Comparing books to ebooks is like comparing mechanical watches to digital watches, or manual cars to automatic cars. No one doubts the convenience, reach, and flexibility of the ebook format, but it will never convincingly replicate the experience of a paper book—nor does it need to. Ebooks are a fundamentally new medium, stuck in an awkward growing stage. More »
While Apple’s iBookstore is available in numerous countries, readers who sit outside of a certain privileged zone have had to make do with public domain e-books at best. The Japanese won’t have to settle as of today: a low-key iBookstore expansion gives them access to paid content, including manga and other more localized material. Accordingly, there’s an iBooks 3.1 app update rolling out that both unlocks “hundreds of thousands” of titles in the Japanese store and improves support for Asian languages as a whole. Residents who’ve been looking for the most official means of reading JoJolion on their iPads just need to grab the refreshed iBooks at the source.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Apple
Source: App Store
Apple completely revamped its iTunes U app last year to include full course materials and it looks like that work is paying off, as the company just trumpeted its billionth content download. Over 250,000 students are enrolled in the service, which now boasts “thousands” of iTunes U learning materials, according to Cupertino. The company added that 60 percent of those downloads came from outside the US, with educators in 30 different countries — like recent additions Brazil and Turkey — able to create content. OHU prof “Dr. Fus” Stoltzfus said that students using his materials range from students around the world to retirees, so if you’ve been thinking of a knowledge upgrade, you’ve got no excuse. For more, check the PR after the break.
As glad as we are that digital bookstores let authors skip the usual gatekeepers, that doesn’t help much if they can’t get noticed. Apple is giving those self-publishing writers more of a chance to shine with the launch of a permanent Breakout Books section in the US iBookstore. The section highlights hot-selling and well-reviewed independent books, many of them from distributors like Smashwords. Don’t see the placement as a purely altruistic gesture, though: many of the books sell for significantly less than their peers from major publishers, which might help Apple snag a few more impulse purchases than it would otherwise. We doubt there will be many complaints when the category could pad both sides’ wallets.
Filed under: Tablets, Internet, Apple
Via: New York Times
Source: iTunes, Smashwords
Today Apple unveiled a new section to its iBookstore called “Breakout Books,” which features books published to the iBookstore by indie authors. The curated collection highlights titles that have earned four and five star reviews, so not every indie book will get its moment of glory in the new section.
The books are grouped in three genres: romance, sci-fi and fantasy, and mysteries and thrillers. Plus, there’s a fourth blended category called “more to explore” that features a handful of books mixed from the different categories. Of course, this isn’t the first time that Apple is highlighting indie works, but it’s the first time they’re putting them in the limelight like this.
Avid readers will also find that many of the books featured in this section are fairly inexpensive, with even some that are free of charge, meaning that there are a lot of great books that you can read without investing a lot of money. While the landing page for Breakout Books isn’t completely filled with recommended content, Apple says they’ll add more to the section once it takes off.
Since the beginning of the ebook craze, digital publishing has become easier and easier. It gives indie authors a chance to show their stuff to millions of people without spending tons of money for printing. Just like apps, games, and music, authors are taking advantage of the digital age, and are trying to get the word out about their books. This new section in the iBookstore will definitely help with that.
[via paidContent]
Apple launches Breakout Books to promote indie authors is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Happy holidays from space; there’s a new, free, astronomic e-book in the iTunes store and all you need to check it out is an iDevice and some time. Hubble Space Telescope: Discoveries boasts a collection of picture, video, and animation that lets you stare out into the beautiful void like never before. More »
If you’ve been a long-time iOS user and also read your fair share of ebooks, then you’ll know that Apple implemented a pretty cool page-turning animation when reading ebooks, meaning that sliding your finger across the screen to go to the next page resulted in the page actually turning, just like it would with a real book. And finally, USPTO has granted Apple the patent for that animation.
The patent’s illustration shows three different images of a virtual page being turned. One with the corner of a page being turned slightly, the next image with the page halfway turned, and the third showing the page almost entirely turned over. A swipe of the finger will activate the page turn, while a vertical finger swipe will flip the page just enough to reveal what’s on the next page.
The patent, which is for “Display screen or portion thereof with animated graphical user interface,” represents only one of 38 different patents that have been granted to Apple this week. The New York Times notes that this isn’t the first “seemingly obvious” patent that Apple has been awarded. The company was granted a patent for the musical note icon for iTunes, as well as the infamous glass staircase design Apple uses in their stores.
iBooks isn’t the only application that Apple uses its page-turning animation in. With iOS 6, Apple uses the animation in several of their own apps, including Maps and the Calendar app for iPad. Another notable patent that Apple won this week was for the iPad Smart Case, which acts much like a Smart Cover but gives the iPad a little added protection all around.
[via AppleInsider]
Apple granted patent for page-turn animation is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Whether you love or hate the skeumorphic design employed in the iBooks app on Apple’s iOS devices, you have to admit that the somewhat realistic effect of the turning pages is quite a pretty one. Well it seems that if you were hoping to see what effect employed on other non-iOS devices in the future, you might not be able to as Apple has been granted a patent for the curling pages turning animation. Of course Apple could always license that patent out, but given that it is somewhat unique, we doubt that they will. For those wondering, the curling effect can also be found in iOS 6 with other apps as well, such as Maps in which the curl will reveal more options, and Calendar. In any case what do you guys think of the page curling animation anyway? Would you rather your pages flip instantly or did you like that touch of realism?
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Microsoft Files For Virtual Page Curling Feature, Google wins patent for directions using cell coverage,
DC Comics has announced that it will be offering its comic books on a variety of digital platforms, including Apple’s iBooks, Amazon’s Kindle, and Barnes & Noble’s NOOK ereaders and tablets. Of course, DC Comics has been selling graphic novels in digital form for quite some time, but this is the first time that DC is officially releasing new content on a weekly basis to various big digital platforms.
Starting today, you’ll be able to get your comic fix through the official stores of your respective devices. DC also reported that for the year to date, its digital comic sales are up 197% year-over-year. Hank Kanalz, DC’s senior vice president of digital, says that the addition of more digital content won’t detract attention from physical comic book stores, but will expand the audience instead.
Previously, DC Comics sold its content through apps from Comixology including its own DC Comics app in Google Play and iTunes. However, those were the only two places that users could buy DC-owned comics. Now, users can go through the official bookstores on various devices without having to download additional apps in order to buy comic books.
Today will see 70 titles available in iBooks, the Kindle store, and the NOOK store, including the week’s New 52 superhero books, several Vertigo issues, select “digital-first” titles that publish online before print, as well as some back issues. A combination of same-day new titles and backlist titles will be added in the coming months.
DC digital comic books now available for iOS, Kindle, and NOOK devices is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Apple has negotiated a deal with European Union regulators that will result in the company avoiding a potential investigation on antitrust violations. However, in return, Apple is letting Amazon set their own prices for ebooks, which will most likely be lower than what Apple offers in their iBooks store.
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]
Apple avoids antitrust investigation by allowing Amazon to lower ebook prices is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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