According to the folks over at The Digital Reader, Samsung’s patent application, which is filed under number 20130104017 in case you want to check it out for yourself, is serious about its page-turning effect, delving into the physics of such a phenomenon for real-world effects in a digital-world medium. In essence, Samsung is going for realism.

Not only that, but the patent also details in both words and images the different effects that would result from the various possible ways one might flip a page, such as from the middle of the outer edge, the bottom corner, the top corner, etc. Each turn will have its own effect, which is again based on the physics of a real-paper page turn and aims to be realistic.

Of course, one can’t help but notice that such a filing follows a similar one from Apple, which now holds a patent on the page turning effect iOS users can see in iBooks. Only time will tell if Samsung is granted its patent, but somewhere in the midst of this one can’t help but be tempted to make a tongue-in-cheek remark on the possible future of page-turning patent wars.

[via The Digital Reader]

This settlement, while terminating Penguin’s “most-favoured nation” contracts for 5 years with Apple, will end all investigations by the EU into the price-fixing controversy. While the investigations in Europe over the matter will end, the U.S. Department of Justice will continue to investigate the issue in the United States. In the U.S., all 5 publishers have already settled, and Apple is the last company standing.

In the United States, the Department of Justice requested that Tim Cook be required to testify because they believe he may have relevant information to the case. The U.S. District Judge Denise Cote granted the DoJ its request. The trial is set to take place in June. Apple attempted to contest Judge Denise Cote’s request, saying that Tim Cook’s testimony would only be a repeat of what 11 other Apple executives have already said, but her decision remained unchanged.

If Penguin’s settlement is accepted, it will end the 16-month long investigation into the issue. Along with the termination of its e-book agreements, it will be forbidden from issuing “Most Favoured Nation” clauses for 5 years. When Penguin enters into any new agreements with retailers, the retailers will have the freedom of setting the prices of its e-books for two years, within reasonable limitations of course.

[via Reuters]

Read Petite will specialize in short stories and serialized content. Serialized content was big in the 19th century with novelists like Charles Dickens and others publishing novels chapter by chapter in newspapers and magazines. The problem for authors today is that short stories are hard to sell in physical formats.

However, Waterstone believes that short stories and serialized content would be well-suited to people who commute or don’t have time for a full-size novel. Read Petite will only publish content from authors that were already publishing with traditional book publishers. However, the material offered via the Read Petite service might be previously unpublished.

The Read Petite service is expected to launch towards the end of 2013. The service will carry a monthly fee of somewhere in the area of £5 and £12 per month. Waterstone will act as chairman of Read Petite, which was cofounded with three other people including Peter Cox, Neill Denny, and Martyn Daniels. The venture is currently seeking additional investors.

[via Telegraph]

The bill would ensure that MOOC’s (Massive Open Online Course providers) like Cousera, EdX, and Udacity would be able to offer introductory courses to students for full college credit. The courses will only count if the students are unable to get into the classes they need. There will be 50 introductory courses offered by MOOC’s that will be pre-determined by a faculty-led panel.

Steinberg stated that California has 112 community colleges, and that each college had an average of 7,000 students who were on wait lists for classes. At the California State Universities (CSU), there are over 420,000 students enrolled across the 23 CSU’s, but only 16% graduate within 4 years. With the increasing budget cuts, even more classes are cancelled and more students are being waitlisted. Tomorrow, students from the City College of San Francisco will be rallying together to combat the downsizing of their campus.

The passing of this bill would ensure that more students would be able to get the courses they need to graduate from college on time. Students won’t have to try quarter after quarter (or semester after semester) to get into the classes they need. There’s no guarantee that this bill will pass, but it is being viewed positively. The bill’s main opposition would be universities. Rhee-Weise, an Innosight Institute researcher, says that the bill will be controversial. “These low level courses are really the largest source of revenue for the university because they’re large classes often taught by grad students and few instructors.” However, a student’s education should outweigh “revenue” in this case. We’ll keep you posted about this bill.

[via VentureBeat]

U.S. District Judge Denise Cote granted the DoJ its request today. The Justice Department believes that Tim Cook has relevant information to the case, as he is a high level executive. It believes that Tim Cook’s position and his close relations with the late Steve Jobs entitled him to private conversations and information about the eBook situation. Lawrence Buterman, the DoJ’s lawyer, stated Tim Cook “is the only potential source of information.”

Apple had tried to fight Judge Cote’s request, saying that Cook’s testimony would just be a reiteration of all of the other testimonies provided by 11 other Apple executives. Orin Snyder, a lawyer from Apple’s law firm, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, stated that “This effort to depose Mr. Cook, Apple’s CEO, reflect the fact the government cannot meet its burden of proof in this case.” She has called this request a “fishing expedition.”

The trial will be taking place in June. The government made it clear that it will not be seeking damages from Apple. It wants to find out if Apple had violated antitrust laws, and if it had fixed prices on eBooks, the government would bar Apple from being able to engage in any similar kind of conduct in the future. Things most certainly do not look good for Apple, especially since most of the companies immediately settled after being hit with the lawsuit. We’ll keep you posted on this case.

[via Reuters]

It’s that arduous legal process that has motivated bunnie to release the free ebook in association with No Starch Press. Swartz, who committed suicide in January, was the target of a lawsuit around computer hacking, and faced a potential $1m in fines and up to 35 years in prison.

“Without the right to tinker and explore, we risk becoming enslaved by technology; and the more we exercise the right to hack, the harder it will be to take that right away” Andrew “bunnie” Huang

The threat of the lawsuit was widely believed to have contributed in no small part to Swartz’s suicide, though the US Attorney strongly denies pressuring the code expert. For Huang, the issue is made particularly personal by the involvement of MIT, accused of hanging Swartz out to dry in the courts, and something he himself had experience of when Microsoft took issue with his console hacking.

“In this book, you will find the story of when I was an MIT graduate student, extracting security keys from the original Microsoft Xbox” Huang writes. “You’ll also read about the crushing disappointment of receiving a letter from MIT legal repudiating any association with my work, effectively leaving me on my own to face Microsoft.”

