Indigo to develop own ereader

As reported by Michael Cader: CEO of dominant Canadian retailer Indigo Heather Reisman disclosed after a TV interview today that the company is "in final talks with a number of e-book reader manufacturers and will be choosing one to launch as their own in Canada by the end of this year." Reisman indicated that neither Sony nor Amazon will be their partner.
CTV tech blog

E-Paper and LCD, beautiful together...

e-paper screen, a new kind of LCD technology that uses standard LCD fabrication tools to create an LCD/e-paper/transflective screen that displays full color in direct sunlight and takes very little power. This is not to be confused with the Kindle’s e-ink technology. Think of it as a new form of LCD that has e-ink properties - readability, low-power cost, and barely any lag - in full color.

Source: CrunchGear

Simon and Schuster creates Digital Publisher Role

Source: PublishersLunch, Thursday, April 23: Current Touchstone Fireside publisher Mark Gompertz will take on the new role of evp, Digital Publishing, reporting to Reidy. She notes, "not only are annual eBook sales rising faster than anticipated, but we are weekly being presented with new and exciting opportunities for making our content available, be it for transactional or marketing purposes. Gompertz "will lead and facilitate our digital publishing efforts, bringing an editorial perspective to work with our imprints, authors, agents, sales and marketing as we develop new business models and new forms in which our content, both original and previously existing, can be exploited digitally. His job will also entail originating and acquiring digital content, developing policies, working out processes, and educating and informing us so we can all learn as we seek new revenue streams." And he "will work side by side" with chief digital officer Ellie Hirschhorn and her staff.

How much does it cost to make a Kindle?

Source: PublishersLunch, Friday, April 24, 2009: On Wednesday iSuppli put out a press release saying they had calculated that price of the raw components that comprise the Kindle 2 as approximately $185 dollars, with the e-ink screen ($60) and wireless communication module ($40) the two most expensive parts. In a rare comment, cfo Thomas Szkutak insisted in a conference call including a NYT reporter that "the production cost was significantly higher than that." And that does not include allowances for wireless communication costs, packaging, freight, customer service, technology/development, advertising/promotion and many other costs (never mind the opportunity cost of the prominent site home page space given to Kindle over any other product offering, and the small loss per unit takes on new and bestselling Kindle books sold below actual publisher wholesale cost). For comparison, the AP says Apple's iPhone 3G costs $174 to build and lists for $599 to $699 without a service contract. (Amazon's gross margin across North American sales was 26.9 percent.)