Today Microsoft threw $300 million into the Barnes &Noble e-reader business (17.6% stake). It’ll be interesting to see how this whole Windows 8 vs. Android vs. iOS shakes out in the next few years.
Archive for the ‘The Mobile Wild West’ Category
Throwing good money after bad?
Monday, April 30th, 2012Square Up and Get Paid Fast!
Thursday, May 19th, 2011Are you able to accept credit cards payments anywhere, anytime? If not, you need Square, a fabulous little tool that will change your selling power. Here’s the the best part: It’s Free.
As an author and speaker, I know how important it is to be able to sell your books and products at the back of the room—or even out of the back of your car (since we authors always have copies of our book with us). Square is a simple little device that plugs into the headphone jack of most smart phones (check to see if your phone is supported). The account is free, the device is free. You pay as you go, and the money deposits right into your account. Here’s how it works: (more…)
Social Media is Dead – Long Live Social Media
Monday, November 8th, 2010New Nook
Monday, October 25th, 2010Barnes & Noble has a big announcement tomorrow afternoon. Perhaps a New touch screen Nook e-reader? Seems someone tipped CNET to a new image on the B&N site.
EDIT: B&N took down the item but you can still see it here.
As an aside, the Borders e reader just went on sale fro $99
E-book piracy on the rise?
Wednesday, October 6th, 2010
Image via Wikipedia
Attributor seems to think it’s on the up, up, up. But then they do sell anti-piracy software. The recent widespread availability of e-readers with no proprietary format may have something to do with it. Apple iPad, I’m looking at you (Kindle is still a relatively closed ecosystem). Is there a perfect DRM solution at this point? No, there’s not even a perfect e-reader format yet. But as content providers we’ll have to deal with these issues. And waiting never ends well, look at how well that worked for the music industry.
Flash – Ahhhhhhh
Thursday, September 9th, 2010Flash, is coming to an iDevice near you. Nearly five months ago Adobe killed a project that would have brought Flash derived applications to the iPhone. Mainly because of section 3.3.1 of the Apple developer license. As of today it seems that Apple is quietly relenting in their battle with Adobe on Flash based apps. In the new developer agreement this section (3.3.1) has been removed entirely:
Applications may only use Documented APIs in the manner prescribed by Apple and must not use or call any private APIs. Applications must be originally written in Objective-C, C, C++, or JavaScript as executed by the iPhone OS WebKit engine, and only code written in C, C++, and Objective-C may compile and directly link against the Documented APIs (e.g., Applications that link to Documented APIs through an intermediary translation or compatibility layer or tool are prohibited).
Specific programing languages are no longer mentioned. This means Flash programmers are back in the game. Of course you still have to get your app past the Apple approval board. But, things are looking up for both consumers of content and providers.
via: daring fireball
One e-reader to rule them all
Thursday, September 2nd, 2010
- Image via Wikipedia
As the battle heats up in the e-reader war there is great opportunity, for the consumer. For the content provider things are a bit more difficult. Every device seems to have it’s own proprietary software — rendering (at best) a few other formats useless.
So what format should you use? At this point there is no one best answer, just strategic compromises. For instance, the Kindle has huge market penetration and a fantastic marketplace but only renders black and white. So children’s books will be a bit lack luster. The iPad renders color but some users complain about reading on a backlit screen and certain formats require additional software. Android Handhelds are portable, render in color but don’t read the popular MobiPocket format. Barnes and Noble Nook only reads three of the thirteen formats available but they have distribution in their favor.
So you’ve written a book which means you already know who your audience is. Now figure out what devices they’re likely using and build to them. Create a couple formats and let your fans decide how to fulfill their needs.
Resource: Wikipedia published this handy sortable grid to help you decide the best way(s) to publish your masterpiece.