Physical copies of Hacking the Xbox remain on sale, but the free ebook can be downloaded in PDF format. Huang suggests the EFF, Demand Progress, and GiveWell as suitable donation recipients should readers want to reward his generosity.

The patent in question here covers a technology that’s used to power an “electronic marketplace for used digital objects.” Essentially, it would take Amazon’s Kindle marketplace to the next level, and would cater towards those looking for second-hand goods, even though they’re digital copies. Basically, it could change the way how we buy ebooks.

At the moment, users simply can’t just buy an ebook and own it outright, doing whatever they want with it, and we doubt that Amazon would give that up, so the patent basically means that Amazon could still own the rights to the ebook, but they would let users resell the ebook in a controlled marketplace specifically for used ebooks.

The concept at first sounds pretty silly, and the thought of selling a digital object for less than what you bought it for may sound weird, especially since there’s nothing that would depreciate the price, but we could see users easily take a slight loss just to get their ebooks out of their hands and onto another reader. Of course, we’re keeping the salt nearby since a lot of patents usually never see the light of day, but it’s a concept at least worth thinking about.

[via ITProPortal]

If you’re paying for a digital book, you have the right to look at that book as much as you’d like – and in most cases, download it to a limited number of devices at any one time. Here with Amazon’s Kindle rentals, you’ll be doing the same – but instead of your limits stopping at the amount of devices you can download to, you’re limited to time. The price being significantly less for these limited amounts of time may just be the ticket to those of you out there that have steel trap memories and tight pocketbooks in the e-generation.

If you have a peek at one of the very, very few titles available with rentals thus far by the name of Theories of International Politics and Zombies (courtesy of tipster Karen at Zats Not Funny, you’ll find that the Buy Price is (as it usually is) a little more than half of the price of the list price. The rent price, then, is less than half that cost – 80% off the original list price. Of course that’s the price to rent a digital copy for 30 days instead of owning the original print book forever, but the price difference is extremely important to the author in the end.

Is this the future of literature? Will we be working with Spotify services for books before too long where authors are compensated for each read? Maybe that’s better for the author than the print process – who can tell? One way or the other, you’re going to be able to rent books with your Kindle tablet or Kindle-capable mobile device immediately if not soon – have a peek and see if you can find any titles with the ability!

[via Engadget]

The four publishers have also agreed to allow retailers to discount ebooks as they see fit for the next two years, though certain conditions will apply to that freedom. In brief, a discount “up to an amount equal to the commission the retailer receives from the publisher over a one year period” will be permitted.

“While each separate publisher and each retailer of e-books are free to choose the type of business relationship they prefer, any form of collusion to restrict or eliminate competition is simply unacceptable” Joaquín Almunia, Commission Vice-President in charge of competition policy, said in a statement today. ”The commitments proposed by Apple and the four publishers will restore normal competitive conditions in this new and fast-moving market, to the benefit of the buyers and readers of e-books.”

Conspicuous by its absence from the agreement is Penguin, also a subject of investigation but so far unwilling to offer the same commitments as its rivals. A similar deal may be in the pipeline, however; “the Commission is currently engaged in constructive discussions with Penguin on commitments that would allow an early closure of proceedings also against that publisher” the EC said today.

Amazon had been instrumental in driving complaints about the agreements Apple had inked with the big publishing houses, which it felt reduced competition by forcing retailers to adopt the so-called “agency model” where publishers had more control over minimum pricing. A US investigation is still ongoing.

Reuters is reporting that the European Union is about to accept the offer from Apple and four major book publishers: HarperCollins, Hachette Livre, Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck, and Simon & Schuster. The proposal by these five companies was made back in September, and the EU is said to make a decision soon.

However, it probably won’t be until next month until we hear from the EU about their decision, but one source says that they will “likely accept the offer” from Apple and the publishers. The EU antitrust authority was investigating Apple’s ebook pricing, which some said prevented Amazon and other retailers from undercutting Apple’s prices.

However, this agreement is good news for Amazon, as well as consumers. Apple originally made a backroom deal with book publishers that would force Amazon to raise prices so that they wouldn’t hold a price advantage over Apple’s iBooks. However, this new deal with the EU will see Amazon ebook prices most likely going back down soon.

[via Reuters]

There’s control over font size as well as display contrast, and the app can be set into either day or night reading modes depending on the ambient lighting conditions. Users can also organize their libraries into different collections, so as to keep larger numbers of ebooks in order.

Bookmarks are supported, and there’s all the cover art and book information you’d expect if you’ve ever used an ereader app. Sony’s role in the ebook space has been overshadowed by those of Apple, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble in recent months, but the company is obviously hoping that a little cross-platform availability will boost its market share.

Of course, it faces strong competition, not least from Apple itself, which has shifted to position the iPad mini as a perfect dedicated ereader alternative, suited to one-handed use. Unlike Apple’s iBooks, too, Sony has opted to leave out direct access to its store from the app, since that would demand giving Apple a tithe on each purchase.

Sony Reader for iOS is a free download [iTunes link] for the iPhone and iPad.

In Japan, the Kindle Paperwhite is priced at 8,480 yen, while the WiFi + 3G version of the illuminated ereader goes for 12,980. It uses NTT DoCoMo 3G, which is all prepaid so there’s no bill for downloading ebooks on the move (bar the cost of the title itself, of course). Both will begin shipping from November 19.

As for Amazon’s tablets, they’re a little more expensive in general. The Kindle Fire is priced at 12,800 yen with its 7-inch touchscreen, while the Kindle Fire HD is available from 15,800 yen for the 16GB model; the 32GB version is also available.

Both tablets are up for preorder today – as is the Kindle Paperwhite – and the Fire duo will ship from December 19. Amazon will also offer them in-store at Japanese retailers K’s Holdings, Bic Camera, Joshin Denki, and Kitamura.

Facebook and Twitter have been integrated into iBooks here with this newest version of iBooks, as are several new languages. Korean, Chinese, and Japanese have been added to the iBooks family of books, all of them working in a free download available in the App Store right this minute. This is a pre-cursor to the iPad mini, we must expect, as its perfect book-sized shape will lend itself to the new version.

