05/02, 12:51pm
Target won't order new Amazon gear starting May 13
Retail chain Target has confirmed that it will stop carrying Amazon Kindle e-book readers online and at its stores, along with getting rid of all Amazon-branded accessories and gear. The news comes from a leaked internal memo obtained by The Verge and a further confirmation from the retailer. There are no specific official reasons given as to why the move is happening, citing only a "conflict of interest."
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05/01, 4:44pm
Next Nook will have NFC radio to read book information
In an interview with Fortune, Barnes & Noble CEO William Lynch revealed that the company's Nook e-book reader will get an NFC radio sometime in the future. It would be used to read the codes embedded into physical books that will contain editorial reviews also found on BN.com. Store displays and ads could also contain such information, letting potential customers read the synopsis or learn more about the author before purchase.
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04/30, 7:50am
Barnes and Noble gets investment, truce
Barnes & Noble and Microsoft on Monday settled an Android patent dispute through a union. An e-reading partnership, Newco, will see Microsoft take a $300 million, or 17.6 percent, stake in a project that should merge Barnes & Noble's Nook business and its college division. In return for the funding, Barnes & Noble will make a Nook app for Windows 8 to help foster textbooks on future Microsoft-powered tablets.
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04/24, 2:45pm
Nook GlowLight ships to those who pre-ordered
Barnes & Noble is already shipping its Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight, or weeks ahead of the originally-promised schedule. Those who have pre-ordered the device will get it this week, with shipments continuing through to the end of the month. Store stock won't arrive until early in May, however, and it will be limited, B&N warned.
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04/18, 7:15pm
Mystery product appears to be branded headphones
Barnes & Noble's rumored expansion into audio products appears to be reality, as an image of an as yet unannounced product has surfaced on the company's home page. The image shows a set of sleek, gray, Nook-branded headphones.
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04/12, 10:25pm
Apple publicly responds to DOJ lawsuit
Apple after silence through the past two days responded Thursday to the Department of Justice lawsuit over alleged e-book pricing collusion. Spokesman Tom Neumayr flatly rejected the accusations when asked for comment by AllThingsD, recapping the company's objections to the European Union that the iBookstore was beneficial as it was created. The iPad-focused store kept Amazon from having excessive control and improved e-books themselves, Neumayr said, pointing out that the move beyond the Kindle format also upgraded books themselves.
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04/12, 5:40pm
Nook with GlowLight readable at nigh by itself
Barnes & Noble leapt quickly on rumors by unveiling the Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight. The reader is the first to merge e-paper with edge lighting that evenly illuminates the screen in the dark without needing an add-on or an outside light. The trick is meant for couples that don't want to interrupt a sleeping partner, but it also has an advantage for anyone that doesn't want to buy a clip-on reading light.
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04/12, 8:05am
ACCC asking for concerns over e-book fairness
The Australia Competition and Consumer Commission is considering taking the same path that the US Department of Justice did in confronting Apple and publishers over e-book pricing. Regulators have been asking Australian retailers whether they thought publishers were rigging pricing in the country. There were "competition concerns" whenever a company wanted to curb the ability to put a product on sale, the agency said.
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04/11, 7:50pm
Galaxy Tab 2 to compete mainly on price
Samsung late Wednesday detailed the US launch plans for a trio of its main Android tablet devices for the year. The Galaxy Tab 2 line will come to the US in both 7.0- and 10.1-inch forms with their dual-core 1GHz processors, Android 4.0, three-megapixel rear camera and VGA front cameras intact. The two are considered lower-cost versions of original Galaxy Tab ancestors but do have unique support for infrared remote control using Peel's Smart Remote app.
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04/11, 3:50pm
Nook Simple Touch to be first with light-up screen
Barnes & Noble looks likely to preempt Amazon's front-lit Kindle with an e-reader of its own. A leaked instance of in-store signage at The Digital Reader shows the Nook Simple Touch getting "GlowLight," a nickname for a system that evenly illuminates the display despite coming from the edges. Although not mentioned in the ad, the effect is easier on the eyes than an LCD backlight.
