e-book

Update (10:00pm PT): Just hours before the Apple iPad is set to go on sale, Amazon has made the iPad-optimized version of its Kindle app available. Like the iPhone version, it's free, and can access any Kindle books purchased through your Amazon account. We have not had a chance to load the new iPad version of the Kindle reader on an iPad yet, but screenshots indicate it had a similar bookshelf feature and page-turning animations. This is a surprising development, as Amazon had previously claimed they would not have the app available on April 3. Original post continues below.

At first glance, the new Apple iPad includes most of the features we've been complaining are missing from the current generation of specialized e-book readers, namely the Amazon Kindleand the Barnes & Noble Nook.

If one were to build from scratch a device for reading books and periodicals onscreen, there's a good chance it would include a touch screen for navigating and flipping pages; a color display for illustrations, photos, and book covers; and--infrequently mentioned but still important--the ability to download and read e-books from several different sources.

The current Kindle DXhas a display size similar to the iPad's, at 9.7-inches. But from a features standpoint, the iPad blows away the Kindle. In addition to its color screen, it's got a laundry list of functions above and beyond its e-book reader capabilities: a robust (albeit Flash-less) Web browser; built-in iTunes audio and video playback; photo viewing; and access to the entire library of tens of thousands of iPhone apps (let alone new, iPad-optimized ones that are just coming online).

Some first impressions when comparing the reading experience on both devices:

The screen: The Kindle's e-paper display has plenty of fans, with many agreeing with Amazon's sales pitch that the flat matte screen is easier on the eyes than backlit displays. It also makes the device readable in brightly lit environments, including direct sunlight. By contrast, the bright, colorful display on the iPad really pops at first glance. And it's backlit, so you can read in complete darkness. The question is: will that remain comfortable over long periods? During our short time with the device, we found the iPad's highly reflective glass screen to be problematic--we were always shifting angles to avoid seeing the reflection of overhead lights. (The iPhone may have the same issue, but it seems less problematic on its smaller screen.) Like many things, this is going to be a personal preference--but we'd give the Kindle (and other E-ink readers) the nod for brightly lit environments, while the iPad wins for darker ones. Meanwhile, if color is a necessity, the iPad wins hands-down.

Software--iBooks versus Kindle Reader: We were able to load up the Apple iBook reader on our iPad and we were impressed with many of the iBook features, including its browsable collection of book covers, the ability to see two pages at once in landscape mode, and the easy-to-use timeline at the bottom, which shows you the page count as you fast-forward through the book.

There's a cool page-turning animation as well, but that may get old rather quickly. Still, it beats the full-screen page flash that happens when you turn a page on a Kindle. … Read more

With the iPad's launch just days away, several publishers will begin setting e-book prices on Amazon.com starting Thursday, according to published reports.

CBS' Simon & Schuster and News Corp.'s HarperCollins Publishers have struck deals with Amazon.com to determine their own prices for electronic titles, according to The Wall Street Journal and BusinessWeek reports. (CNET is published by CBS Interactive, a unit of CBS.) Additionally, Macmillan, Hachette Book Group, and Penguin Group will begin setting their own prices on Thursday, according to a Sony letter cited by BusinessWeek.

Most e-books will cost between $12.99 and $14.… Read more

You know what they say about parenting: It's the hardest job you'll ever love. Of course, you might love it a little more if it weren't so flippin' hard all the time. So let's hear it for all the iPhone apps designed to make parents' lives a little easier.

There are dozens, if not hundreds, of such apps in the Store, but I've rounded up five that I consider essential--starting with one that can make injuries and illnesses a little less scary (for you, anyway):

1. Kid Care Your toddler is running a fever of 103. Should you call your pediatrician? Head for the hospital? Wait it out? Kid Care offers medical advice for dozens of common symptoms--everything from bee stings to headaches to wheezing. Based on proven clinical protocols, the app provides symptom definitions and images, care advice, medicine dosage information, and helpful reading material such as "Fever--Myth Vs. Facts." There's also a handy dial-your-doctor button and a location-aware emergency-services finder. My only wish is that I'd had this incredible app at my fingertips when my kids were younger. Amazingly, it's free.

