[LINK] ebook news: Kindle books via libraries; Kobo; ipad sales; color Nook

Tue Apr 26 17:19:50 AEST 2011

Publishers Lunch

Amazon Will Finally Work with OverDrive to Let Library Patrons 
"Borrow" Kindle Books
Library ebook lending looks ready to receive a significant lift as 
Amazon announced this morning that they will finally work with 
Overdrive to enable Kindle ebooks for library patrons. The program 
launches at an unspecified date "later this year." They say the 
initiative will work on all Kindle devices as well as on their free 
ereading apps. (Up until now, Amazon's Kindle files have been 
incompatible with Overdrive's system, which relies on EPUB and Adobe 
Content Server--neither of which is supported by Amazon. Neither 
party indicated immediately which one is changing their processes to 
make this technically possible.)

If a library user creates annotations or bookmarks in a borrowed 
ebook, those will be preserved by Amazon and available if the title 
"is checked out again or that ebook is purchased from Amazon" by the 
same person (which may be why Amazon uses the term "customer" rather 
than patron in their announcement). While it's nifty functionality, 
some librarians are already raising concerns that this means Amazon 
would be tracking patrons' borrowing and reading habits. In the past 
libraries have fiercely defended the privacy of such records.

 From a business standpoint, whenever the program launches both the 
Kindle option and the attention around it should significantly 
increase the level of interest in ebook lending through libraries. 
Which in turn will only increase publishers' scrutiny of revised 
business models for how (and if) they provide ebooks to libraries.
----------
Kobo Finalizes $50 Million Financing
Kobo has closed an investment round that raised $50 million in new 
financing. For those paying attention, note that it's actually the 
second announcement about the same funding round. In early March they 
disclosed new financing led by Fidelity Investments, without 
releasing the amount raised. Tuesday's announcement revealed the 
amount, but pretended to keep Fidelity's name of out it.

Indigo invested $13 million, and current investor Cheung Kong 
Holdings also contributed a nominal amount, with Fidelity adding 
approximately $37 million. Indigo's investment has been diluted from 
58 percent down to 51 percent, so they still have control of the 
company. Indigo's founder and CEO, and the chair of Kobo Heather 
Reisman said "this additional investment will foster continued 
explosive growth for Kobo."
---------
Apple reported quarterly sales after the close of the market 
yesterday. The company says they sold 4.7 million iPads during the 
period, which includes the first two weeks of sales for the iPad2. 
And with a reduction of units in the supply chain, the company said 
they had an implied sell-through to consumers of 5.1 million iPads.

Analysts were projecting somewhat higher sales, but the company 
indicated they had trouble making enough of the new version and 
expect strong sales in the next quarter. "The demand on iPad 2 has 
been staggering," said coo Timothy Cook. He noted, "We sold every 
iPad 2 that we could make during the quarter and would have liked to 
end the quarter with more channel inventory."

Apple did not update the number of iBookstore downloads--staying with 
the over 100 million that they have cited previously. Total/lifetime 
iOS device sales are now nearly 189 million units.
----------
Comprehensive Nook Color Update Includes Email, Apps, and Social 
Networking, Plus New Ad Campaign
This morning Barnes & Noble confirmed what had been rumored over the 
weekend a major firmware update to Nook Color (now on Android's 
2.2/Froyo OS) that makes the device a lot more like a proper tablet, 
with new apps, additional illustrated and enhanced ebooks, the 
ability to check email, more magazines for sale, and social 
networking. Nook Email allows users to check a variety of accounts, 
while social networking service Nook Friends allows for book-swapping 
and targeted library lending, "liking" titles and viewing other 
customer recommendations.

"Frankly most of the things they have asked us about are very popular 
tablet features," Barnes & Noble Director of Developer Relations 
Claudia Romanini said in an interview last week with 
<http://click.publisherslunchdaily.com/cp/redirect.php?u=NTAwNnwzNDQ4OXxqd2hpdEBqYW53aGl0YWtlci5jb218NTQ2OTMzfDc2MDIyMjM2fDc3NDEzNA==&id=8259762>AllThingsD, 
with email being "the single most requested feature."

OK! Magazine, ESPN The Magazine, Travel + Leisure, and National 
Geographic Kids are among the most recent additions to the magazine 
section, while the new apps section will start with 125 free and paid 
apps, such as games like Angry Birds, Uno, and More Brain Exercise, 
the Epicurious recipe app, as well as apps from Lonely Planet 
Phrasebooks and Goodreads. BN says they now offer more than 350 Nook 
Kids digital picture books, 12,000 chapter books and 225 enhanced 
e-books for sale.

BN's new ad firm Mullen also produced its first one-minute spot for 
the Nook Color, which uses the slogan "Read Forever" and shows a 
variety of actors reading with the device (as well as a few token 
shots of print books, including the obligatory "reading in the bath" 
shot) as a voice-over artist reads Dr. Seuss's "the Cat in the Hat." 
A shorter version of the commercial will appear starting today with 
the longer spot appearing on Thursday during "American Idol," while 
print ads will appear in the NYT and USA Today.

Conspicuously and deliberately missing from the commercial is any 
sign of BN's physical stores. "We really wanted to reach out to all 
the readers and get the message out about how wonderful reading is," 
vp digital and channel marketing for BN.com Sasha Norkin told the 
NYT. "The world changes, technology changes, but people love to read, 
and we're giving them the best way to read."
<http://click.publisherslunchdaily.com/cp/redirect.php?u=NTAwNnwzNDQ4OXxqd2hpdEBqYW53aGl0YWtlci5jb218NTQ2OTMzfDc2MDIyMjM2fDc3NDEzNA==&id=8259763>Nook 
Color 
<http://click.publisherslunchdaily.com/cp/redirect.php?u=NTAwNnwzNDQ4OXxqd2hpdEBqYW53aGl0YWtlci5jb218NTQ2OTMzfDc2MDIyMjM2fDc3NDEzNA==&id=8259763>Update

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
jwhit at janwhitaker.com
blog: http://janwhitaker.com/jansblog/
business: http://www.janwhitaker.com

Our truest response to the irrationality of the world is to paint or 
sing or write, for only in such response do we find truth.
~Madeline L'Engle, writer

_ __________________ _