The Digital Reader

The Best News and Info on Ebooks and eReaders

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Entries Tagged as 'bn'

Nook for iPhone was updated but the iPad app is gone

July 25th, 2011 · Apple, apps, bn

As strange as it might sound, Barnes & noble didn’t update both their apps today. They only updated the iPhone app and for some reason known only to them they pulled the iPad app.

A couple people have pointed out to me that i missed the fact that the Nook iOS app was updated. Well, I’ve been checking my iPad every few minutes all day.  There is no Nook update for it. Rather than continue to wait, I searched for “nook” and the screen shot at right shows what I found. Do you see the big hole where the Nook iPad app isn’t?

If I had to guess then I would bet the app is missing due to technical problems. Or it might be like the Google Books app; maybe it’s not done yet.

This day is getting strange.

P.S. And yes, the iPhone app is missing the link to the ebookstore.

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B&N job postings offer insight into new MyNook cloud service

May 18th, 2011 · bn, hardware rumors

It’s amazing what you can find on the backside of some companies’ websites.

About a week ago I posted about MyNook, a new trademark filed by Barnes & Noble. As you can probably guess from the name, MyNook will offer some type of personal service. If you read the description, you will see that the trademark covers “Web portal services in the nature of providing a web-based system and online portal for users to remotely manage, administer and control electronic readers, handheld and computer devices, data, digital media, software applications and electronic publications, namely, books, e-books, magazines, newspapers, text and images”.

Today I learned that B&N are looking for a number of people who have experience with cloud services. For example, there’s a position for a “Sr. Java Cloud Services Developer“. And that’s only one of 6 positions currently open.

B&N are clearly working on some type of cloud services.I’d say that B&N are planning to challenge Amazon by offering some of the same services offered by the Kindle and the Cloud.

Unfortunately, we’re probably not going to see this very soon. B&N have just registered this trademark and it looks like they’re still building the team.

via Rocket Bomber

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B&N to launch PubIt! Pro

May 10th, 2011 · bn

Mike Cane dug up a new trademark filing yesterday. It was filed by Barnes & Noble’s holding company, Fission Inc (they hold all of B&N’s trademarks).

As you can guess from the name PubIt! Pro build on the existing PubIt! service. Here’s what the trademark covers:

promoting the works of authors through the distribution of printed or other promotional materials,

and

providing a website featuring information about books, e-books, and related topics, including book reviews and author interviews

I’d say that is pretty clearly a premium service. And given that they use the word “promoting”, odds are this is going to be  paid service.

 

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B&N PubIt! now live?

September 29th, 2010 · bn, ebookstore news

I just read a post over at MobileRead that B&N are sending out new emails asking people to sign up for PubIt!, B&N’s in house ebook publishing program.Here’s what Steve Jordan had to say: [Read more →]

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B&N promotion: free public domain ebooks

July 1st, 2010 · bn

Barnes & Noble are running several promotions for the upcoming 4th of July holiday. I wanted to bring your attention to this one because I find it offensive.

From now until Monday night, B&N are generously giving away ebooks that don’t belong to anyone. These ebooks are public domain in the US, which means that anyone can download, upload, edit, or do WTH you want with them (even charge money for them).

If this were a normal promotion I would simply ignore it. B&N are giving away something which is free the rest of the year. It’s laughable, but mostly pathetic.  But, they chose to tie it in with Independence Day, which means that B&N are celebrating this holiday by demonstrating a marked ignorance of US laws and custom.

Bravo.

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B&N has a bigger ebook market share than they do in paper

June 28th, 2010 · bn, press release

Barnes & Noble released their FY2010 financial reports today. Income is up (good), they posted a small loss (not so good), and here’s the kicker:

“In fact, in just a brief 12 months since we launched the Barnes and Noble ebookstore, our share of the digital market already exceeds our share of the retail book market,” said William Lynch, chief executive officer of Barnes & Noble, Inc.

I’m not surprised. When it comes to paper, B&N is getting their buts handed to them by internet retailers like Amazon. B&N can’t cut prices or increase in-store selection to match Amazon. But when it comes to ebooks, B&N is on a level playing field.

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New Nook firmware out – v1.4

June 21st, 2010 · bn, hardware news

Boy, have Barnes & Noble been busy today. First they announce a new Nook, then they drop the price of the current one, and now they release a new firmware. You can find the fimrware here. B&N is only announcing a few changes:

  1. Extended AT&T Wi-Fi Hotspot support — FREE and seamless connection to AT&T’s entire nationwide Wi-Fi network including restaurants, hotels and additional locations, and wherever you see an AT&T Wi-Fi sign.
  2. New extra extra large font size
  3. Go-To Page feature allows users to go to a specific page in their eBook

That first one is simply awesome. It shows they fixed the Android Wifi problem. The Nook, like most other Android devices, doesn’t like having to log in to a web page at a hotspot. It had trouble loading the log in page the last time I checked.

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B&N releases more Pubit! details & it says a lot about their plans

June 15th, 2010 · bn

B&N updated the Pubit! FAQ yesterday, and some of the answers say a lot about B&N’s future business plans. They’re only interested in the US market, they’re looking for distribution partners, and they might be looking at POD.

What do I need to create an account?

  • A BN.com login, which you can create on the spot if you do not already have one
  • Contact information for the account holder
  • A U.S. Credit Card & U.S. Bank Account and all related information
  • Your SSN/TIN/EIN

Will PubIt! support publishers based outside the U.S.?

  • Yes, as long as you have U.S. rights for your titles and have a U.S. bank account and a U.S. credit card.

B&N has decided not to pursue the global ebook market. Their loss.

Where will my titles be listed for sale?

  • PubIt! titles will be available for sale in the Barnes & Noble eBookstore and through all of our digital distribution partners.

Does anyone have any information on this? It’s the first I’ve heard of it.

Will PubIt! support print publishers?

  • In order to sell your titles through PubIt!, you must start with a digital file. At launch, PubIt! will be geared exclusively toward eBooks.

Look at the way they phrased that. It leaves open the possibility that they’re going to move into POD.

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B&N expands More in Store

June 9th, 2010 · bn, More in Store

B&N put out a press release a couple days ago where the released more details on the More in Store promotions. Thye’re continuing the free ebooks, and they’ve expanded the program. If you bring in a B&N compatible reading device (Nook, blackberry, iPad, etc) into a store you’ll get a free coffee.

I’m glad to see that B&N finally figured out a good reason for people to come into one of their stores. Back when they were only giving away ebooks, requiring people to come to a store didn’t make any sense. It missed the whole point of ebooks; you can buy them without having to visit a physical location.

There is another problem with running this kind of promotion: What about the people who don’t live withing driving range of a B&N store? I don’t; I live in a densely populated area and  the nearest one is 40 minutes away.

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New Nook found at FCC

May 28th, 2010 · bn, hardware news

Do you remember that rumor we heard a couple weeks back about a Wifi only Nook Lite? It looks like Engadget has found FCC filings for what might be the Nook Lite. I think that’s what it is, myself.

Look at signature block on the letters. I’d say that pretty much clinches it.

FCC

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