E-Books

Apple Debuts iPad

Apple's iPad, which debuted yesterday, looks like a large iPhone, is a half-inch thick, 1.5 pounds, and has a 9.7-inch multi-touch screen. The most basic model is $499 and has a Wi-Fi wireless connection. More expensive models will be offered with more memory and with 3G wireless access from ATT. The iPad has the same operating system as the iPhone and access to its 140,000 applications, including the iBook app, which will link to the iBookstore.

Daniel Clancy, director of Google Books, will be the keynote lunch speaker at the Winter Institute's Technology Day, on Wednesday, February 3. Clancy, who has given tech talks at a variety of venues, including South by Southwest and Stanford University, will discuss the soon-to-be-launched Google Editions and diversity in the e-book marketplace.

The Book Industry Study Group (BISG) last week published the results of the first of three surveys that examine when, why, how, and where consumers purchase and use e-books and e-readers.

Input for the first survey, "Consumer Attitudes Toward E-Book Reading Survey," was gathered from hundreds of book buyers -- including teens -- who also identify themselves as e-book readers.

Among the BISG survey's key findings:

Four major U.S. publishers announced plans last week to delay, or consider delaying, the release of e-book editions until weeks or even months after the publication of hardcover titles, as the industry attempts to adapt to the accelerating growth in the sales of digital editions and the widespread sub-$10 pricing of bestsellers in digital format.

Above the Treeline in New Partnership to Provide Digital Galleys

Three major publishers have taken steps to establish new release schedules for books in digital format. Simon & Schuster announced on Wednesday, December 9, its plan to publish the e-book editions of 35 new releases four months after their hardcover release.

Plans to make Sony eReaders available for purchase from independent bookstores in time for this holiday season will not come to fruition despite the best efforts of the American Booksellers Association and others in the book industry. Work is ongoing, however, to provide indie booksellers with the ability to sell eReaders sometime in the future.

With consumer interest in e-reading on the rise, it's important to let customers know that they can buy e-books from you, through your store's ABA IndieCommerce website. Now, a time-tested selling tool -- the Indie Next List -- has been tapped to help in the effort.

E-books also benefit from the unique touch of the independent bookseller. Customers still need good book recommendations, and the Indie Next List brings together favorite handsells from independent booksellers across the U.S.

By Len Vlahos, ABA Chief Operating Officer

"I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been." --Wayne Gretzky

E-book sales are rising rapidly, revolutionizing the publishing industry, and creating new opportunities for independent bookstores. Stores with ABA IndieCommerce sites are now fully equipped to sell more than 220,000 titles on their websites -- the key is getting the message out there.

A number of indie booksellers will soon be participating in Symtio, an innovative platform that allows customers to purchase e-books and audiobooks in stores and then download them anywhere there's an Internet connection. When consumers purchase books in the form of Symptio product cards (which look like book covers), the cards are activated at the register.

On Tuesday, August 25, Sony announced that it is cooperating with the American Booksellers Association, other retailers, and a variety of traditional and digital publishers to make available a universe of reading material in EPUB format compatible with Sony Readers. Among the sites offering EPUB content for sale to consumers will be more than 200 independent bookstores participating in ABA's IndieCommerce program.

As part of ABA's Day of Education, at the Javits Convention Center on Thursday, May 28, in Room 1E12 in the Javits Center from 1:15 p.m. - 2:30 p.m., a panel of e-content experts will discuss trends in digital content, including e-books and audio books, and their impact on independent bookstores in "Going Digital: An Industry Discussion on Selling E-Content."

Presented to the ABA Board of Directors at its March 2009 Meeting

By Len Vlahos, ABA Chief Program Officer

History

In 1978 Douglas Adams envisioned a slim electronic folio that contained all the useful knowledge of all the people on all the planets in the universe. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, as Adams imagined it, would let you carry in your pocket a device that functioned like an amalgam of Google and an e-book. And while he was trying to be funny, Adams, it turns out, was prescient.