• +1 919.961.0198
  • info@outerbankspublishing.com

Category ArchiveBooks

Reprinted from Gadget Lab: Official: Target to Stock Kindle from Sunday

Observations from the Publisher

Amazon’s decision to sell the Kindle in Target was the last puzzle piece in their marketing strategy to successfully compete against Barnes and Noble’s Nook, Sony’s ebook reader and other readers available  in stores. Now the playing field for the major ebook readers has been flattened.

What will ensue on an explosive level is a battle for market share and the only strategy left is an ebook price war and lower device prices. The major publishers who thought they had won the ebook pricing war with the iPad will be whining again as the price of ebooks will fall as the major ebook distributors with devices vie for market share.

The collateral benefit of the war will be a win for consumers because the price of these devices will also drop as the price of ebooks eventually stabilizes to the market’s acceptable level.

By Charlie Sorrel Email Author

After speculation and rumor, Target has at last confirmed that it will sell Amazon’s Kindle in its bricks and mortar stores. It will cost the same $260 as Amazon would charge you, but you at least get to try before you buy, and you don’t have to wait for the mailman to show up.

And this is likely the whole point. The e-reader market has shifted from early adopters to the mainstream, and if you want to interest people like my mother in buying a brand-new kind of device, you’ll have to put it in their hands first. Us gadget freaks may be happy to pre-order $500 devices without even seeing them, but we’re the weirdos here.

The Kindle will be available in “select” Target stores from this Sunday. In reality, this means the flagship store in Minneapolis plus another 102 stores in South Florida. Putting the Kindle in real stores will also showcase it against the iPad (although not in the same store of course – iPad is currently in Best Buy only, which also sells the Nook), which is going to prove the main rival for the Kindle.

It’s an unusual move by Amazon, though, especially as it pioneered the idea of trustworthy online shopping. It’s also proof that the online retailer is willing to take a cut in profits to push its hardware, despite the availability of Kindle software on most modern platforms.

Target Stores to Sell Kindle [Businesswire]

See Also:

Photo:Charlie Sorrel

Read More http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/04/official-target-to-stock-kindle-from-sunday/#ixzz0m2cJ1YRy


Amazon does it again

In a major move to stave off any loss of its book market share, Amazon recently launched a free application to allow readers to download and read Kindle books on their PCs, Macs, iPads or Blackberry PDAs.Kindle, Outer Banks Publishing Group, Kindle applications for    other devices

The free application downloaded in a matter of minutes to your PC, Mac, iPad or Blackberry now puts Amazon’s 480,000 Kindle books in the hands of a much larger market segment – all the people who wanted a Kindle, but didn’t want to shell out the $259 for the Kindle or $459 for the larger Kindle DX.

Amazon is always ahead of the curve because they knew they would eventually lose market share keeping their Kindle books in its walled garden (proprietary to the Kindle only).

If we have learned anything in technology development, proprietary devices only work if you are first on the market like the Kindle, but as it is reverse engineered, better solutions evolve and you have release your technology, change or become a candidate for the Smithsonian. Amazon knew this all along and played their technology hand well. It was just a matter of time before Amazon would extend its Kindle books to every new ebook reading device on the market.

And be assured that the next major ebook reading device that emerges will have a Kindle application.

Alice on the iPad – the future of children’s books?

I found this video from Advertising Lab’s blog on an interactive version of Alice in Wonderland adapted for Apple’s iPad. Is this the future of illustrated children’s books? Read the blog at Advertising Lab.

More Kindle books sold than print titles on Christmas Day


From Book Business Magazine’s News and Trends Section – March/April 2010 issue


    Kindle Books Catching 
Up With Print Books?

    Amazon.com Inc. announced at the end of 2009 that its Kindle 
e-reader had become the most gifted item in Amazon’s history. On its peak day of the holiday season (Dec. 14, 2009), Amazon customers ordered mo

    re than 9.5 million items worldwide—a record-breaking 110 items per second—according to an Amazon press release.

