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

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.)

EINK Production,

EINK screen production ramps up

Taiwan-based Prime View International (PVI) has shifted over half of the LCD module (LCM) capacity at its Yangzhou plant in China to produce electrophoretic display (EPD) modules to meet increasing demand for electronic reading devices, according to company chairman Scott Liu.

PVI's Yanzhou plant has a monthly capacity of 1.6 million units for LCMs, but the company is stepping up its EPD production amid sluggish demand for LCD panel, market sources noted.

Source: digitimes.com

Challenges to Google/AAP/Author's Guild Lawsuit

With May 5 the deadline for filing objections to Google’s settlement with the AAP and the Authors Guild, the consumer advocacy group Consumer Watchdog has sent a letter to the Justice Department asking the department to delay the settlement, which still needs court approval. The letter cites two objections to the agreement: a so-called “most favored nation” clause and the mechanism to deal with orphan works. The group maintains that because the settlement was negotiated between Google and the AAP/authors, there was no one representing the public interest in what Consumer Watchdog calls an agreement that will transform publishing.

Source: PublishersWeekly

Online Piracy

Source: http://www.webware.com/8301-1_109-9960159-2.html A very interesting article with the co-founder of Scribd, an online file sharing network that has gotten a lot of attention for users posting copies of books. An except from the interview is as follows...

WW: This is off topic, but how fast do you guys pick up on content that has copyrights?

Alder: There are two ways, one is in our copyright software, so anything that's been taken down before gets automatically flagged as a copyright violation. So for example, we were getting Harry Potter books every single week. Now that the filter is up, if you tried to upload it you'd get a message that says 'you cannot put that up.' And then we also do anything that people notify us about, either users or through the DMCA. And then occasionally if something is really obviously copyrighted, like a book we remove it. We try not to police our own site though, because it's really hard to tell.

Smashwords Launches eBook Publishing Platform for Publishers and Authors

Smashwords, a new digital publishing startup, unveiled an ebook publishing platform for authors and publishers. The company began accepting applications for a limited number of beta testers at http://www.smashwords.com. Smashwords allows anyone to become a published ebook author in minutes. The site is ideal for full length novels, short fiction, essays, poetry, personal memoirs, non-fiction and screenplays. Authors receive 85% the net sales proceeds from their works, and retain full control over sampling, pricing and marketing. The site offers authors free viral marketing tools to build readership, such as percent-based sampling; dedicated pages for author profiles and book profiles; support for embedded YouTube book trailers, author interviews and video blogs; widgets for off-site marketing; reader reviews; and reader "favorite-ing."

Oprah Offers Free eBook Download

Oprah Winfrey Show has announced that a free downloadable version of Suze Orman's bestselling book WOMEN & MONEY (Spiegel & Grau) is available at Oprah.com for a limited time (two days). The PDF file was offered in both English and Spanish versions, and the site includes this message: "This book is copyrighted. You may view and download the file, but you may not copy the file or share or forward it to any other person.” This represents the first time Ms. Winfrey has offered an entire book for free to her viewing audience.

eBook Pricing

Source: http://radar.oreilly.com/archives/2007/12/bad_math_ebooks_kindle.html

Read this well thought out price analysis from Tim O'Reilly. A short excerpt follows...

"It's true that new price points can sometimes attract new readers -- that's what happened with the rise of the paperback. But note that as paperbacks became the dominant format, outselling hardbacks, prices rose substantially for both paperbacks AND hardbacks. They didn't keep falling. So if prices fall to $5 or less, as predicted, you can equally bet that they will rise if and when the electronic format becomes dominant.

What's more, I think that the idea that there's sufficient unmet demand to justify radical price cuts is totally wrongheaded. Unlike music, which is quickly consumed (a song takes 3 to 4 minutes to listen to, and price elasticity does have an impact on whether you try a new song or listen to an old one again), many types of books require a substantial time commitment, and having more books available more cheaply doesn't mean any more books read. Regular readers already often have huge piles of unread books, as we end up buying more than we have time for. Time, not price, is the limiting factor."

Fictionwise.com to support Sony and Amazon eBk readers

Source: http://mobilitysite.com > For Sony Reader just select “Sony Reader (LRF)” and for Kindle select “Kindle (AZW)” from the MultiFormat download menu. Kindle customers can even register their Kindle email address at Fictionwise and upload wirelessly with a single click from their bookshelf! (Amazon’s 10 cent wireless charges apply.
http://mobilitysite.com/2007/12/fictionwisecom-supports-amazon-kindle/

A kindling we go...