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04/05, 6:20pm
Google e-book resales shift back to Play store
Google gave notice Thursday that it was ending its e-book reseller program. The effort, which let physical retailers and other third parties resell from Google Play Books, had "not gained the traction" Google wanted. A current set of 16 partners would be phasing out as the service wound down by the end of January.
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04/03, 7:50pm
Nook Audio may be accessory or new feature
Barnes & Noble is readying a mystery product that could lead to an expansion into audio. A product page for a Nook Audio has shown up on Barnes & Noble's own online store with an OE250 model name. AS the name isn't connected to existing Nooks and hasn't cleared the FCC, it may be a speaker dock, wireless speakers, or headphones for the Nook Color or Nook Tablet.
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04/02, 4:20pm
Version 3.1.3 of Nook for iPad supports new iPad
Barnes & Noble has just released an updated version of its Nook for iOS app (free, App Store). It has been optimized for the new iPad and its Retina display with sharper graphics, words, and images. Otherwise, 3.1.3 brings with it more reading options, letting users have single- or dual-column views when in landscape orientation on the tablet, like in an actual book. The highlight feature is also now much easier.
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03/30, 5:10pm
Leaks have Apple giving up lowest-price claue
Apple may be ready to make important concessions to settle a possible Department of Justice lawsuit over e-book pricing, a pair of sources claimed Friday. Although not concrete, a deal could come "in the next few weeks," the Reuters insiders said. The core of the deal would revolve around Apple dropping its "most favored nation" clause, which bars publishers from offering a lower price at other stores.
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03/29, 12:10pm
B&N may be planning to launch Nook in Germany
Barnes & Noble may soon bring its Nook Tablet to Germany, as it recently incorporated a new company in the country. Called Barnes & Noble Digital Media GmbH, the company was created on March 15, which also nearly coincided with a visit to London to interest developers in creating apps for the seven-inch tablet.
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03/28, 12:15am
Amazon may have up to 4 tablets in 2012
Amazon's rumored Kindle Fire lineup expansion might get larger still based on an unusually specific rumor late Wednesday. There would be "at least two" new Kindle Fire models in 2012, Digitimes insisted, with as many as four depending on Amazon's ambitions. A 10.1-inch model was supposedly on track for July shipments and would aim at the $249 to $299 price range, with HannsTouch supposedly joining TPK and Wintek in making touch panels.
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03/27, 12:20pm
Amazon may go high and low on 7in, add 8.9in
New rumors have surfaced claiming that Amazon will have a much wider strategy for its next-generation Kindle Fire tablets than thought. Taiwan Economic News claimed that the 8.9-inch version would be joined by two seven-inch models. One would have the 1024x600 display of the original, while a high-end version would get a 1280x800 display; the 8.9-inch version would supposedly have a 1920x1200 screen and thus compete even with the new iPad for pixel density.
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03/27, 8:55am
First Harry Potter e-books come in ePub form
JK Rowling's own Pottermore store became the first to carry Harry Potter e-books on Tuesday. The shop has all seven novels in ePub format. The files are unprotected and will work with iPads and other iOS devices along with Android hardware and anything else that takes standard ePub files; Kindle users get their own file format for support.
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03/19, 12:50pm
2012 iPad LCD given top marks
Continuing some of the more in-depth examinations of the new iPad, a detailed screen comparison at DisplayMate has shown a major improvement in Apple's tablet display quality, albeit at a cost. While the 2048x1536 resolution is an obvious advantage, the display analysis team saw that the new screen saw big improvements in other areas, most of all color accuracy. While the iPad 2's display got just 61 percent of the standard color range, the new iPad's screen was near-flawless, with 99 percent accuracy on top of "perfect" contrast and gamma levels.
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03/15, 9:25am
Conde Nast explains reader data for iPad mags
Conde Nast took an important step towards giving tablet magazines a foothold by outlining regular readership data for its rapidly growing tablet apps. Advertisers and others who need it will now get both the usual subscription and one-time sales as well as metrics that can't be tracked with paper. The stats will show how often a reader opened an issue and how much total time they spent with it, showing the real engagement and whether an issue was effective.
