Wednesday News: New Kindle Paperwhite; Amazon bundles print and digital; Fore-edge painting
Microsoft to acquire Nokia’s devices & services business for around $5 billion (Update: due early 2014) – In 2014, Microsoft will purchase Nokia, all of its device, patents, and software for about $5 billion. Nokia is the largest Windows Phone manufacturer and I suppose this is an attempt to leverage Nokia’s technology and push Windows Phone into a larger share of the cellular and smartphone marketplace. Engadget
According to the companies’ press releases, 32,000 people will transfer across Microsoft, including 4,700 people in Finland and 18,300 employees directly involved in product manufacture. If you thought it was only the Windows Phone component of the phone business, you’d be wrong: Microsoft will also take into ownership Nokia’s Asha range of feature phones. Patent-wise, Microsoft gets 10-year non-exclusive license to its Finnish partner’s library of ideas and “reciprocal rights” to use Microsoft patents within its HERE mapping services. While Microsoft will be able to use the Nokia branding on its products, the Finnish company will now focus on its mapping, infrastructure and advanced tech arms.
Secret Fore-Edge Paintings Revealed in Early 19th Century Books at the University of Iowa – A librarian working at the Special Collections & University Archives at the University of Iowa made a gif of page edges on a 1937 book called Autumn by Robert Mudie. The technique is called fore-edge-painting and can only be seen when the pages are fanned out. Different images can be seen by flipping the book over and fanning in the opposite direction. You really have to go to this link and see the painting. It’s incredible. The technique apparently dates back to the 1650s. This Is Colossal
Amazon’s Kindle MatchBook will let you buy cheap digital editions of print books you already own – Amazon introduced digital music matching a few months ago. Bought a CD from them? They’ll drop a mp3 into your account. Now Amazon is going to do that for print and digital books. Under a program called Kindle MatchBook, you can purchase a low priced digital copy of a print book if you bought it from Amazon AND the book is part of a 10,000 title catalog. The digital editions will run up to $2.99, most of the time. Paid Content
The publisher has to enroll a title in the Kindle MatchBook program. This will also be available to self published authors through the KDP program. The likelihood of publishers agreeing to this seems low but maybe if Kindle MatchBook has success, publishers will look into the possibility of bundling. HarperCollins appears to be the only publisher that has signed on. The announcement went out yesterday and Amazon announced by the end of business day over 18000 indie titles have been included. Indies are given the price options of Free, $.99 and $2.99. The digital version will be offered much like the audio version is offered now.
Kindle Paperwhite Touch Screen E-Reader with Light – Amazon has announced an updated eink reader with a better screen and a faster refresh. The price is $119, same as the old one. The best thing, in my opinion, are the software changes and I hope to see these incorporated into apps and updated software for older Kindles. Three things stood out for me: Amazon
1) With Kindle Paperwhite’s new Page Flip feature, you can skim page-by-page, scan by chapter, or skip to the end for a sneak peek without losing your place.
2) Share with Friends on Goodreads
COMING SOON—Find your next favorite book. Now the world’s largest e-reading community can connect with the world’s largest community of book lovers. Join over 20 million other readers and see what your friends are reading, share highlights, and rate the books you read with Goodreads on Kindle.
3) In-line Footnotes
NEW—With a single tap, read the complete text of each footnote without changing your page or losing your place in the book.
Amazon is also introducing badges, a concept it has borrowed from Kobo. I wonder, though, given that Ami with an i is with Goodreads now, whether this isn’t her idea. The reason is that Ami with an i used to be with a social media sharing site called GetGlue that used badges. She then went to Kobo who incorporated achievement badges and now Kindle is rolling this out.
It would be nice if the new features of the new Kindle PW could be incorporated into a software update for current PW owners. I’d even be willing to pay a (nominal) upgrade fee to get that page flip feature.
I own a current Paperwhite and I’m neutral on most of the new features, but I would love to have that footnote feature. I have a few books that I’ve avoided reading because navigating the footnotes is too annoying.
The footnote switch ability looks like it could be rather useful for anybody who reads textbooks and academic articles on their e-reader. If they roll it out to Kindle apps it could help with the uptake of e-textbooks, I think. I really like the Matchbook idea – I’ve been a proponent of bundling since Baen started doing it, and it’s always bugged me why regular publishers never seemed to be willing to get on board with the idea.
Love the idea of bundling and all the updates. Would definitely pay a nominal fee to get my software updated for the footnote feature.
I enjoy reading on my new Nexus 7 tablet that the new and improved Kindle Paperwhite doesn’t even tempt me. I think I am pretty much over e-ink readers and the lack of decent organization. I love the Mantano Reader app which allows me to do just that. Verdict still out on Kindle Matchbook. I’m not confident that it will go anywhere if publishers are not willing to cooperate.