If you’re ready to take on the new version of iBooks, you can head to the iTunes app store right this minute and download away. The full update includes a new wave of books added in several countries – noted earlier this week – and we’re expecting the line to expand through the week. Stay tuned to this big Apple event throughout the day for more updates to the whole Apple family!

For businesses, Amazon is keen to highlight Kindle’s compatibility with digital documents, even if they’re not ebooks purchased from its own store. PDFs and other content can be pushed out, to employees and to customers, and the system will work with company-owned Kindles or Kindles/Kindle apps running on users’ own hardware.

“Today, we are announcing Whispercast, a free, scalable solution for school and business administrators to centrally manage thousands of Kindles and wirelessly distribute Kindle books as well as their own documents to their users” Dave Limp, Kindle VP, said of the new system. “Organizations can also design bring-your-own-device programs at school or work using personally-owned Kindles, Kindle Fires, and other tablets using the free Kindle reading applications for receiving content.”

The system works with both the dedicated Kindle hardware Amazon offers and the free apps provided for iOS, Android, Mac, and Windows. Individual users can be assigned to groups – whether that’s classes or grade levels for schools, or teams within businesses – and content limited to certain groups.

Whispercast for Kindle is a free service; there’s more information here

The fact that you only need to beat an average $12.82 makes this deal even more awesome. The books that have been added are xkcd: volume 0 by Randall Monroe; Save Yourself, Mammal! and The Most Dangerous Game by Zach Weiner; and a pair of Penny Arcade graphic novels by creators Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik: Attack of the Bacon Robots and Epic Legends of the Magic Sword Kings. All you have to do to get them is beat the average, which is surprisingly much higher than the averages we’re used to seeing in video game-centric Humble Bundles. It would appear that people place more value on literature than they do on indie games.

To be honest, we’re pretty surprised by how well the Humble eBook Bundle has been doing. We weren’t sure how a Humble Bundle that didn’t feature any games would fair, but it seems that the Humble eBook Bundle has been holding its own. After one week of availability, more than 50,000 bundles have been sold, totaling right around $640,000 for the authors and charity.

Speaking of charity, there’s a new group benefiting from the sales of this bundle. While the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Child’s Play still receive a portion of the profits, the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America group is also being given a cut of the money raised. There’s just over 7 days left to go before the Humble eBook Bundle comes to a close, so you’ve got just about a week to get those orders in!

For those ebooks to be eligible, they need to have been purchased between April 2010 and May 2012, and of course have been published by one of the three settling publishers. The settlements themselves are still yet to be approved by the Court, Amazon warns, something which isn’t expected until February 8, 2013.

“In addition to the account credit, the settlements impose limitations on the publishers’ ability to set e-book prices” Amazon highlights. “We think these settlements are a big win for customers and look forward to lowering prices on more Kindle books in the future.”

Credits from the fund will automatically be added to eligible Amazon users’ accounts, though they will also be able to request a check instead. However, if individual customers want to sue any of the three publishers individually, they’ll have to opt-out of the settlements.

“If the Court approves the Settlements, eligible consumers like you will receive automatic credits to your E-reader accounts. The credit can be used on any purchases of E-books or print books. The amount of your payment has been determined based on the qualifying E-book purchases identified by Amazon.com in your E-reader account” Amazon

Finally, Amazon points out, a separate suit against Apple and two remaining publishers is on course for a trial in 2013.

Amazon email to customers:

Dear Kindle Customer,

We have good news. You are entitled to a credit for some of your past e-book purchases as a result of legal settlements between several major e-book publishers and the Attorneys General of most U.S. states and territories, including yours. You do not need to do anything to receive this credit. We will contact you when the credit is applied to your Amazon.com account if the Court approves the settlements in February 2013.

Hachette, Harper Collins, and Simon & Schuster have settled an antitrust lawsuit about e-book prices. Under the proposed settlements, the publishers will provide funds for a credit that will be applied directly to your Amazon.com account. If the Court approves the settlements, the account credit will appear automatically and can be used to purchase Kindle books or print books. While we will not know the amount of your credit until the Court approves the settlements, the Attorneys General estimate that it will range from $0.30 to $1.32 for every eligible Kindle book that you purchased between April 2010 and May 2012. Alternatively, you may request a check in the amount of your credit by following the instructions included in the formal notice of the settlements, set forth below. You can learn more about the settlements here:
www.amazon.com/help/agencyebooksettlements

In addition to the account credit, the settlements impose limitations on the publishers’ ability to set e-book prices. We think these settlements are a big win for customers and look forward to lowering prices on more Kindle books in the future.

Thank you for being a Kindle customer.

The Amazon Kindle Team

Amazon says that there will be over 200,000 titles for readers to choose from, with local-language ebooks as well as high-profile inclusions like the full Harry Potter series. Kids, mystery, science fiction, romance, non-fiction, and other categories are catered for.

As for publishers and authors, the Kindle Direct Publishing platform will support Kindle Owners’ Lending Library inclusion too, and the KDP Select fund - which pays out royalties per loan – has also been boosted to accommodate the predicted increase in demand. For October, it’s gone from $100,000 to $700,000, and Amazon says it is planning on another increase for November.

In September, Amazon says, authors were paid $2.29 per-borrow. To use the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library you’ll need an actual Kindle hardware device and to be a Prime subscriber – in the UK, that’s currently £49 per year.

Bookeen is making it clear that with this device they’ll be attacking the “independent” market as the only solution to do so “against Amazon or Kobo.” This device works with a 213 DPI resolution display and works with what Bookeen claims is 62% more pixels than “current e-readers” – though they do not specify which. This display has 758 x 1024 pixel across it, to be specific.

You’ve got a capacitive touch display up front working with that E-Ink and you’ll have twenty level of FrightLighting to adjust according to your needs. This device also has the ability to activate the FrontLight or de-activate it depending on if you’re in the dark, the light, or anywhere in-between. For reading documents, you’ve also got features here on this newest generation device that past generations simply were not capable of.

One of these options is PDF reflow – tap the button and your PDF’s text is re-adjusted without you needing to change the display in any way. You’ve got what Bookeen calls a High Speed Ink System as well for “action at a fast pace.” This device will be coming out in more than 40 countries, weighs in at 180 g/6.35 oz, and boasts both touch-screen management and mechanical buttons.