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03/13, 5:55pm
Nook Comics now in general Android app
Barnes & Noble exported its Nook Comics experience to other devices through an update to its Nook for Android app (Google Play Store) on Tuesday. The 3.1 update lets any Android tablet using Android 2.2 or newer get access to the bookstore's collection of comics and graphic novels, ranging from Dark Horse to IDW and Marvel. Comics get added treatment within the app, including thumbnails for the table of contents.
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03/13, 2:35pm
IDC optimistic on tablets, Android's chances
IDC on Tuesday gave its own breakdown of world tablet share from this fall and painted an optimistic look at Android's position in the market. Going higher than others' estimates, the research team believed that Amazon shipped 4.7 million Kindle Fires, or enough to stake out 16.8 percent of tablets worldwide. Along with a slight gain from Samsung to 5.8 percent, the prediction would have knocked Apple down from 61.5 percent last summer to 54.7 percent in the last few months of 2011.
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03/12, 10:55pm
Reader updates over Wi-Fi
Barnes & Noble has released a maintenance update for its Simple Touch e-book reader. The company's website suggests v1.1.2 brings "minor system enhancements," though representatives have confirmed that it attempts to address a Wi-Fi reliability issue that has affected some users.
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03/12, 4:55pm
Almost 200 titles will be available by year's end
In January 2011,
Amazon launched its digital
Kindle Singles library. The collection features works that are longer in length than articles, but shorter than books. MocoNews reports that, in the 15 months since the store opened its doors, more than two million of the works have been purchased and downloaded.
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03/05, 8:20pm
100+ titles available through Nook Comics store
Both Barnes & Noble and Kobo have started to offer Dark Horse Comics' graphic novels for the Nook Tablet, Nook Color, and Kobo Vox. Over 100 of the company's titles will be available for purchase and downloading through the Nook Comics and Kobo stores. Previously, they had been available for iOS devices.
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03/03, 7:10pm
Amazon tries self-publishing outside of Kindle
Amazon is making a rare effort to branch out in its e-book publishing beyond the Kindle through a new deal with author James Atlas that was outlined on Friday. A new 12-book biography line, Amazon Lives, will be edited by Atlas and published in e-book form in other stores, the New York Times was understood. Which stores would get it weren't mentioned, although it's unlikely to involve the Nook store given active bans on Amazon material over Barnes & Noble's objection to digital exclusives on the Kindle.
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03/02, 6:15pm
ITC says Barnes and Noble can't talk antitrust
The International Trade Commission finished the week by denying Barnes & Noble its attempt to renew antitrust claims against Microsoft. A judge had taken belated evidence from the Nook designer into account but still decided that the original decision, that there wasn't enough evidence to suggest Microsoft was abusing patents, would stand. The verdict didn't necessarily side with Microsoft, but left Barnes & Noble withe option only of challenging Microsoft's claims that it violates patents.
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02/29, 11:15pm
Mini iPad gets late 2012 arrival date
Apple's long rumored smaller iPad was given a tentative production timeline in a rumor late Wednesday. Sample units were supposed by Digitimes' part supplier sources to be going out for testing, but production was still some distance away. It wouldn't start production until summer "at the earliest," according to the tip.
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02/22, 8:05pm
Will allocate more than 1GB for personal use
Barnes & Noble will be giving Nook Tablet owners more flexibility in how they can use the device's internal memory. Starting March 12, owners of the 16GB version will be able to repartition their memory so that 12GB of the 13GB usable memory that had been pre-allocated to Nook Store content can be used for other personal content. The 8GB model, which was launched just yesterday, reserves 1GB for store content and offers 4GB for personal content.
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02/21, 9:20am
Barnes and Noble intros cheaper Nook Tablet
Barnes & Noble fired its return shot against the Kindle Fire on Tuesday by introducing an 8GB version of the Nook Tablet. Its edition cuts the storage in half, and lowers the RAM to 512MB, but is otherwise functionally identical to the 16GB original. The two choices trim $50 off the price to hit $199, or as much as the Nook Tablet's Amazon counterpart.
