The other day I was at Target shopping for some basic items. In the kids section I came across a device I’ve seen in commercials. It’s called the V.Reader (aff link). The V.Reader allows kids to learn to read while enjoying entertaining music and animation. In other words, it makes learning to read fun for kids.

Some might say this is cheating kids into reading. Times have changed.

When I was growing up, I learned to read the traditional way – with a printed book and lots of practice. No fancy animation. No catchy childrens songs. But as a kid, I also didn’t have computers, video games and on-demand movies competing for my attention. This all makes sitting down to read a book seem downright boring.

Continue Reading

Publishers are tearing their hair out over ebooks. How do they make money when ebook prices are being pushed so low? One idea that has been thrown around is to subsidize ebook with in-book ads. Yes, the idea is controversial and probably makes traditional book lovers cringe. Heck, it makes me cringe a little too.

I’ve already visited this subject twice on Brad’s Reader. The first was back in 2007 in my post Advertising in Books: Will it Work? and again in 2009 Ads in ebooks – Coming to an eReader near you. Notice that my thinking on this does shift from post to post.

Continue Reading

I hear a lot of people say they will forgo dedicated e-readers, such as the Kindle and Nook, in favor of the more expensive Apple iPad. I think this is a bad idea. While I love the iPad (I don’t own one, but I’d gladly buy one if my wallet would only let me) and think it is useful in a lot of ways, I don’t think reading ebooks is one of them.

A recent post from my favorite ebook blog, Teleread, summed up pretty well why the iPad makes a horrible ebook reader:

The machine is far too heavy to hold for any length of time. It is also very slippery which means that you have to read with it in a case, which, in turn, just adds to its bulk and weight. Also, while I have no trouble reading for extended periods from my iPhone, the iPad has just too much glare for prolonged use. I get sick of reading black text on a white background to cut the glare. More: its pretty much useless outside (I use my Kindle there); I

When I first saw the tweet that laptop computers and other digital devices (including the Amazon Kindle, and I’m assuming the B&N Nook) are banned from some coffee shops, I had to read the tweet twice. Then I read this NYT blog post in which the author described his experience at one coffee shop:

After placing my order I sat down at a table and pulled out my Amazon Kindle.

I barely made it a sentence into the e-book I was reading before an employee of the coffee shop came by, stood over me and said,

I think it’s amazing that only a year ago, Amazon was the only big player in the ebook world with their Kindle. Now, they have some major competition from Barnes & Noble with the release of the Nook last November. And it appears that B&N is leading the way in ereader pricing.

About a month ago, B&N lowered the price of the Nook 3G + WiFi to $199 from $259. They followed that by releasing a WiFi-only version of Nook for $149. Amazon quickly followed by lowering the price of their Kindle 2 to $189. Now, they have announced a WiFi-only Kindle that will retail for $139.

Continue Reading

UPDATE 7/22/10: Publishers have responded to and confirmed Amazon’s claims that ebooks sales have been outpacing hardcover book sales. Publisher’s Confirm Amazon’s Ebook Sales Figures

In a recent press release, Amazon.com claims to have sold 180 ebooks for every 100 hardcover editions sold in the last month. As a self-described “ebook evangalist” I’m thrilled that ebooks are becoming a larger part of overall books sales. But I’m also skeptical of Amazon’s claims.

In the press release, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos puts these numbers into perspective:

“We’ve reached a tipping point with the new price of Kindle–the growth rate of Kindle device unit sales has tripled since we lowered the price from $259 to $189,” said Jeff Bezos, Founder and CEO of Amazon.com. “In addition, even while our hardcover sales continue to grow, the Kindle format has now overtaken the hardcover format. Amazon.com customers now purchase more Kindle books than hardcover books–astonishing when you consider that we’ve been selling hardcover books for 15 years, and Kindle books for 33 months.”

I have always maintained that print books are here to stay for a very long time, ebooks are also here to stay and not just another fad.

Continue Reading

The biggest reason I hear people use for resisting ebooks is that they like real books. They like the feel of a real book when the hold it. They like turning the pages of a real book. They even like the smell of a real book.

All those reasons are very superficial.

Ebooks, just like printed books, are only the medium that the content reaches us. The story and characters do not change if you read a novel in ebook format as opposed to print. The only difference is that you’re reading on a screen rather than paper.

Continue Reading

I’ve always guessed that the main demographic for those who read ebooks would be the younger crowd. You know, those who are tech-savvy, have a lot of disposable income and like to have the latest and greatest of all the gadgets out there.

Well, I’m wrong. It appears that ebook readers are a little older, at least according to one article.

Continue Reading

The day after Father’s Day, Barnes & Noble drops the price of their Nook to $199 and releases a WiFi-only Nook for $149. Likewise, Amazon dropped the price on their Kindle to $189. I suspect that Amazon lowered their Kindle price in response to B&N’s own Nook price decrease.

Of course, I find it strange both decided to lower their prices after Father’s Day, especially considering how both Amazon and B&N went on an advertising blitz that marketed their respective e-readers as the perfect gift for dads. I wonder how many of these dads who did receive an e-reader will be slightly annoyed that their loved ones overpaid for their new toy.

Continue Reading

I happened to stop by my local Borders store today while running some errands and saw their display for their upcoming selection of ebook readers. Borders already sells the Sony family of e-readers (although the display was quite small and they didn’t have any demo units out).

On July 2 Borders will begin selling 2 more ebook readers. I grabbed some information from the small display and decided to present it here to compare both readers and what they off to you.

Continue Reading