You’ll be able to pick this device up in Old Pink, Black, Red Vermillion, and several more case colors. It’ll also be joined in its release later this year by a Cybook Odyssey 2013 Edition – a new version of the company’s best-seller. Prices and further specifications will be revealed soon – stay tuned!

This release is what Amazon is calling the “most advanced e-reader built” and lets the world know without hesitation that they’ve got technology that’ll back up their claim. In our full review, you’ll find that Cory Gunther had a fabulous time taking a peek at how this device functioned. In addition to this device having a free 3G connection at all times in 100 different countries around the world, it’s got advanced display technology that brings your reading experience up to a new level.

“Essentially what we have here is a front — or side-lit display — instead of a backlit screen that will strain your eyes after an extended period of time. What makes the new Paperwhite that much better than the Touch is not just the built-in light on the screen, but the 6-inch display has 62% more pixels (221PPI) with a 1024 x 768 resolution too. The screen looks better, text is crisp, vivid, and easy to read, and of course the light makes the reading experience top notch.” – Cory Gunther

This device will work with Amazon Prime for 210,000 books right out of the Lending Library, and of course the full Amazon e-book library is open to anyone who purchases the device – buy em up! This device also comes in a wi-fi-only iteration for a slightly smaller cost. The wi-fi version of this tablet will cost you $119 USD while the 3G version will run you $179. Expect these devices in stores this week – and again, if you’ve pre-ordered a Kindle Paperwhite, it’s time to start waiting by the mailbox!

Earlier this month along with the Kindle Fire HD tablets Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos took to the stage and announced this new and improved 6-inch Kindle reader. Being the first of its kind (from Amazon at least) we’re giving it a thorough look. With an improved experience, better hardware, and of course a front-lit screen this is worth a second glance.

Hardware

The Paperwhite display aside, not much has changed from the previous Kindle Touch in terms of overall hardware. The design is for the most part unchanged and it still is an impressively light device being just 7.5 oz and only 9mm thin. The hardware has improved with a slightly smaller bezel, a nice matte black casing, and of course the dedicated buttons have all been removed. This can be a good thing, or bad thing depending on the user, but the on-screen controls with the improved capacitive touch display certainly is easy to use.

Under the hood we still have 2GB of internal storage (1GB usable) and sadly we don’t get an micro-SD slot for expanded storage, but you’ll be storing everything in the cloud with Amazon anyways. Then of course we have a dedicated power button, LED notification light, and micro-USB for the odd occasion you need to charge the eReader. Last but certainly not least is the 3G and WiFi connectivity. WiFi models start at $119, while the 3G model that works worldwide thanks to AT&T will run you $179. Oh and lets not forget those “Special Offers” and sponsored screensavers.

Personally, we are big fans of the changes to the hardware. The home button wasn’t exactly needed with such a simple user interface, and the improved soft-touch black matte backing certainly is nice. Although the concave back on the NOOK is still something we favor. Overall impressions on the hardware are excellent. Build quality feels top notch, and screen durability seems improved over its predecessor too. Take a peek at our hands-on and software overview video below.

Paperwhite

Now the big thing here is obviously the “Paperwhite” display. The best way to explain this would be from Amazon themselves in this post. Essentially what we have here is a front — or side-lit display — instead of a backlit screen that will strain your eyes after an extended period of time. What makes the new Paperwhite that much better than the Touch is not just the built-in light on the screen, but the 6-inch display has 62% more pixels (221PPI) with a 1024 x 768 resolution too. The screen looks better, text is crisp, vivid, and easy to read, and of course the light makes the reading experience top notch.

The Paperwhite uses Amazon’s new patented light guide technology that actually guides the light across the screen and down, away from the eyes. Using only 4 LED’s you’ll get awesome options with lighting without suffering in the battery life department — but more on that later. The display isn’t all about the light either. The Paperwhite screen is 25% better in terms of contrast for sharper and dark text. Add the better contrast to a crisp screen, then toss in the Paperwhite lighting technology this reader is excellent during daily use as always, but also great in low-light conditions as you can clearly see below.

In use, it’s certainly better that using an actual tablet for extended reading periods, and since this is still e-ink you won’t be lighting up the entire room if you’re reading in bed. This is the best for both worlds if you ask us. As you saw in our video above, adjusting the “Paperwhite” lighting is as simply as sliding your finger. Tap the top of the screen for the toolbar drop-down, then just tap the light-bulb to adjust as needed. For those worried about this new light and capacitive touch technology to hinder the reading experience, it’s safe to say that isn’t the case. Reading is simply awesome and we’ve loved our limited time with the new Paperwhite — and you will too.

Software

There really isn’t much to talk about regarding software, since the user interface is so basic. Everything you’ve grown to love about the Kindle line is in-tact — and they’ve even added a few awesome additions to make things even better. We have time to read, x-ray, and tools for readers all available with ease. X-Ray lets you instantly find any and all details of any character, place, or moment in a book. Amazon explains this as letting you explore the “bones of the book” with a detailed breakdown, and so far we love it. Seeing and jumping to exact points in a 400 page read with ease is an awesome new feature for those diehards.

Time to read is another great new improvement. It’s nothing special but just adds that extra level of polish to the experience. This tool helps readers know the amount of time it will take them to finish the chapter, or the entire book. It personalizes the time based on each person’s speed, and constantly updates as their reading habits change. While interruptions change the output, this has generally been quite accurate for us. Last but certainly not least is the built-in dictionary. Just long press any word while reading for a detailed definition. We also have instant translations by simply highlighting a section for easy translation.

Being E-Ink the software is still only as fast as the hardware and the refresh times, which while improved — still take time out of usage. Nothing worth docking points for, as Amazon’s always had some of the better refresh rates on their Kindle readers. The seamless sync of books across multiple devices, and all the new features added makes this the best Kindle reading experience yet.

Battery

Battery, which we stated above we’d talk more about — can’t really be talked about too much. Amazon estimates 8 weeks of battery life. Yes, that was 8 weeks. Even with the new light and built-in 3G you’ll still rarely need to charge the Whitepaper. Amazon states the 8 week claim is with limited 1 hour of daily reading and wireless being turned off — but either way that is still extremely impressive. Offering nearly the same battery life as before while delivering a lit display and tons of new features makes us plenty happy.

