More than just books: Pew study details how technology has changed libraries

booksmall

We’ve seen brick-and-mortar booksellers close down all over the country due to online retailers like Amazon. Will public libraries follow suit and vanish from the earth? It doesn’t seem like it, at least not according to an extensive Pew Internet report just released that shows how people feel about reinventing libraries. Pew asked 2,252 Americans ages 16… Read More…

Borrow books: Amazon testing Kindle rental service

amazonlogo

Speed readers rejoice: Amazon seems to be testing out a new rental service for books. The Seattle retail giant already has a textbook rental service that it debuted in July 2011. But Engadget just noticed a non-textbook available to rent called The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking. While the title is published by Princeton University… Read More…

Father, 12-year-old daughter team up to make best-selling calculator app

belleaidansmithsmall

One day after school, Isabel Hughes was looking over math homework with her dad. The 12-year-old wanted to use a calculator that made fractions easier, but there were no traditional calculators to do this, nor any apps that did the trick. So she and her dad decided to make one called Fraction Calculator. Now, the… Read More…

O, Canada: Amazon expanding Prime service north, but without Instant Video and e-book lending

Canadian_Flag.jpg

Amazon Prime is now available in Canada but without a few key benefits. The Seattle online retail giant announced today that Prime membership is launching in Canada for 79 CAD per year. Amazon Prime shoppers in Canada can now enjoy free two-day shipping. However, the Canadian version of Prime does not include benefits like Instant Video… Read More…

Michael Cronan, the man behind the Kindle and TiVo names, dies at the age of 61

Michael Cronan (Photo via Wikipedia)

Michael Cronan, the San Francisco designer and artist who came up with product names TiVo and Kindle, died Tuesday after a bout with colon cancer. He was 61. Cronan came up with names and branding strategies for dozens of companies, including Electronic Arts, Apple, Estee Lauder, Amdocs, Keas and Nintendo. But he’ll best be remembered… Read More…

Amazon bigger than Microsoft? What to watch in 2013 from Jeff Bezos & Co.

kindlefire

How’s this for a milestone in the making? Amazon is on a trajectory to become larger than Microsoft in 2013, at least in terms of employees. Yes, their businesses are different. Amazon is an online retailer, at heart, and employs a lot of people in distribution centers. But even considering that, Amazon’s employee growth over… Read More…

Copycat: Amazon trademark filings indicate Kindle protection plan almost identical to AppleCare

Will Kindle's soon have airbags to prevent cracked screens?

Looks like Amazon is taking a bite out of the Apple. GigaOM spotted a trademark application indicating that Amazon is considering an extended warranty and repair service for the Kindle. It’s more than just similar to Apple’s repair service, AppleCare — the wording of the trademark description is nearly identical to Apple’s trademark. Here’s Amazon’s: “Maintenance,… Read More…

Need a good read? Amazon unveils top 10 best-selling books of 2012

fiftyshades.jpg

Here’s what we learned from Amazon’s top-10 best-selling books of 2012: People love bad boy romance novels and independent publishers are more important than ever. The Seattle retail giant unveiled its top-10 books of the year and “Fifty Shades Freed,” the third book of E.L. James’ extremely popular “Fifty Shades of Grey” trilogy, took the… Read More…

Protesting the Kindle: National Federation of the Blind conducting picket at Amazon headquarters

nfb

From MA, MT, WA, CO, MN, MO, MD,, CA and across the nation, we are gathered to advocate for #KindleBooks4All. @amazon, here we come! — NFB (@NFB_voice) December 12, 2012   Getting fired up for the protest against @kindle at @amazon #Kindlebooks4all — Jessica (@jbeecham7) December 12, 2012   In an effort to push Amazon… Read More…

The tablet is killing the ebook reader: Study says shipments to fall 36% this year

kindletouch

Worldwide shipments of dedicated ebook readers such as the E-Ink Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook will fall by 36 percent to 14.9 million units this year, and plummet to just 7.1 million units by 2016. That’s the word this morning from industry researcher IHS, which blames the rise of multipurpose tablets such as… Read More…