So, I've been using the Amazon Kindle for the past couple of days and I can safely say that the device is not a disruptive technology. The book publishing industry won't change over night because of the Kindle. It's a nice device, with some serious flaws, but lets start out with what I liked:

1. Wireless - very cool. I can have blogs, newspapers, magazines, books, all automatically update. That's a cool feature and something the Sony Reader can't do
2. Search - you can search within the content, book mark and annotate. Something the Sony Reader can't do
3. Onboard Dictionary (Oxford America Dictionary). The Kindle comes with the OAD and will search every word on a particualr line and give you the full OAD entry on the words in that line. I've already used this several times
4. Direct link to Wikipedia, although you have to search for a word first. I would have liked it if I could scroll to a particular line and choose the word or phrase I wanted to look up.

What I didn't like, at least things Amazon could have addressed/are not technology issues...

1. Pay to read blogs. This just seems dumb to me
2. Design - Amazon clearly shows that they are a retailer and not a gadget maker. The page turn button on the side of the device makes it almost impossible to hold the device without accidentally turning a page
3. It's got lots of buttons, which actually make the device intrusive to the reading experience. Bezos made a big point that the device should disappear when you are reading. The Kindle does a terrible job of that, Sony does a much better job
4. You have to email documents to the device or hook up a jump drive to read documents, no drag and drop to the device, plus Amazon charges you 10 cents for every document you email to the device

Amazon says that the wireless connection is part of the device cost and one reason why the device is so expensive, but the wireless isn't really free. Amazon is clearly trying to make back some of the cost of creating the network by charging for blogs, document transfers, etc. I have no idea how the math works out, but it feels like customers are getting nickel and dimed, which is terrible customer service.

I felt like the Sony Reader has a crisper screen, faster page turns, and is much more appealing device. for reading If Sony could figure out the wireless part or at least add a keyboard, a dictionary, and have search on the device, the Sony Reader would be the clear winner in my book. Some fun videos can be fount at http://technorati.com/videos/tag/ebook

Houghton Hits Cell Phones

Source: PublishersWeekly Article
Houghton Mifflin has signed with Mobifusion to deliver electronic versions of its books to cell phones. Joining the ranks of publishers like Avalon and Simon & Schuster—which already work with the tech company—Houghton will work with Mobifusion to deliver mobile-friendly versions of its books with some, according to a Houghton rep, featuring "added functionality." Initially the house will focus on generating mobile versions of its reference and children's titles.

E Ink shows off front-lit, flexible e-paper displays

E Ink Corp looks to have rolled into this week's FPD International show with a fair bit of new paper-replacing gear, including a number of prototypes that it's developed with some of its partner firms. In addition to the E Ink watch, the company showed off a new front-lit e-paper display developed by Alps Electric, which promises to let you get in some paper-less reading even in complete darkness. Also on display was a 9.7-inch e-paper display with an integrated flexible TFT substrate although, judging from the picture after the break courtesy of Tech-On, it doesn't appear to be completely flexible. It does boast a decent 1200 x 820 resolution, however, and it should actually be available relatively soon, with mass production reportedly set to get underway in the second quarter of 2008.

http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20071026/141374/

Motricity's eReader.com Launches Over-The-Air Delivery to Simplify eBook Delivery

The new eReader Pro for Windows Mobile technology will be offered for free by the company and Motricity has said they will continue to invest in its innovative eReader Technology and will support OTA delivery on additional operating systems in the near future. Alex Bloom (News - Alert), general manager of Motricity’s Smartphone operations said in a press release, “We are taking innovative steps to raise consumer adoption of eBooks by simplifying the customer’s experience. Currently, eBook consumers have to buy the book, download it onto a PC, connect the mobile to the PC and transfer the data. We’ve already seen through our experience with games, ringtones and other content types that making transactions simpler and more immediate helps increase consumer adoption. Reading eBooks is a new event for most consumers and we want to ensure that they have an easy and pleasurable initial experience. Over the years, we’ve seen that once someone tries an eBook, they are very likely to enjoy it and eBooks become part of their lifestyle while traveling, commuting and other on-the-go activities."

http://www.tmcnet.com/wifirevolution/articles/13175-motricitys-ereadercom-launches-over-the-air-delivery-simplify.htm

IBS survey reveals publishers are not fully prepared to handle digital content

A survey to find out if publishers are prepared for digital change, carried out at the Frankfurt Book Fair by IBS, has found that 23% of publishers answered with a resounding no. A further 64% have only made limited preparation and just 13% say they are fully prepared. The survey also revealed that 31% of publishers have no strategy for providing content in different formats. According to IBS, these survey results demonstrate the publishing industry’s continuing reservations about distributing digital content and the general confusion that exists in this area. http://www.ferret.com.au/articles/z1/view.asp?id=133767

Booker to Provide Free Downloads?