Leave WiFi or 3G enabled and this battery life drops down to about 5 weeks — which is still impressive and beats the Nook Glowlight across the board. So far I’ve read a little daily for the past week and a half and haven’t seen the battery meter drop one bit — so take it as you will.

Wrap-Up

Overall what’s not to like here? You get an improved experience across the board with a better, crisper, clearer display, the option to read in any lighting situation, and all of this for only $119. While they’ve dropped the original Touch down to $79, we feel the $40 premium for the Paperwhite is crucial and an excellent choice. Sadly those “special offers” or ads as we call them will be noticeable every time you open this book. You can opt out by spending $139 instead of $119 for the WiFi model, and the same increase is present for the 3G $179 model.

There’s no doubt that the Paperwhite feature works, and works great. For those that want the best possible reading experience across the board the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite is certainly worth your dollar, and it’s available now at Amazon — shipping tomorrow. However the Kindle Fire HD is a great alternative for those seeking to do a little more with their tablet for a slight increase in price. Obviously if reading will be nearly the only function the Paperwhite is the clear (and bright) choice in our book.

What we’ve got here, according to Barnes & Noble spokeswoman Mary Ellen Keating speaking with Business Week, is “a complete library from all the leading studios.” With the introduction to this initiative showing off next to no final details as far as pricing goes, investors have been left in the dark. Amazon Prime Instant Videos makes the Kindle Fire a beast to be reckoned with, and every single Android tablet and the Apple iPad are able to work with Netflix – that’s a monster of a market to deal with.

The Nook Video service will be launching this Fall along with the NOOK HD and NOOK HD+. Take a peek at our hands-on with that duo of next-generation content-filled tablets right this minute. Then hear this: Nook Video will also be launching in the UK by the winter holidays. This means a global launch may not be that far behind. What we’ve got on our hands here is a real effort by the book-smiths to enter the video content market with the tablet, which came first.

In this way, Barnes & Noble are aiming to becomes another content and hardware company in an already multi-armed market that includes the Kindle Fire and the iPad as well as Google’s own Google Play media market. Will Barnes & Noble be able to keep up the way they’ve done with the ebook industry? We shall see!

Meanwhile, there’s still dictionary support, with tapping on a word bringing up a definition. Translation tools can convert foreign texts into your native language on the fly, though only on a per-paragraph basis rather than of the whole book in its entirety.

As for highlighting, that’s done pretty much as we’ve seen it on other ereading apps, with draggable brackets to select a section and then a choice of colors for the highlight itself. It’s also possible to append notes and reminders to those sections, and Google will push out any highlights or annotations to all linked devices.

Finally, there’s a sepia color theme, 2D sliding page-turn animations, and support for reading Japanese texts in a vertical, left-to-right layout, flipping the pages from right to left too. You can download Google Play Books from from the Play Store.

This technology was shown off on the new Kindle Fire HD series this week by Amazon with a couple of celebrities in tow. Both Anne Hathaway and Samuel L Jackson were shown up on the big screen, with Jackson specifically reading “A Rage in Harlem.” With Immersion Reading – here with Whispersync – you’ll be changing the way you read electronic books.

This new ability brings on what Amazon prosmises will be dual-sensory reading, this improving your understanding of the content. You’ll be hearing the words as they’re highlighted on the screen – and it will, if Amazon has its way, bring you another giant reason why it makes sense to pick up the newest Kindle Fire HD hardware – coming in October, on the way! Check out the rest of our Amazon and Kindle Fire content from this week’s big event in the timeline below, and stay tuned to SlashGear for more hands-on action as it appears!

The gift cards you’re seeing here are made available by Google for those of you looking to grab your kid, sibling, friend, or associate something simple and relatively free of commitment. Just like the iTunes gift cards that’ve been appearing in holiday gift cards for years now, the Google Play gift card line is set to be a giant force in holiday gift giving. In other words, Apple will be making a double-effort from now on to make sure they’ve got rack space above Google’s new offering.

These gift cards are able to purchase songs, movies, and TV shows instantly from the Google Play store online or through your Android-toting device. You can also purchase Android apps as well as eBooks galore from Google’s vast library of titles. These cards work to not only rent movies and TV shows, but to buy them as well – but purchases of TV shows and movies only work on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean devices so far – so watch out for that!

These cards are set to appear at the three retailers listed soon – they may already be in stores if you’re lucky! Google adds, once again, that “Google Play gift cards cannot be redeemed for Android app subscriptions, magazine subscriptions, or hardware and accessory purchases. Refer to the Google Play Gift Card Terms and Conditions for more details. Content subject to availability by country.” Remember that bit!

[via Google]

Just as we learned last week, the dimensions of the eReader have been tweaked slightly, with the PRS-T2 coming in a 0.38-inches thick and weighing 5.9 ounces. The four navigational buttons beneath the screen have also been adjusted, with Sony making them larger and easier to push. The company says that the device should get up to two months of battery life (assuming WiFi is turned off, of course), and there’s 2GB of storage of all your digital books.

Sony is still offering access to its online services too, and a nice little bonus is the ability to borrow around 15,000 ebooks from its public library system if you have a valid library card. Sony’s Reader store is still on tap as well, offering magazines and newspapers via a web-based store. Anyone choosing to read a novel via web browser can do so via Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer and Firefox.

Finally, Sony is throwing in a free copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone from the Pottermore store. The company will bundle a download code that will grant you access to the ebook once you’ve purchased the ereader. The device itself will set you back $129.99, and Sony says it’s shipping right now via its online store.

Sony has tweaked the dimensions of the eReader, however, with the PRS-T2 coming in a 0.38-inches thick and weighing 5.9 ounces. The navigation buttons at the bottom of the device have been modified too: they now appear to be either touch sensitive or smaller physical buttons. Customers will still get access to Sony’s Reader Store, but the company will be bundling a free copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

New software functionality has made it to the eReader as well, with Sony bundling in support for Facebook and Evernote Clearly. We’ll have to wait and see what the Facebook side of things does, but Evernote Clearly will let you save articles to the reader for later viewing, not unlike Pocket or Instapaper.

