Hasta La Gadget!

It looks like the tide is starting to turn decisively against Amazon’s $9.99 e-book publishing model — first MacMillan fought back and won, then HarperCollins dragged Bezos and Co., back to the negotiating table, and now Hachette is beating on the door. That’s at least the word according to a leaked memo from Hachette Book Group CEO David Young, in which he says the “agency” pricing model favored by MacMillan — and used by Apple new iBooks store — is the way to go. Ultimately this all comes down to power and control, and we’re getting the feeling the publishers have realized that they have to exert it in order to keep it — and oddly enough, it seems like Apple and the iPad are the leverage they’ve been waiting for. Get ready for the shakeout.

P.S.- Charlie Stross has a nice breakdown of the differences between the Amazon model and the agency model, if you’re interested in the nitty-gritty.

Hachette Book Group also pulls away from Amazon originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The wind sure changes very quickly, eh? Just a week ago the University of Georgia revealed that many of its study participants — Athens residents who were given a Kindle to play with — weren’t happy with their e-reader experience, but yesterday a new study reported something fairly contrasting. Rather than doling out touchscreen-less e-readers to a group of people, the NPD Group surveyed more than 1,000 e-reader owners in late November last year, and found out that 93 percent of them were “very satisfied” or “somewhat satisfied” with their devices, while only 2 percent “expressed any level of dissatisfaction.” The report also reveals that wireless access is the favorite feature for 60 percent of the users, while only 23 percent chose the touchscreen. Compared to last week’s report, this probably shows that consumers who actually buy e-readers don’t really care about the touch feature, whereas those on the outer circle are mainly waiting for more — and no doubt cheaper — touchscreen e-readers. Seriously though, only 34 percent wanted color screens? Those guys sure are easy to please.

E-reader statisfaction study shows 93 percent of users are happy, just not you originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 10:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You didn’t think the price hike would stop at Macmillan, did you? In today’s News Corp. earnings call, chairman Rupert Murdoch gave indication that his HarperCollins would also soon be changing its e-book prices with Amazon. As relayed by All Things D, the mogul has been unhappy with the $9.99 tier, that Apple’s iBookstore “does allow some flexibility and higher prices,” and here’s the kicker: “And now Amazon is willing to sit down with us again and renegotiate.” Nothing’s changed yet, but we gotta imagine it’s only a matter of time — not just with HarperCollins, but probably all “big six” publishers before too long.

Rupert Murdoch: Amazon now ‘willing to renegotiate’ e-book prices originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Feb 2010 18:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Put this down as something else rumored that’s come to fruition today. Apple’s just announced iBooks, an e-reader app and bookstore (called iBookstore) for the iPad, using the ePub format. We’re seeing prices around $12.99 to $14.99 so far… looks pretty slick! We’re sure Jeff Bezos and Co. are none too pleased to see this one, but we’ll have to see for ourselves what reading’s like on a non-E Ink screen. There’s a gallery after the break.

Be sure to hit up our hands-on right here!

Continue reading Apple reveals iBookstore and app for the iPad

Apple reveals iBookstore and app for the iPad originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jan 2010 13:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here’s a little price snippet on Apple’s e-book plans, care of an eleventh hour Wall Street Journal piece. According to the article, the gang in Cupertino is asking book publishers (HarperCollins was specifically cited) to set the price point for digital versions of hardcover bestsellers at either $12.99 or $14.00, “with fewer titles offered at $9.99.” The publisher apparently has the option to set its own price, but at any rate, Apple’s taking the usual 30% cut from each sale — a $14.99 novel would thus leave about $10.49 for the publisher. Nothing else to glean from this other than a rather strongly-phrased assertion that tomorrow’s tablet has a 10-inch touchscreen, but no indication on where that’s coming from. These prices would put Apple’s selection at a premium compared with Amazon and its Kindle store, but perhaps it’ll also be bypassing any rumored digital delay on new works — question is, if Apple really is entering the e-book business and bringing with it higher prices, will it let us import our digital books purchased from other stores? What say you, Mr. McGraw?

WSJ: Apple wants e-books to be $12.99 or $14.99 for hardcover best sellers originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jan 2010 20:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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