Apple must allow Amazon, B&N, and other ebook sellers to link directly to their stores from their ereading apps, a proposed DoJ ebook antitrust settlement has suggested, as well as forcing Apple to hold off from any multimedia agreements that might increase overall market price for five years. The proposed remedy from the Department of […]
With the release of the final set of episodes in the controversial multi-season television series Breaking Bad comes an Apple iBooks-exclusive piece of media: Alchemy. This title is appearing this week with content exclusive to the book stemming from each of the show’s seasons, culminating in a full history of the Breaking Bad epic. Breaking Bad: Alchemy will also – of course – be updated after the final episode airs: August 11th.
This title is one of a rather complete set of wares set up by Sony Pictures Television in a Breaking Bad iTunes collection where they’ve also pushed the entirety of the show, music from the show, podcasts from insiders with the show, and apps – The Cost of Doing Business, that is. That same title, in a sentence encapsulating the dark undertone of the show, also sits atop a timeline of deaths in the iBook.
Breaking Bad: Alchemy – Table of Contents
• Chapter 1: Catalyst – A full interactive timeline of the entire series, highlighting pivotal moments, characters and iconic props from the series
• Chapter 2: Breaking Down Breaking Bad – Explores the influences of Breaking Bad and features “The Cost of Doing Business” timeline
• Chapter 3: Tweak of Chemistry – Explore the chemical compounds, devices and forces used throughout the series.
• Chapter 4: Visualize This, B*****es – Dedicated to the visual style and art of Breaking Bad both within and inspired by the series
SIDENOTE: Don’t forget to check SlashGear’s Bryan Cranston interview from earlier this year to have a listen on how the show’s special effects play a part in the production of the show.
• Chapter 5: Crystal Clear – Dynamically experience the unique camera angles and color techniques cinematographers used throughout the series to achieve the visual style of Breaking Bad
• Chapter 6: Amplitude – Explore the music of Breaking Bad
• Chapter 7: Composition Cartel – Exclusive interviews with Vince Gilligan and executive producers, insider cues behind the special effects and production design
• Chapter 8: Payoffs – Highlights the critical-acclaim of the series and provides fans continued opportunities to engage with the series
The Cost of Doing Business delivers exactly what you’d expect a fully interactive “death timeline” to deliver. Breaking Bad is certainly no stranger to the evil bits in buying and selling illicit cargo, and here in this piece of the app you’ve got interviews, show footage, and character evolution data to do full justice to each character that’s met their untimely end over the span of the show.
Also included here are “reflections” from show creator Vince Gilligan. This includes video chats, looks at 3D models, blueprints, special effects, and even camera angles on key shots.
“Breaking Bad: Alchemy is a comprehensive anthology that will allow viewers to experience and interact with the show in unprecedented ways. In the creation of the Breaking Bad book, we wanted to deliver to fans a unique and dynamic experience and unparalleled access into the production of the series that they will enjoy long beyond the final season.” – Chris Van Amburg, Senior Vice President, Marketing for Sony Pictures Television
This iBook exists as a unique offering at this time in history due to its promise of added content once its subject matter – the TV show – is done being delivered. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen an app delivered before its full payload was sent out to the public, but given the relative popularity of similar “Second Screen” deliverables over the past year, we won’t be surprised to see more iBooks – and similar media – like this in the future.
At the moment the public will be able to pick the Breaking Bad: Alchemy iBook up for $7.99 USD as part of a limited-time pricing structure. Expect that amount of cash to go up once the world gets stunned into silence over the final chapter of the television show, hitting AMC on the 11th of next month.
Spoilers get dealt with!
Breaking Bad: Alchemy hits iBooks as exclusive with series finale promise is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Apple will fight the ebook price fixing ruling, the company has said today, promising to appeal the court’s decision and accusing Amazon of having a “monopolistic grip on the publishing industry.” The official statement follows a New York federal court ruling this morning that Apple colluded with five major publishers to force the ebook industry to the so-called “agency model” and, in the process, drive up prices – and margins – on ebook downloads for the iBookstore.