J&R doesn’t list a release date for the PRS-T2, but you’ll be paying $129.99 when it does eventually ship. That’s a bit more expensive than Amazon’s current Kindle model (even without ads), but if you missed out on the PRS-T1, the PRS-T2 might not be a bad choice.

[via The Digital Reader]

[Thanks, Nate]

The Kickstarter campaign for the eBook jackets has already hit its funding goal – $15,000 – which means that for the next 23 days, Out of Print has the chance to raise additional funds that will help ensure this project becomes a reality. At the start, Out of Print will only be offering 14 different designs: 10 of them feature original book cover art licensed by Out of Print (all of which you can see in the picture below), while the other four will simply be solid colors – charcoal, evergreen, indigo, and red.

For the moment, Out of Print is only offering covers that fit the Kindle Fire, Nexus 7, iPad 2, and the new iPad. It’s unclear if Out of Print will eventually offer additional cover designs beyond this initial set of 14, but the company does say on its Kickstarter page that it’s open to producing more jackets that fit other devices. Out of Print hopes to have the first batch of jackets finished and on the way to backers sometime in September, so backers of the project will be getting their products shortly after the Kickstarter wraps up on August 9. If you’d like to pledge money to the project, follow the link above, otherwise check out our story timeline below for more information on Kickstarter!

Meanwhile, to sweeten the deal – and make you at least try it – B&N is offering six bestsellers free of charge for those signing up to the NOOK for Web service. Map of Bones by James Rollins, Sex and the City by Candace Bushnell, The Vow by Kim Carpenter, The Boxcar Children Summer Special by Gertrude Chandler Warner, Brave by Tennant Redbank, and Perfect Island Getaways by Patricia Schultz, are all available to access through the browser-based interface without charge, as long as you do so before July 26.

There’s also synchronization with any other NOOK device or app you may be using, so you can stop reading on the web and pick up where you left off on your tablet. Readers can adjust font and text size, as well as share details on what they’re currently reading through social networks like Facebook and Twitter.

What you don’t seem to get, at least for the moment, is any way to annotate or highlight sections in the ebook. Whereas most ereaders allow you to grab snippets of text or flag up passages for easier recollection later, there’s no such functionality in NOOK for Web. Nonetheless, as a browser-based system, it would be easy enough for B&N to add such a feature in at some point in the future.

Jobs’ argument was that a 7-inch tablet was simply too small for adult hands to use the UI properly. “While one could increase the resolution of the display to make up for some of the difference,” he justified, “it is meaningless unless your tablet also includes sandpaper so that the user can sand down their fingers to around one quarter of their present size.”

Now, it wouldn’t be the first time that Apple has said it insists on doing one thing, and then promptly does something else. Nonetheless, holding back from the 7-inch tablet market and then diving in with a new iPad Mini would be one of the biggest turnarounds to-date. It’ll take more than the famed “reality distortion field” to give a smaller tablet some believable justification.

Perhaps that context will be what Apple has learned from a few generations of iPad. When Steve Jobs made his sweeping dismissal of 7-inchers, it was back in October 2010; the original iPad had only been on sale since April that year, and stock was seriously constrained for several months. In some ways, Jobs was commenting blind; or, at least, based on Apple’s own opinions around tablet use rather than what the market was telling them.

In the intervening period, we’ve seen tablets overshadow ereaders in many ways, while smartphones have grown in scale to the 5.3-inch monsters from Samsung and others. Apple has launched iBooks Textbooks, too, pushing the iPad further into eduction settings. We’ve also seen Retina Display technology arrive, refining the resolution of the interface. As we speculated yesterday, Apple might see Retina as an essential addition to the iPad Mini if it’s to fit into the overall strategy of the firm.

So, could Tim Cook take the stage and push ebook and digital textbook consumption as a primary goal of the iPad Mini? “Since we launched the iPad, we’ve seen it enter markets we hardly dreamed of back in 2010″ the Apple CEO might say. “Readers, both at home and at school, have seized on the iPad as a magical way of exploring new literary worlds and expanding their horizons; now, we’re lowering the cost of entry to all that, and we’re making it even easier to take knowledge with you.”

Apple is stubborn when it feels it needs to be – it waited out the Flash argument until Adobe conceded defeat and adopted HTML5, for instance – but it’s also not afraid to do an about-turn if it smells a new market it can cash in on. The time may be right for a “tweener”; the big question is how Apple might convince us that time is now.

[Image credit: Ciccaresedesign]

For the full year, NOOK saw revenues of $993 for the digital business overall: including the ereader hardware itself, any accessories for it, and digital content. Revenues in Q4 2012 were $164m. Overall segment sales increased 1-percent in Q4, thanks to stronger performance of content, and increased 45-percent for the full year.

Content sales rose 65-percent in the last quarter and by 119-percent for 2012, year-on-year, for a total of $483m. That consists of ebooks, digital newsstand content and apps sold through the NOOK App Store.

What can’t be avoided, though, is that sales of hardware are dwindling. “Device sales declined during the fourth quarter due to higher third-party channel partner returns, lower selling volume and lower average selling prices” Barnes & Noble explains. “In order to optimize the supply chain for new products, the company took back NOOK Simple Touch inventory following the previously announced holiday sales shortfall.”

B&N is pinning its hopes on strong sales of the NOOK Simple Touch with GlowLight, which hit retail in Q1 2013. It “has quickly become the highest rated eReader in the market” the company says, though no specific sales results have been shared.

Microsoft is being called by Lynch an “ideal partner” for areas like distribution and big software launches due to such upcoming heroes as Windows 8. Barnes & Noble Nook software will be on that operating system in the form of an app that’ll give users access to the company’s ebook library. Microsoft engineers and “Redmond-based talent” as Fortune says will not be working together on Nook devices.

“Currently, we’ve not communicated anything related to the roadmap about any hardware collaboration on Nook. Nook, as you know, uses open sourcing. Microsoft is obviously very entrenched in Windows. On the reading software side, in reading technologies, they’re making interesting integrations into Windows, potentially Office. That kind of work has already started. Definitively yes.” – Lynch

So we’ve got the ability to work back and forth between Office and Barnes & Noble software including Nook for ebooks. We do not have, on the other hand, non-Android operating system bits headed to the Nook.

