Category Archives: Kindle

Free eBooks From Your Local Library

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These are tough economic times and if you want to save yourself a few pennies, stop buying ebooks, join your local library and borrow ebooks for free. The OverDrive Media Console app lets you download and read ebooks offered by your local library for nothing, and if audiobooks are of more interest, the app can handle those as well. The OverDrive app is available for most common smartphones and tablets, including iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry, Kindle Fire and Nook tablets. If you have a Kobo, Sony or Nook ereader, you can still borrow books from your library but you’ll need to use Adobe’s Digital Editions to download via your PC. If you have a Kindle ereader, you’re out of luck.

The app can be downloaded from most app stores and directly from OverDrive if your device’s app store doesn’t host the app. In the first instance, the app asks you to find your local library via simple search. Poking around I was able to find libraries in UK, USA, Canada, Mexico, Germany, India and Japan, so it has worldwide coverage but I’ve no real idea of how extensive it is.

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For my library, I had enter my borrower number and again I assume it will be similar for most public libraries. Once you are in the system, you can browse for your favourite novels and authors, and then borrow the book you want. Before you can download the book, you’ll need to sign-up for an Adobe ID and put it into Overdrive’s settings. This is all part of the ePub DRM, but getting an ID is straightforward and free of charge.

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Obviously the range of books is entirely dependent on your library but I found a good selection of books available (several of which I already owned!) and once you’ve got your reading selection downloaded, you can swap to Overdrive’s bookshelf to see what’s available for reading.

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As a reader app, OverDrive Media Console is good. There’s a bit of delay when opening a book for the very first time, but after that it’s snappy. All the other usual features are there – typeface selection, font size, line spacing, colour schemes, animations, but overall it’s well done. Reading books is easy and a pleasure.

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So, if you don’t want pay for ebooks and you’ve a tablet or smartphone, download the OverDrive Media Console, join your local library and start saving money. It’s a no-brainer!

Kindle Matchbook is Launching in October

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Kindle MatchbookAmazon has announced that it will be offering something innovative in October of this year. Kindle Matchbook will launch. It isn’t a new type of Kindle device. Instead, it is a very unique way of allowing people to access books.

The Kindle (and other ebook readers) are fairly new, especially when you consider how long mass produced printed books have been available. Typically, this means that people who are currently using a Kindle probably have shelves of “paper books” somewhere in their home. The majority (if not all) of those books were probably purchased before the person got a Kindle.

Kindle Matchbook, in essence, will help people “match” the books on their shelves with the ones in their Kindle. It works like this. You purchased a brand new book from Amazon sometime between today and 1995. If that title is part of the “qualifying books” offered through Kindle Matchbook, you will be able to pick up the Kindle edition of your print book for a low price. The Kindle versions will be offered for $2.99, $1.99, $0.99, or for free.

What if you bought the paper books that are currently cluttering your shelves from Barnes & Noble, or from a used book store, instead of from Amazon? Sorry, the Kindle Matchbook offer will not apply. The offer is only for new (not used) copies of (qualifying) books that you purchased from Amazon.

I find the Kindle Matchbook offer to be very interesting. It is going to make it less expensive to pick up the Kindle version of thousands of books (assuming you bought a new copy of the printed book from Amazon after 1995).

Amazon might have found a unique way to encourage customers to buy new copies of printed books from them, instead of another retailer, who cannot do the Kindle Matchbook offer. If you have been looking for a reason to transition from printed books to ebooks, it seems that Kindle Matchbook will help you to do that. It appears that fellow Geek News Central writer Andrew was right on track when he noted that the the paperback is an endangered species!

The Paperback is an Endangered Species

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Nook ClassicPicture the scene….I’m on holiday, lying by the swimming pool, relaxing in the summer sun. It’s a 4-star hotel, nothing fancy, catering to families from all round Europe; Britain, France, Germany, Norway. As I look around my fellow guests, I notice that many of them are reading from ereaders – Kindles, Kobos and the odd Nook. A few people are reading celebrity magazines like Hello and Chat. What does surprise me is the total absence of paperbacks – in all the rows of sun loungers that I can see, there’s not a single paperback book. It’s as if the paperback became an endangered species from one year to the next.

In reality this shouldn’t be a surprise. Ebooks and ereaders have become popular and the continual reductions in weight allowances by the budget airlines have encouraged travellers to leave heavy paper at home. The result is children, parents and grandparents are all lying round the pool, electronics in hand. The paperback is on the verge of extinction.

And while the paperback is all but gone, this isn’t the death of the novel. By all evidence round the pool, the written word is still alive and well. Only the medium has changed from paper and ink to glass and eInk. I see a bright future for authors and novelists.

I’ve certainly no regrets myself, but it does make it very hard to see what your fellow sun-worshippers are reading.

Eason Fails to Sell eBooks via Billboard

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…or “Why DRM is killing ebook sales outside of Amazon or Barnes & Noble”.

Being a international superstar and global jetsetter*, I had the pleasure of passing through Dublin’s Connolly railway station today. In the atrium there was a billboard display of book covers complete with QR codes.

Billboard of Books

“Totally cool,” I thought. Scan the QR code, buy the ebook, download to my tablet and start reading. The bookstore, Eason, had helpfully included free wifi in the area to get on-line. (For those not familiar with Ireland, Eason would be the leading newsagent, stationers and bookstore, comparable to WHSmith in GB). I scanned this book:

Book cover

The QR code took me to this page. Strangely, the book offered was a paperback and not an ebook. Huh?