Apple, Justice Denise Cote wrote in a 160-page ruling on the case brought by the DOJ, “played a central role in facilitating and executing” a conspiracy to raise the cost of ebooks. Until Apple’s launch of the iBookstore, new releases had been around $9.99 on Amazon. After publishers made their push to the agency model, that rose to, on average, $14.99.
“Without Apple’s orchestration of this conspiracy, it would not have succeeded as it did in the Spring of 2010″ Justice Cote concluded.
However, unsurprisingly Apple is not willing to accept the court’s decision, and will fight the ruling in an appeal. “Apple did not conspire to fix ebook pricing and we will continue to fight against these false accusations” the company said in a statement. “When we introduced the iBookstore in 2010, we gave customers more choice, injecting much needed innovation and competition into the market, breaking Amazon’s monopolistic grip on the publishing industry.”
“We’ve done nothing wrong and we will appeal the judge’s decision” the spokesperson said.
With the initial case concluded, next up is a trial to settle on damages. There’s no indication as to what Apple might eventually be required to pay – both to the US government and to numerous states – though Penguin, which voluntarily settled (as did all the publishers involved) with the DOJ coughed up $75m including damages.
Amazon is yet to comment on the ruling, or indeed Apple’s portrayal of it as “monopolistic.”
Apple: We’ll appeal ebook price fix ruling is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Apple has been found guilty of ebook price fixing, with a New York federal judge ruling today that the Cupertino firm conspired with publishers to drive up the cost in its iBookstore. The ruling will now be followed by a trial for damages, Reuters reports, which will decide how much Apple must pay the US government and several states.
The non-jury trial began in early June, with Apple defending itself against the Department of Justice over claims it worked with publishers to move the digital book market to the so-called “agency model.” Whereas previously, retailers such as Amazon had been setting their own prices for ebooks for Kindle, and similar, Apple and the publishers preferred the greater margins available through themselves setting the sticker price.
According to the DOJ, that counted as manipulating the market, and it threatened to haul five of the big publishers – Hachette, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, and The Penguin Group – into court as well as Apple. Over time, each publisher settled – though admitted no wrongdoing in the process – so as to escape greater censure, but Apple insisted on taking the case all the way to the courtroom.
Even before the trial started, however, the outlook looked grim. The judge, having only reviewed preliminary evidence, suggested that Apple was likely to lose, despite the best efforts of the Cupertino firm’s legal team to argue the DOJ was presenting evidence selectively to mislead.
In fact, Apple said, it was acting in the best interest of publishing overall. The company warned of a “chilling effect” on ebooks if it was found guilty.
“The plaintiffs have shown that the publisher defendants conspired with each other to eliminate retail price competition in order to raise e-book prices, and that Apple played a central role in facilitating and executing that conspiracy,” US District Judge Denise Cote wrote in a 160-page ruling on the case. “Without Apple’s orchestration of this conspiracy,” she said, “it would not have succeeded as it did in the Spring of 2010.”
It’s unclear to what extent the damages could run, though we’d guess Apple will be doing everything in its power to appeal the decision. The exact details of the settlements each of the five publishers eventually agreed with the DOJ have not been revealed, but Penguin is known to have coughed up $75m plus costs to settle the claims across 33 US states, along with a class-action lawsuit.
What this could mean for ebook prices from iBooks, Kindle, NOOK, and other stores also remains to be seen; Amazon is eager to return to the days where a new ebook would be $9.99, rather than the $12.99-15.99 that the agency model has settled on today.
Apple is yet to comment on the decision; we’ve reached out to the company, and will update when we have more. Update: Apple has commented on the ruling, and will fight it in appeal.