“So again we haven’t announced anything specifically, but imagine an integration where an information worker, student, author, consumer, creates something in Office and has it immediately published for sale through the Nook book store. It starts to open a lot of exciting possibilities.” – Lynch

The Nook book store might be getting a whole lot more interesting in the weeks and months ahead – Nook as a content editor? Very possibly!

[via Fortune]

But long before there were books powered by high-end semiconductors and advanced software, publishing pioneers were introducing the idea of interactive tomes decades and decades ago. They were called “Choose Your Own Adventure” books, and if you’re too young to know what that means, then good news – the classic text-based adventures are coming to the iBookstore.

Now of course, it will be impossible to get the same experience as flipping through dozens of pages to find the next chapter in your adventure. Nevertheless, the dynamic nature of the story will be fully replicated, with readers able to click on the path they want to choose and be directed right to the correct page. It’s really cool to see these old-school dynamic adventures being remade in the digital age.

[via Wired]

These phones are obviously meant to reflect the NOOK lineup with their already headphone-equipped facia, and has no less than a lovely combination of comfortable material on top, plastic sides, and metal adjustment bars to solidify the experience. These phones are likely of high quality and will likely be released with a discount when purchased with a NOOK Tablet of any kind.

What do you think, NOOK fans, look like something you’d pick up if it were marketed as optimized for the NOOK tablet lineup? Will you be e-reading with audio from now on, now that Barnes & Noble wants you to listen to music at the same time? Do you expect a music store to pop up via Barnes & Noble? We’ll see soon!

[via Barnes & Noble]

“We’re expecting to be really busy to start with and plan to activate new registrations in a steady stream” the Pottermore team warned at the weekend. “This means that you may not get access to Pottermore immediately after you sign up but we will get you exploring the site as quickly possible … After you’ve signed up, you’ll get sorted into one of the four Hogwarts houses, have a wand choose you, and discover exclusive new writing from J.K. Rowling.”

Interactive content themed around the first of the books, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, is up for play initially, though Pottermore promises further multimedia in time. Ebooks, meanwhile, are available for Kindle, NOOK, Google Play and Sony ereaders, priced at $7.99 for the first three books and then $9.99 for the remainder.

Meanwhile, there are various security features intended to make children accessing Pottermore safer, including randomly-created account names. Exactly what sort of longevity can be expected from the site is unclear, but given the sales success of the ebooks themselves – racking up $1.5m in a few days of availability – there’s a big motivation among the developers and Rowling herself to keep the momentum going.

It’s the cell phone, of course, which holds the most vast amount of users amongst adults. As Pew did not separate cell phones and smartphones, there’s basically no way we can know if this number is only because everyone on earth simply owns a cellular phone or if smartphone usage has simply blown the cell phone use up in the past couple of years. It’s the mobile world though that makes this number the obvious winner, even when we can’t see the numbers all the way up to 2012 with the rest of the gadgets on this list.

Unfortunately back in January of this year the study ended for tablets and e-book readers, everything else before that, with cell phone use being the last number at the end of the day. Be sure to note that these numbers don’t add up to 100% when multiple devices line up on a single period, this of course because some adults own two or more devices at once. You’ll notice though that the two categories to take a bit of a dive have been desktop computers and mp3 players – you can see it well before the most recent study, especially with desktop computers.

Laptops and mp3 players appeared very much to be on the rise back in 2006 through April of 2009, but when the smartphone revolution started up in a big way around 2009, mp3 players fell out of style – on the other hand, even at the start of 2011 nearly half of the respondents in this study owned mp3 players. Laptops have never been stronger, growing from 30% all the way up to a massive 57% in approximately 5 years.

Both e-book readers and tablet computers are on the list and do appear low, but at around 20% here in 2012 after just 2 years on the market total (after the iPad and original Galaxy Tab launched, we must assume is the general start point), we go from 2% for e-readers and 3% for tablets up to 19% here in that extremely short period. This growth rate is quicker than the biggest rise or drop on this list in that amount of time.

Have a peek at that list again and check the numbers. Glance in amazement that not only are most of these devices thriving, they’re on the rise as well.

[via Pew]

A spokesman for Apple, Tom Neumayr, has responded to the claims of price fixing, issuing the following statement:

The DOJ’s accusation of collusion against Apple is simply not true. The launch of the iBookstore in 2010 fostered innovation and competition, breaking [a] monopolistic grip on the publishing industry. Since then customers have benefited from eBooks that are more interactive and engaging. Just as we’ve allowed developers to set prices on the App Store, publishers set prices on the iBookstore.

Apple’s response comes two days after the US Department of Justice first filed the lawsuit against them and the six publishers involved. Following the DOJ’s announcement, an Australian watchdog body has asked retailers to raise any issues they have while they investigate the possibility of their own lawsuit. Meanwhile, various antitrust experts believe that the DOJ is unlikely to win its case against Apple, instead having a much stronger argument against the publishers themselves.

The DOJ hopes to change the current ebook system so that the retailer pays a flat fee to the publisher, and can offer any price that they choose to customers. That would bring lower prices in the short term, but could lead to some retailers vying for their own exclusive deals with the publishers.

[via AllThingsD]

Note here that the Nook Simple Touch is still going to remain on the market as a $99 offering while this model with the GlowLight feature will cost you $40 more. Barnes & Noble CEO William Lynch spoke with CNET today noting that the display’s lighting is absolutely key to the success of this device – imagine that! As Lynch noted: “It was really hard to get the lighting just right so it displays uniformly across the display. We think people are going to be really happy with how it looks.” As it turns out, it looks like people very much will if the following publishers have anything to say about it.