2. Tales2Go A new favorite in our house--make that our car--Tales2Go streams on-demand audiobooks for kids. The collection now exceeds 1,000 titles, including such well-known series as "American Girl," "The Boxcar Children," "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," and "Junie B. Jones." The app is free, as is a 30-day trial of the service. After that, you pay $24.99 for a year of unlimited listening. As someone who's spent that much on a single audiobook CD, I consider that the bargain of the century.… Read more

Amazon's dominance of the fledgling e-book market will be relatively short-lived. For while sales of digital books are growing, so too are the devices on which to read them. With Apple's iPad heading to market this spring and a rumored Google tablet some time after that, Amazon is going to have a tough time holding on to the 90 percent share of the e-book market it currently claims.

According to Credit Suisse analyst Spencer Wang, the retailer will likely see its e-book market share slip from 90 percent to 72 percent this year and to 35 percent by … Read more

It's a good time to be a Dr. Seuss fan--and an iPhone or iPod Touch owner. Hot on the heels of last year's criminally overlooked "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and thoroughly entertaining Dr. Seuss Camera, Grinch Edition, Oceanhouse Media just dropped three new Seuss apps, starting with a spectacular e-book edition of "The Cat in the Hat."

Like "Grinch" before it, this book is animated, narrated, and interactive. Children can choose either "Read to Me" or "Read It Myself" mode, both of which produce the original book's artwork and text--but with a little panning and zooming to lend an animated feel.

"The Cat in the Hat" is not only a great diversion for bored children (and their harried parents), but also a learning tool. In "Read to Me" mode, each word gets highlighted as it's read. When the narration finishes, readers can tap different areas of the accompanying picture to hear the corresponding word spoken and see it "zoom up."… Read more

You've seen the film, probably with Helena Bonham Carter and Emma Thompson; now read the original book, on your Kindle, for nowt. The works of Dickens and Austen are among 65,000 classics of English literature digitized by the British Library and coming soon, for free, to Amazon's e-book reader.

The titles were scanned on Microsoft's dime as part of its now-defunct Live Search book search project. They're all from the 19th century and are out of copyright. Amazon will offer the e-books to Kindle owners through its Kindle store in late spring or early summer, … Read more

In recent weeks, the stand-off between Amazon and publishers over e-book pricing has received a lot media attention. At issue is who controls how e-books are priced and what pricing flexibility publishers have when coordinating releases of their hardcover books with their e-book counterparts.

Many say the brouhaha was precipitated by Apple's iPad launch, which included a new e-book store (iBooks) with a pricing structure that appealed to certain publishers. In the wake of the launch, two major publishers, Macmillan and Hachette, have renegotiated deals with Amazon to move to an "agency model" that allows publishers to set prices for their e-books and give Amazon a 30 percent cut from the sale price. Word is that most--but maybe not all--of the "big six" publishers are interested in following suit with similar deals.

As any Kindle owner knows, Amazon has touted how it sells many new releases and all best sellers for $9.99. Under this arrangement, Amazon is willing to take a loss because it buys e-books from publishers for about 50 percent off the list price of the hardcover. For instance, if a hardcover lists for $24.95, Amazon buys the e-book for around $12.50 and sells it for $9.99.

On the surface, that may seem marginally crazy, but Amazon wants to attract people to its Kindle platform by offering the best selection of e-books at the best prices--and forcing competitors like Barnes & Noble and Sony to match those prices.

It's the old squeeze play, and though it may be a smart, cut-throat strategy that appears to have paid off so far, publishers have become gravely concerned that Amazon is gaining too much power in the quickly growing e-book arena.… Read more

Barnes & Noble's Nook e-reader, which sold out over the winter holidays, is available online once again, the company said Monday.

The Nook is also expected to show up in most B&N stores by midweek.

After running out of the e-readers over the holidays, Barnes & Noble said it kicked production into high gear so it could ship the Nook to its stores by this week--in time for the next gift-giving holiday: Valentine's Day.

Those interested in buying the reader locally can check the Nook in-store Locator to see if any neighborhood Barnes & Noble store … Read more

After a weeklong public dispute over e-book pricing, the paper and electronic titles of publisher Macmillan are returning to Amazon.com's virtual store shelves.

The online retailer, in reaction to Macmillan demanding that some of its e-books be priced higher than Amazon's $9.99 standard, had "expressed [its] strong disagreement and the seriousness of [its] disagreement by temporarily ceasing the sale of all Macmillan titles."

The title takedown was indeed temporary. According to a Friday afternoon post by Publishers Weekly, "sources said an agreement has been completed, and the e-tailer has begun putting back the … Read more