I love fore-edge paintings. I think they should make a comeback as an added bonus for getting the printed book. Hmm… A bonus scene? Naughty fore-edge paintings???
I am still using a keyboard Kindle and while I still love it this does tempt me.
I see that the new Paperwhite only stores 1100 books. It is absolutely mindboggling to me that they are getting away with making a device that has less storage with every upgrade.
@Ros: I wonder if that has to do something–as well-with the search feature. If I have more than 500 books on my Paperwhite, the search feature slows down, sometimes to the point of freezing.
The e-book bundling idea isn’t new. Apress (and probably others) who publishes tech titles (stuff like C# and Android programming) has been doing this for years. Buy the print book, then go to their website, create an account, and answer some question (like what is the first word on page xx of the print book), and they let you download a pdf for free (or possibly a small fee). Handy when you don’t want to lug 3 pounds of paper around in a laptop bag, but also don’t always want to waste a monitor displaying a pdf e-book when you’re in the middle of coding and really need to look up some example.
I’m glad to have the option. I wonder if this would be more popular for non-fiction titles going forward. I can totally see buying research books where I’d love to keep the beauty of large-size photographs, but want to carry the text with me on the go for reference if I’m not sitting at home next to a bookshelf.
@Carolyne: I’ve seen naughty for-edge paintings. I feel like that is so something Miranda Neville should use in a book!
@Ros: This Kindle has the same amount of storage as the earlier version of the Paperwhite.
On Badges I’m not so sure Amazon is borrowing the concept from Kobo. IIRC the Audible apps had it before Kobo and I think some other kind of app had it before that. (Of course I could be remembering wrong)
Pretty interested in seeing the increased contrast of the new eInk screen tech that the new Paperwhite is using.
I’m tired of turning on a lamp to read my keyboard Kindle (I know, big time First World problem), so now may be the time I go for the Paperwhite.
Thank you, Jane for once again pointing out how books can be made even more awesome than they already are!! Those fore edge paintings are phenomenal.
One of the things I wish Kindle would update is the ability to lock formatting. Once I start a book, I don’t need to keep changing the font size yet that happens inadvertently all the time. Definitely want that page flip feature but I wouldn’t be willing to pay for an update that should be included when I bought the hardware.
I read a lot of nonfiction with footnotes and I’m really psyched about the new footnotes ability. It’s one of the list of things that are faster to read in paper form, especially if you want to flip back and forth from the notes back to where you are reading. Endnotes that are listed by page number – when you don’t have any page numbers in the ebook – are also a problem this could solve.
I can’t tell from reading the announcements, but I’m wondering if the software will update on older Paperwhites. I’m thinking probably not, but I’m still waiting to see someone answer that.
I’m most excited about the skim ahead without loosing your place feature – if that works well, that would eliminate my main complaint about ebooks vs print. I’m a skimmer aheader and I can’t skim ahead easily on my Nook. It hasn’t bothered me too much, because I think skimming ahead is kind of a bad habit (I read the last chapter first for some novel in a college lit class and not only did I spoil the big surprise, I horrified my lit prof) and if I’m skimming a lot, it usually means I’m not really in the mood to read or at least to read that book. But to be able to easily skim ahead in an ebook would still make me happy (not that I’m in any position to upgrade ereaders right now, but someday. And by then, maybe an epub ereader will have that feature).
Okay, the fore-edge painting thing is way cool!
@B. Sullivan: I’d be surprised if the original PW didn’t get an update. The Kindle Touch might not get one since it’s a bit older, but the Touch did get updated to the PW’s interface and stuff not to long after the PW came out. Of course it’s Amazon so we won’t likely know it’s coming until the actually do it.
The Amazon UK announcement didn’t reference Goodreads integration at all, so I was confused when I first saw reference to that! I’m not planning on linking my Amazon/GR accounts though.
I’m very tempted by the new PW, primarily because of that flip ahead/back feature. I’ve “trained” myself not to do that on ebooks, but I kind of miss it. Footnotes will be an added bonus.
I’m not likely to get one, because I really prefer ereaders that have both touchscreen and buttons, but I’m so stoked they incorporated my suggestion about being able to move around and get back to where you were. (I’m sure it wasn’t just mine. :-) )
@Brian: Re: I’d be surprised if the original PW didn’t get an update.
I really hope so – but I’m also trying not to expect it because who knows, there might be a tech reason why that won’t work.
Meanwhile I have to add that I spent a good chunk of time today happily looking at all sorts of fore-edge painting images – Boston Public Library has a huge amount of theirs online and with details about the paintings: http://foreedge.bpl.org/
So, is this paperwhite any whiter than the original? I recall hearing it wasn’t all THAT white, and since my biggest desire for my Kindle would be better contrast, I’m thinking that this doesn’t get us any closer.