it doesn't end there, besides the e-books best sellers getting a big cut, Sony is also introducing The Library Finder: free access to a local libraries e-books. Yes folks, free e-books.

Today also marks the launch of Sony's Library Finder application. Sony, working with OverDrive (www.overdrive.com), the leading global digital distributor of eBooks and to libraries, will now offer visitors to the eBook Store by Sony easy access to their local library's collection of eBooks. Thousands of libraries in the OverDrive network offer eBooks optimized for the Sony Reader, and visitors can now find these libraries by typing their zip code into the Library Finder. Through the selected library's download website, visitors can check out eBooks with a valid library card, download them to a PC and transfer to their Reader. At the end of the library's lending period, eBooks simply expire, so there are never any late fees.

According to Gizmodo, there's a catch:

There aren't an unlimited number of ebooks—each library has an actual "stock" of ebooks (because the library had to pay for each copy). So, if they have a stock of 5 books, and they're all checked out, you have to wait in a queue for somebody else's book to expire when they hit the 21-day mark (when they automatically expire). When it's available, you get an email, and then you can check it out.

21 days of waiting for that e-book you've always wanted to read but can't, or won't, buy is good enough in my book!

I think our doubts from the earlier posts seem to be unfounded and most likely Sony will carve itself a niche in the e-book market. Most likely a lot of disgruntled and curious Amazon Kindle readers will try out the cheaper (and free!) features that Sony has to offer. It wasn't so long ago that the Kindle was one of the forerunners of the e-book revolution, now it looks so expensive, bloated, and restrictive. It seems Sony has taken the mantle off of Amazon this time.

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Source for Sony Virtual e-Library
Picture of Sony E-Readers