The Times reported yesterday that talks have been underway to offer all six of the Booker shortlisted books for free online, in their entirety. They note: "Negotiations are under way with the British Council and publishers over digitising the novels and reaching parts - particularly in Africa and Asia - that the actual books would not otherwise reach. Jonathan Taylor, chairman of The Booker Prize Foundation, said that the initiative was well advanced, although details were still being thrashed out."But the only publisher cited, Jonathan Cape deputy publisher Robin Robertson (where winner Anne Enright is published), expresses a preference for posting just a sample. And the newspaper gullibly passes along that, while Bookscan showed sales for THE GATHERING of 3,306 hardcovers and 381 paperbacks before the prize was given, "Enright's publisher said that the actual figure was 35,000, including sales in Europe." Times

Fujistsu Shows Color Ebook

Fujitsu has released its prototype color screen eBook reader called FLEPia “Ubiquitous Content Browser”. It has 4096 colors, 50 hour battery life and, with a 4gig memory card that can store 5000 books. The units, which incorporate speakers are just 12mm (half an inch) thick and update over WiFi or USB. The reflective display uses three colored panels, one each for red, green and blue, to push back three times as much light as normal reflective LCDs. The pages reportaly take a slow ten seconds to update. The resolution is low too, at 1024x768, the same as some laptops. These might be ironed out before the unit goes onto the open market. Right now, Fujitsu will sell you one as a "proof of concept". If you're a Japanese company, that is. Article

E Ink Raises $16 Million for Electronic Paper Displays

E Ink, a developer of electronic ink-based displays, has raised $16 million in Series B financing, PEHub.com reported, citing a regulatory filing.The company has now raised a total of over $130 million since launching in 1997. Cambridge, Mass.-based E Ink's technology is utilized on devices including Sony's Reader e-book display, in addition to watches, clocks, and public information displays and promotional signs.Shareholders include FA Technology Ventures, Intel Capital, Motorola, Special Situations Funds, Hearst Communications and Toppan Printing Co. Article

Web Comics with Ads on ComicMix

Launched earlier this year by a group of veteran comics editors and digital entrepreneurs, thecomics and pop culture news Web site ComicMix.com is about to start a new online publishing service. Beginning this week, ComicMix will publish a variety of serialized original comics online that will be supported by advertising. Fans can read the serialized comics for free and as each series ends, the works will be collected and released in trade paperback and hardcover editions.

ComicMix editor-in-chief Mike Gold, a comics packager, former group editor at DC Comics and a 30-year veteran of the comics industry, said ComicMix plans to use online technology to transform comics publishing by reducing publisher costs and retailer risk and cultivating new readers online. He said the site will use the Web to publish genres beyond superheroes, in an effort to attract readers to the site and ultimately to bricks-and-mortar comics shops and bookstores to buy print editions of works they've already sampled. Article

Sony Launhces 2nd Edition eBook Reader

Sony officially announced the second edition of their e-book Reader. The new edition will sell for approximately $300. It also has a capacity to store up to 160 typical eBooks. Expansion slots for Memory Stick Duo(TM) media or SD memory cards make the device's library potential practically limitless. In addition, a new USB-based mass storage capability that allows users to use the device as a portable drive for the direct transfer of documents, images and other files to the Reader. A new auto sync feature also lets users set up folders with books and documents that can be automatically synchronized when the device is connected to a PC. The device will also be compatible with Adobe's Digital Editions.

Harlequin announces all books will be available as eBooks

Harlequin recently announced that all new titles from their publishing house will be available as eBooks. Harlequin is the first major publisher to offer their entire front-list as eBooks. Harlequin, known for their romances of every kind, publishes more than 120 titles a month. Harlequin is also producing eBook orginals.

Sony and Borders creat co-branded eBook store

Under this new agreement, beginning in October, Borders will roll out the Sony Reader for sale in stores nationwide, nearly doubling the number of stores where it is currently offered. In addition to expanding sales of the Reader, Borders will launch a co-branded online store with support from Sony that will offer digital downloads of e-books. This co-branded site will eventually become part of the upcoming e-commerce site, Borders.com. Borders will market the Reader and the co-branded site to customers and through resources such as the Borders “Shortlist” weekly email.