    Amazon also reported that on the same day, Amazon’s worldwide fulfillment network shipped more than 7 million Kindle units.

    On Christmas Day, for the first time ever, customers purchased more Kindle books than physical books (attributed to gift recipients opening their Kindles and ordering e-books).

    “Millions of people now own Kindles,” said Jeff Bezos , founder and CEO of Amazon.com. “And Kindle owners read a lot. When we have both editions, we sell six Kindle books for every 10 physical books. This is year-to-date and includes only paid books—free Kindle books would make the number even higher.”

    Amazon Ups 
Royalties
    Amazon.com recently announced a 70-percent royalty option for authors and publishers on its Kindle Digital Text Platform. Beginning June 30, authors and publishers who 
select the new royalty option will receive 70 percent of list price, net of delivery costs.

    The Most Expensive E-book
    The most expensive e-book retails for $6,232, according to The Most Expensive Journal (Most-Expensive.netOpens in a new window). The e-book, “Nuclear Energy,” which includes three volumes of “Energy Technologies,” is sold on Amazon.com.

    What’s In Store …
    A
    mazon: The Kindle Store includes more than 410,000 books, 
including 100 of 112 New York Times best-sellers, according to a company press release.

    Sony: Sony’s e-readers 
offer users access to more than 1 million e-books through Sony’s Reader Store, according 
to the company’s Web site.

    B&N: More than 1 million titles are available for the Nook through Barnes & Nobles’ eBookstore, according to BN.com.

    Wiffle Flackfern ,a specially gifted intuitively trained author ,burst upon the literary scene soon after arriving in America with his new young love Gondolia…who he calls the ‘lift of his life’ . The couple live ‘on virtual campuses’ across the Internet Colleges of the World while working to complete their many advanced certificate courses on really lots of different subjects. Wiffle has attained vast celebrity status and has been come to be known as ‘the promoter’s contingency choice ’ alternative guest lecturer. Wiffle lectures on his specialty The Marriage Capitulation Syndrome at speaking circuits like overflowing cafes and other packed venues across Rhode Island … Wiffle’s claim to fame was his profound series of ‘postcard novels’ that continue to linger on a variety of independent book distributors Top 40 lists. Wiffle lately has authored many pamphlet size books including the famous multi-faceted one part Children’s series .. , How to Metaphorically Cut Your Wife and Kids Umbilical Chords . Wiff (as he likes to be called ) wrote his latest new book 4Better as a chronological compilation of his vast pre-enlightened experiences with his family of ex-wives and ex-children , whom he still bitterly loves , but now on a non-responsive acceptance level. Wiff lives a very modest life in  upscale Woonsocket Rhode Island with his present family of loyal , loving and obedient pets and his newest loyal, loving and subserviant helpmates Dysphagia Dorfblatt-Flackfern and  Rosacea  Rosenshwig-Flackfern. . Whifle can be reached for comment and hopefully bookings at my website www.saveyourbuddy.com

    iPad – another ebook format we offer

    iPad, Apple, Outer Banks Publishing Group

    Being primarily an ebook publisher, we also offer inclusion of your book in Apple’s new iBookstore for the iPad.
    In addition, we distribute your ebook on the

    • iPhone
    • Kindle
    • Sony ebook reader
    • Blackberry
    • Palm Pilot
    • all devices using the Windows Mobile operating system

    Romance Writers of America announce finalists

      Romance Writers of America® (RWA)  announced the finalists for the 2010 RITA Awards®.

      The 2010 RITA honors romance fiction published in 2009. Over 1,000 novels and novellas were judged in 12 categories.

      Winners of the awards will be announced July 31st at the RITA and Golden Heart Awards Ceremony to be held at RWA’s 30th Annual National Conference in Nashville, Tennessee.

      Reblog this post [with Zemanta]
      x  Powerful Protection for WordPress, from Shield Security
      This Site Is Protected By
      Shield Security