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02/16, 12:50pm
Study shows Kindle Fire hurting Android rivals
A rare breakdown of tablet market share by IHS iSuppli has shown that the Kindle Fire may be doing more damage to other Android manufacturers than to Apple. Amazon was estimated to have shipped 3.9 million units in the fall, or enough to get it 14 percent of the market. While this dropped the iPad's 15.4 million units from 64 percent share to 57, other Android supporters lost over a quarter of their own share.
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02/06, 4:50pm
Barnes and Noble may win Microsoft case after all
ITC staff lawyer Jeff Hsu in a discussion Monday said he would recommend to Administrative Law Judge Theodore Essex that Barnes & Noble hadn't violated the three patents at the heart of a Microsoft lawsuit. The recommendation isn't binding, but could be a strong clue as to the ruling Judge Essex may make on April 27.
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01/31, 6:10pm
ITC disagrees Microsoft abusing patents
The International Trade Commission gave an initial ruling Tuesday that Barnes & Noble couldn't bring its antitrust claims against Microsoft. An Administrative Law Judge granted Microsoft's motion to dismiss the claims that it was abusing patents to try and squeeze Android out of the market. Details of the full ruling were still unpublished, but the Office of Unfair Import Investigations had already hinted that Barnes & Noble wasn't passing legal muster on issues such as licensing, which isn't compulsory for Microsoft.
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01/31, 5:45pm
Barnes and Noble will not stock Amazon at retail
Barnes & Noble's chief merchandising officer Jaime Carey issued a statement declaring that the company's retail stores wouldn't carry Amazon's paper books. The move was in retaliation for Amazon trying to push for e-book exclusives such as its DC Comics deal. A publisher that as a store operator would pull its content wasn't a "good publishing partner," the CMO said.
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01/29, 11:00pm
Barnes and Noble tries third-gen Nook reader
Barnes & Noble in an elaborate study of its business gave away plans for a third-generation Nook e-reader. Scant details were given to the New York Times, but it would ship sometime in the spring. The bookseller's recently established pattern suggests it's an E Ink reader like the Nook Simple Touch rather than an Android tablet.
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01/26, 3:30pm
Toshiba BD50 color e-book reader slated for Japan
Toshiba has introduced a new seven-inch color e-book reader in Japan, the BD50. Effectively a local alternative to the Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet, the Android 2.3 slate carries a 1024x600 LCD as well as 8GB of internal storage space. A 1GHz Freescale CPU powers the device and is paired with 1GB of RAM.
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01/24, 6:30pm
Apple talks tablets versus PCs in US
Apple during its fall quarter results revealed IDC data that tablets outsold PCs in the fall. While he didn't provide concrete details, he suggested that the iPad, Android, and other tablet platforms had pushed past the combined Mac and Windows PC markets. IDC's own PC figures showed 18.6 million US computers, making it probable that Apple's 15.4 million plus the smaller share of the rest of the market was enough to push past.
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01/23, 12:40am
Pew shows huge tablet ownership spike in late 2011
Ownership of both tablets and e-readers exploded through the holidays, Pew found on Monday. About 10 percent of Americans owned each in December, but both had surged to 19 percent in January. There was relatively little overlap, as 18 percent owned one or the other before the holiday rush while 29 percent had either an e-reader or a tablet in January.
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01/16, 10:35pm
Scoops outline Apple textbook event
Apple's New York City education event is nothing less than a rethinking of how publishers create e-books as a whole, leaks divulged Monday. One scoop characterized the process to Ars Technica as a "GarageBand for e-books" that would let authors and publishers easily build e-books for iPads and iPhones, including interactive books. iBooks would also start supporting ePub 3, which supports audio and video natively and would make the store much more standards-compatible than Apple's custom take on ePub 2.
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01/12, 12:45pm
LG licenses Microsoft patents, explores partners
LG on Thursday became the latest company steered into signing a patent license deal with Microsoft. The Spectrum designer has agreed to pay Microsoft an unknown amount for "broad coverage" both on Android and Chrome OS despite LG not yet having a Chromebook on the market. Unlike past such licenses, however, Microsoft didn't issue a boilerplate observation that LG was paying royalties, leaving the door open to a lump sum.