Apple guilty in ebook price-fix trial is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Apple has prophesied an “chilling effect” on digital media negotiations should it be castigated over iBooks pricing allegations, though the DoJ has dismissed the claims as egotistical. Speaking during closing statements at the New York trial in which Apple is accused of conspiring with publishers to force up the prices of ebooks, Apple lead attorney
Apple‘s Steve Jobs had to be convinced of the potential for ebooks on the iPad, Eddy Cue has revealed, describing how he needed to petition for iBooks support during testimony at the ebook price fixing trial this week. Cue first pitched a digital bookstore in 2009, Cue told the court, AllThingsD reports, but Jobs “wasn’t
The “smoking gun” email the Department of Justice has cited as evidence of Apple’s conspiracy with publishers to artificially hike ebook pricing was, in fact, only an unsent draft by Steve Jobs, the Cupertino firm’s legal team has revealed. The DoJ had highlighted the email, from Jobs to SVP Eddy Cue, as a sign that
iBooks has been limited to iOS devices for the past three years, but that’s changing today: as of OS X Mavericks, Apple is bringing its reading app to the Mac. The software preserves all the features of its mobile counterparts, including highlights, notes and textbooks. Naturally, you can shop for books from the app as well. Apple only gave us a brief preview of iBooks at WWDC, but we can already say it’s a more than welcome update for those who don’t stop reading just because they’re at their desks.
Follow our liveblog for all of the latest news from WWDC 2013.
Gallery: WWDC 2013: Apple iBooks
Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio/Video, Tablets, Software, Apple
Source: Apple
Apple has vehemently denied conspiring with publishing industry heavyweights to artificially inflate ebook pricing, countering Department of Justice claims that Steve Jobs attempted price fixing with the argument that Apple and the rights holders were in fact strongly opposed throughout negotiations. Apple, representatives from which appeared in a New York court on Monday this week
Apple is unlikely to be able to counter evidence that it conspired with publishers to inflate ebook prices, the federal judge overseeing the case has said in a surprise pre-trial comment, though the Cupertino firm vehemently disagrees. The case, set to be heard from June 3, sees the US Justice Department allege Apple along with five big name publishers aimed to raise the price of ebooks for the launch of iBooks. Apple is the final hold-out, after the publishers settled with the DoJ, but according to US District Judge Denise Cote, Reuters reports, the evidence prepared seems sufficiently damning.
The comments were made on Thursday this week, at a pre-trial hearing to decide on aspects like expert witnesses along with how long the case was expected to last. However, Justice Cote made waves by announcing that she had already been working on the draft of the final written decision – which would be published after the trial had been completed – and agreeing to give participants an insight into which way she is already leaning.
“I believe that the government will be able to show at trial direct evidence that Apple knowingly participated in and facilitated a conspiracy to raise prices of e-books,” the judge said, “and that the circumstantial evidence in this case, including the terms of the agreements, will confirm that.”
Cote described her stance as a “tentative” view of the case, pointing out that it had been based for the most part on evidence the DoJ had submitted. However, it did not take into account affidavits submitted both by the DoJ and Apple.
Unsurprisingly, Apple isn’t impressed by Cote’s comments. “We strongly disagree with the court’s preliminary statements about the case today,” lawyer Orin Snyder said, going on to suggest that Apple’s own evidence would sufficiently counter that of the Justice Department. “We look forward to presenting our evidence in open court and proving that Apple did not conspire to fix prices,” he concluded.
The Cupertino firm is the final hold-out in the case, after the five publishers agreed at various points over the past year to cough up penalties. Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, and Hachette Book Group all rolled over immediately, followed by Pearson in December 2012, and MacMillan in February.
Justice Cote’s early stance is being interpreted by some as an attempt to pressure Apple into settling, likely without necessarily accepting blame; MacMillan, for instance, said that it had capitulated “because the potential penalties became too high to risk even the possibility of an unfavorable outcome.”
Apple’s deeper war chest may make it a tougher nut to crack that way, however. Apple CEO Tim Cook is expected to appear to give evidence, among others, after the DoJ convinced the court that his conversations with Steve Jobs give him unique insight into the case.
Apple likely to lose ebook price-fix case hints judge before trial even starts is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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