Book purchase

Then I looked at the original poster, “1. Choose your book 2. Scan your QR code 3. Make your purchase 4. Wait for the post 5. Enjoy your book!”

Seriously…”Wait for the post”. Have these guys actually heard of ebooks or did the Kindle completely pass them by? Sure enough, Eason does have a section for ebooks on their website. It says, “Eason eBooks are compatible with Sony, Iriver and Elonex eReaders, as well as all devices that support Adobe EPUB DRM eBooks. Our eBooks are not currently compatible with Apple iOS, Google Android or Amazon devices – this includes iPads, iPhones, iPods, Android phones and tablets, and Kindles.”

So let me get this straight….Eason is appealing to a travelling customer, offering the QR codes to smartphones that will typically be iPhones or Android devices, but ebooks can’t be offered on these because of Adobe’s ePub DRM? Fail, fail, fail.

It’s both totally unbelievable yet completely expected. It’s no wonder Amazon and the Kindle are dominating the market because everyone else is fighting with one hand tied behind their back with DRM. Eason, I had a two hour train journey ahead of me and you had a 100% chance of an ebook sale but you blew it. I’ll turn on my tablet, fire up my Kindle or Nook app and buy directly from Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

Fail.

* This is completely untrue.

Will You Be Getting an eBook Refund?

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Those of you who have a Kindle might have a refund coming your way, eventually. This is a result of a recent antitrust lawsuit settlement between Amazon and the ebook publishers that were named in the lawsuit: Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin, and Simon & Schuster, and their many subsidiaries.

Amazon.com has started sending email to some of their customers to tell them that they may be eligible for a credit This specifically relates to ebooks that were purchased between April of 2010 and May of 2012 by the above mentioned publishers. Consumers might receive anywhere between $0.30 and $1.32 for each ebook they purchased during that time frame.

How much you get depends on a few things. First, you have to have purchased an ebook from Amazon during that time frame. The amount of refund you get depends upon if the book was on the New York Times Bestseller list when it was purchased. If so, you could be getting a $1.32 refund for that book. If not, you may be getting less, (as low as $0.30) as a refund for that particular book. If you bought a bunch of ebooks during the time frame the settlement specifies, you could be in for quite a refund.

Before you get too excited, realize that the refunds will not be made until after the courts approve of the settlements. That hearing is scheduled for February of 2013. In addition to Amazon.com, Apple and Barnes & Noble will also be issuing refunds (but the amount hasn’t been released as of yet). The refunds will come in the form of an account credit. It may also be possible for you to request your refund in the form of a check, instead.

It seems to me that most of the time, when lawsuits like these happen, consumers don’t end up receiving anything at all. It is interesting that this time, at least some people will be getting a credit.

Image: Stock Photo Young Woman Reading On eBook by BigStock

Angry Birds Star Wars – Choose Your Side!

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Rovio Entertainment is getting ready to release Angry Birds Star Wars. It is going to be available on November 8, 2012. I’m beginning to think that Star Wars is the “bacon” of geekdom. Everything tastes better with bacon. Adding just a little bit of Star Wars, to just about anything, can only enhance it. If you like Angry Birds, then you will probably love Angry Birds with an added Star Wars flavor.

The Angry Birds Tumblr is filled with Angry Birds Star Wars wallpapers that you can download, interesting fan art, and a countdown until when the game will be out. The tumbler page also says “Choose Your Side”. Will you say: “I’m on the Porkside”? Or, are you more of a “Rebel Without a Squawk”? If you feel inspired, you can submit your own Angry Birds fan art.

StarWars.com has an announcement that Angry Birds Star Wars is a collaboration between Rovio Entertainment and Lucasfilm Ltd. The game will be available on iOS, Android, Amazon Kindle Fire, Mac, PC, Windows Phone and Windows 8. The announcement also says:

“Angry Birds Star Wars combines the classic gameplay and art style of Angry Birds with the legendary characters, designs, stories, and locales of the Star Wars saga. Gamers will take on the Empire in famous settings like Tatooine and the Death Star, but with the Angry Birds stable of characters playing the beloved Star Wars roles; the innovative touch-screen controls pioneered by Angry Birds are intact and improved, and the game’s humor is as sharp as ever”.

What’s not to like about a round, fuzzy, Angry Bird/Chewbacca, or a golden, metallic, Angry Bird/C3PO? On October 28, 2012, Angry Birds Star Wars merchandise will start appearing on store shelves. This will include Halloween costumes, plush toys, and action figures.

Whispersync for Voice Saves Your Place

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People who love to read will take the opportunity to squeeze in another chapter, or a few more pages, any chance they get. Today, many people are reading books on their Kindle, (or other tablet device). Or, they are listening to the audio version of a book that they got from Audible.com. Whispersync for Voice is something new that connects these two options in a unique and time-saving way.

In order to use Whispersync for Voice, you will need a Kindle. You also will need to get the free Audible app for the iPhone, iPod touch, or Android. As the name implies, Whispersync for Voice will sync up your audio book with your ebook. You can put one device down, pick up the other one, and the book will continue exactly where you left off. No more wasting time trying to figure out where one version left off when you switch to the other one.

Start by purchasing an ebook for your Kindle. There will be a button that allows you to “Add Narration” for a few dollars more. Making that purchase is what enables your Kindle and Audible app to sync up with each other. There are about 15,000 books at Audible.com that work with Whispersync for Voice right now.

The latest generation of Kindle Fire, and the Kindle Fire HD 7” and the Kindle Fire HD 8.9” will let you do something called Immersion Reading. It will let you add the professional narration to your Kindle so you can read the book and listen to it at the same time.