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01/11, 12:35pm
Microsoft reduces scope of complaint vs Nook
Microsoft has scaled back the reach of its dispute with Barnes & Noble has made a deal to streamline some of the case. A filing this week dropped one patent, for a browser loading status feature, from an International Trade Commission complaint against the Nook maker. Four other patents had some of their individual claims dropped.
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01/05, 9:15am
Barnes and Noble may separate and sell Nook line
Barnes & Noble conducted an unusual strategy Thursday that amounted to an attempt to sell its Nook e-reader business. Although its Nook sales spiked 70 percent over what they were last year, the company was considering both breaking out the Nook group both for separate reporting as well as a selloff. The company wanted to "unlock that value" in its digital business, it said, and was planning a review that by the end of the year would make a decision on the business.
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01/04, 9:10pm
Barnes and Noble could sell Sterling Publishing
Barnes & Noble is considering selling off its paper publishing wing Sterling Publishing, new leaks might have divulged on Wednesday. In hoping to focus on the Nook line and its core retail business, it was lining up possible customers, the Wall Street Journal said. The bookshop has been publishing some of its own content since the 1970s but only bought Sterling in 2003, years before e-books took off.
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12/23, 11:05am
Wedge predicts iPad to follow iPhone strategy
Wedge Partners analyst Brian Blair doused investor expectations of a 7.85-inch mini iPad with an update on Friday. He believed Apple had been testing seven-inch tablets for "over a year," but he didn't expect Apple to release one of the kind in 2012. While not claiming inside knowledge, he instead reckoned that Apple would follow the iPhone strategy of preserving an older model and keep the iPad 2 on the market, just at a lower price.
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12/22, 4:50pm
Barnes & Noble adds slew of new apps for tablets
Barnes & Noble has just revealed that it has added new official apps to its Nook Tablet and Nook Color devices. They include the popular Words with Friends, with Twitter and Plants vs. Zombies coming soon. Others are promised for early next year as well.
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12/21, 10:05pm
Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet exploit iPad 3 wait
Tablet display panel makers claimed Wednesday that orders for seven-inch tablet displays in November had overtaken those of 9.7-inch displays, which are used almost exclusively in the iPad. The combination of strong Amazon Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet demand was said by the Digitimes contacts to have pushed order up 17 percent month to month. The sources didn't provide targets for December or break down shipments by the individual maker, although Barnes & Noble may have shipped 1.5 million Nooks while rumors have surfaced of five million Kindle Fires shipping in 2011.
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12/20, 2:15pm
Amazon Kindle Fire LCD said worse than rivals
A new tablet display showdown at DisplayMate has given the Nook Tablet the win over Apple's iPad 2 for display quality. Both are accurate and have bright, 24-bit color displays, but the Barnes & Noble reader has better-balanced contrast and gamma levels. Apple's levels were boosted too high, according to the study.
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12/19, 2:55pm
Mosaid bought by Sterling Fund Management
Frequent patent-based attacker Mosaid on Monday said its shareholders had greenlit a plan that would sell the company to Sterling Fund Management for $570 million, or slightly less than the $590 million mentioned in October. It should close by the end of this week. Sterling's exact aims weren't mentioned with the deal.
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12/16, 12:40am
Nook Color and Tablet may hit 1.5m in Q4
Barnes & Noble may have doubled its tablet shipments in the fall. Having shipped over 800,000 Nook Color devices in the summer, the company was said by part suppliers speaking to Digitimes late Thursday to be delivering a combination of 1.5 million Android-based devices during the fall. About 1.1 million of those would be the new Nook Tablet, with the remaining 400,000 being the price-discounted Color.
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12/15, 10:30pm
IDC sees Amazon denting iPad in fall
Amazon's Kindle Fire could cut Apple's share of the tablet market to under 60 percent for the first time, IDC estimated Thursday. Android would climb from 32.4 percent to get a collective 40.3 percent through the Fire which, along with some help from the Nook Tablet, would push the iPad down from 61.5 percent this summer to 59 percent of tablets. The BlackBerry PlayBook would lose some ground as well, down from 1.1 percent to 0.7 percent, while the HP TouchPad's final exit would give up five percent.
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