First as CNET’s David Carnoy noted with device in hand, the light is great, but the idea that a consumer will think it’s worth the extra cash might be up to debate:

“The big question, of course, is whether that integrated light will be worth the $40 extra to consumers. Barnes & Noble thinks it will be and presented a slide as part of its presentation, laying out the numbers and value proposition. Cases with integrated lights generally cost over $40 and while clip-on lights typically cost only around $20, they aren’t as an elegant a lighting solution. Barnes & Noble is also throwing in a full-fledged AC adapter for charging the new Nook along with an antiglare screen protector.” – Carnoy

Next hear what Laptop Magazine’s Anna Attkisson found most important to reflect on here in the GlowLight-laden slate, complete with a comparison to the iPad for good measure:

“The Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight solves the sleep problem because the light, while helpful, isn’t bright enough to rouse your partner. During our hands-on time, we noticed no glare, and the Nook’s screen shone brightly with the fairly well distributed GlowLight feature activated. In contrast, reading on the iPad with the brightness turned all the way up was a less enjoyable experience that ended up hurting our eyes.” – Attkisson

Over at Computer World Barbara Krasnoff noted that she was “impressed” as she went through the motions that activated the new feature:

“The Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight ($139) illuminates the reading surface with 8 LEDs embedded in the upper inner edge of the bezel, just above the display. You turn these LEDs on by pressing on the button just below the display for a couple of seconds. A quicker press brings up a menu along the bottom; tap on the selection labeled “GlowLight” and you can adjust the intensity of the light via a sliding control. … People who really enjoy reading — and who don’t mind spending a little more in order to read comfortably in bed — may find that the Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight is well worth the slightly higher price.” – Krasnoff

Over at Engadget, Brian Heater noted that the light created a wholly pleasant reading experience.

“The light is actually quite well distributed on the display. You’ll notice a bit of a gradient at the top, near the light source, but after reading for a bit, odds are you’ll completely forget about it. We used it for a bit in a darkened room, and it’s really a pleasant reading experience, staying true to most of the benefits of e-ink.” – Heater

On The Verge Ross Miller noted that though they had limited time to inspect the unit, there was a bit of non-uniformity to be seen:

“Barnes & Noble calls it a patent pending technology that consists of scattering LEDs up top that work with an anti-glare screen protector to uniformly spread light across the screen. There might be some other tricks at play to make it uniform, specifically along the sides and bottom, but they wouldn’t tell us anything more. Alas, we only had limited time with the device and weren’t allowed to break it apart and explore further.” – Miller

Gizmodo’s Kyke Wagner spoke briefly on the impressive fact that this new device is not heavier, but lighter than its predecessor:

“And maybe most impressively, the improvements don’t add any extra heft. The frontlit Nook is the exact same dimensions as the old Nook, and 5 percent lighter. That doesn’t sound like much, but it’s absolutely noticeable.” – Wagner

Finally Lauren Goode of All Things D noted some of the interesting conditions present at the actual New York City event which lead to some of the comparisons above:

“At a New York press event today, Barnes & Noble executives invited journalists to literally hop into bed with them in a dimly-lit room in a Manhattan hotel, where the new device was propped up against Amazon’s Kindle Touch and Apple’s new iPad. … The iPad and Kindle Fire tablet were also displayed alongside the hotel’s outdoor rooftop pool, in direct sunlight. (When asked what the contingency plan was if it rained today, a Barnes & Noble exec said, “Lots of lighting.”)” – Goode

Catch the rest of our coverage of the whole Nook lineup in the timeline below, and let us know if you’ve got any questions in the mean-time!

What this means for you is a very possible lowering of prices in the short run. If the DoJ is able to find a way to break up what they’re seeing as the first model, retailers will have the ability to make big discounts happen in the short run. What will likely happen in the meantime though is these retailers vying for the exclusive attention of some publishers, this again then allowing publishers to artificially set prices the way the DoJ says they are this very moment with retailers such as Apple.

Publishers are currently in a great place when it comes to selling ebooks as they’re able to ask retailers to set prices at a point where their ultimate goal can be met. Their ultimate goal is of course to keep themselves in business by either pushing ebooks as a primary sales point or by pricing those books just high enough that a reader would rather purchase a hardcover book instead. The DoJ wants the market to be much more free and open than it appears to be right now – discounts for books included.

Whether or not they’ll be able to do it with the model they are proposing here is still and will continue to be open to debate.

Settling publishers will be required to adhere by a list of rules and actions immediately upon accepting their terms. The Department of Justice delivered these rules earlier today after a press conference which announced their initial case against five of the “big six” as well as Apple. Hachette, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster will have to move forward with the following points:

• Terminate its current contracts with Apple within seven days of the court’s acceptance of the settlement;
• Terminate any other contracts with e-book retailers that restrict the retailer’s ability to set final prices for books or contain a “most favored nation” provision prohibiting price competition, as soon as possible;
• Renegotiate contracts with Apple and other retailers, with a two-year prohibition on any contract that prevents retailers from discounting retail prices (see below);
• Notify the Department of Justice before entering into any joint ventures between it and another publisher related to e-books;
• Designate an antitrust compliance officer and provide the DOJ with a copy of its agreements with any e-book retailers quarterly for five years.

These rules and the agreement the Department of Justice is attempting to work with here have publishers prohibited from setting hard floors on discounts for products they wholesale out to retailers. As the Department of Justice states:

“These provisions do not dictate a particular business model, such as agency or wholesale, but prohibit Settling Defendants from forbidding a retailer from competing on price and using some of its commission to offer consumers a better value, either through a promotion or a discount.” – DOJ

Retailers must be able to have staggered negotiations with publishers, according to the DOJ’s agreement here, so that they aren’t running into multiple publishers seeking similar agreements all at the same time. Check out the timeline below for the pre-cursors to this story – this isn’t the first suit!

Full documentation for the suit, released in full by the DOJ:

[via DOJ]

Barnes & Noble of course also has a NOOK line of devices which hit the market over a year ago with a color screen – the NOOK we’re looking at here being the one that’s black and white and has letters all over. This new version will have the same sort of E-Ink display as before, but with a front light embedded over the screen. Thats light without light, text that looks like its on paper, but not like the average paper-wielding book has.

There’s not yet any information out in the wild on a price or release date for this new product, but expect it to be out soon! That is, if Barnes & Noble doesn’t quash it now that it’s been revealed early. We’re guessing it’s well on the way though, especially with rumors of a Next-gen E-Ink Kindle on the way!

[via The Digital Reader]