Barnes And Noble To Power Textbooks?

When the iPad came out, I had hoped that it would truly revolutionize the textbook market. Granted that it has been a mere 2 or 3 months since the iPad has been on the market and granted that Apple has sold a gazillion of them (okay, more like 3+ million), there is almost nothing I've heard about the textbooks.

Maybe Barnes And Noble's upcoming Nookstudy can do something about that. It'll be released in August and though I'm not longer a professional student, I intent to download it as I am a curious creature, interested in all things.

But will this do what the iPad hasn't been able to do so far? Oh, and Kindle tried but failed big time so far. I hope so.  Is Nookstudy going to make a difference?

Nook: BN Puts Pressure On Amazon with Less Expensive Nook

I am now considering getting a Nook for myself.  I have already bought two for members of my family and I do have an iPad but the Nook as a dedicated reader is an entirely different beast.  I also want to disclose that in addition to buying ebooks from Barnes and Noble and Apple, I've also bought books in the past from Amazon.
 

But with this move by BN and as a support of Apple, I'm likely to leave Amazon's Kindle behind.  The giant bookstore has updated the Nook by lowering its price from $259 to $199 and released a newer Wi-Fi only version for $159.  This is a similar move like Apple's iPad line - Wi-Fi only and another version with 3G wireless connection (BN's Nook can only use the 3G to download books, no true 3G Internet access).

We'll likely see Amazon make a similar move in the months if not weeks ahead.  As a matter of fact, I fully anticipate Bezos and company to update the Kindle.  In recent weeks, Amazon's digital book plans has faced revolt from publishers to shift to the agency model as well as competition from the iPad.

Isn't competition grand?  How will this impact users?  A first-rate ereader at $159.  First, we have Amazon to thank for this.  With the Kindle, and Steve Jobs has said as much, Amazon has done a great job in bringing ereading to the forefront of the general public.  And while the original price of $400 of the first Kindle was steep, there were adopters.

Competition with the entry of BN and, more recently, Apple has heated up the ebook market.  As a result, we are seeing great readers for affordable prices.  There is simply no way anyone could have anticipated readers at $159 in 2010 before the Kindle was released.  Then the Sony Reader was over $500 and ebooks were more expensive than their print counterpart.

I've been an ebook reader since the Palm V and Zire days with the eReader.com app.  I've read dozens of books, paying a premium at times, and I cannot be happier than what BN is doing today.  Now, we await Amazon's response.  Many bloggers as well as analysts think Amazon will respond with an updated Kindle.  Furthermore, Amazon is likely developing fully mobile computing solution for the Kindle.  Yes, a Kindle that is more likely a tablet than just a reader.

But today, it's all about the Nook.  Here is a comparison chart of the two Nook models.  After reading this, head over to BN if the Nook has been the reader at the right price for you.

More at BN's Nook page and Amazon's Kindle page (amazon offers two models of the Kindle based on screen size).

Note:  The link for BN.com is just that a link.  I am merely a mobile fan in this matter.  The Kindle link does have an association link where if you click on it and buy something from Amazon, I will make a couple of bucks.  I just want to let you know that.  You know, full disclosure and all.

eBooks And Possibly Paying Taxes On Devices To Read Them

We believe that Amazon is doing quite a number on the number of eBooks since the Kindle came out. It's not sure just how the shift away traditional to digital copies has resulted with the number of ebook readers on the market. After stating they've sold 2 million iPads, Apple said 5 million books have been downloaded.

It's not known how many of those are free and what the percentage of the iPad owners have downloaded iBooks, Apple's dedicated ebook app reader. Still, it's quite impressive. Personally, I can't wait to see how much more growth Apple, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble can generate through 2010.

Barnes And Noble's Nook is a popular device and I imagine the bookseller, which based it on Android OS, will expand its usability and entice more people to its popular platform for reading. Recently, BN updated the Nook for Web browsing and added games as well.

Of course, it'll be a while before the Kindle and Nook matches the iPad in its multi-use and ecosystem. Therefore, I'm looking for near-term growth in ebook consumption from additional iPad sales and sales of other tablets running on Android and Windows through 2011. As of now, I'm not seeing the love from Amazon and Barnes and Noble on my G1. Plus, we'll see Google get into the game soon.

Taxing your iPad and Droid. During a brainstorming session, one of the "brilliant" (lots and lots of sarcasm here) idea is to tax mobile devices to save the print industry. Absolutely brilliant. Of course, some EU nations tax music players to save the music industry there.

Furthermore, Rassmussen Reports released some polling results showing very little support for this concept. So, tax devices that people when they exercise but, wow, don't tax our sugared and other high-calorie snacks. Brilliant guys.

More at Teleread.

BN Gets Back Into eBook Market; Kindle Can't Catch Break

Last week, we reported how Amazon stole back some books it sold to Kindle owners. It will come back to haunt them. Believe me. It's not the kind of news that you want if you're trying to promote your ereader to the masses.

Well, that just got more difficult as Barnes and Noble just announced their intentions to get back into the eBook market that it had started but abandoned because of demand and, though they will never admit it, higher ebooks prices than what users pay for traditional books.

And prices will be what count for most folks I know and especially in a recession. Even the rich and super rich as affected so it says a lot for poor folks like us. So, Kindle's recent price drop is a good start (now starting at $299), it'll need to go lower when Barnes and Noble along with ereader partner,

Right now, go to BN's eBook site and it'll tell you to come back Summer 2009. Well, the press release helps explain why it's summer and we've seen nothing yet. So, what are to expect? Keep in mind that BN bought Fictionwise who bought eReader.com earlier. So, there's been a lot of activities in the eBook market.

• 700,000 books - world's largest ebook store - to reach 1MM shortly
• 700,000 public domain books from Google.
• Works on Macs, PCs, the iPhone platform, Windows Mobile, RIM smartphones
• Upgraded version of ereader software coming. Free books as well.
• BN app for the iPhone includes ability to buy products directly from BN.com
• Support for ePub e-book standard. This is most excellent.

Great. What does that mean for mobile readers? Competition to start. Not just on book prices but also hardware. BN entered into a deal with Plastic Logic to use its reader.

Kindle and Sony eReader has had the market all to itself and while it's good to see the Kindle's price drop, it is still much considering it main function to to serve as a digital book reader. The DX is nice but at $489, only the select few can afford something like that.

ZDNet article writer said it best. He had been planning on getting an iPod Touch until this announcement. He was not thinking about getting a Kindle. Why? Because an iPod Touch can do more than let the user read books. More than that, he neglected to say it has something to do with the price of Kindle.

But we're all assuming that BN's reader will be priced competitively. If not, who cares? We've got mobile devices and smartphones to use. As long as BN and Amazon start hammering each other on ebook prices, I'm cool with just that.

Note: I had also been planning on upgrading my iPod Touch later this year when the new model comes out with the iPhone 3GS' internals. What I'm waiting for is the fabled Apple tablet. Absent that, BN's reader jumps ahead of Kindle given the prank that Amazon pulled last week.