Bookstores

Flipboard adds iBookstore perusing to iOS app

Flipboard, the mobile app that lets users see all of their desired news in one place, now supports books.

The company announced today that when iOS users download its latest update, they'll find that they can comb through 25 book genres, including fiction, nonfiction, and cookbooks. In order to deliver that functionality, Flipboard has incorporated Apple's iBookstore into its app and essentially acts as a conduit to help users find out about the iPhone maker's iBooks.

When sifting through Apple's library of titles, Flipboard users will be able to read a publisher's write-up, find author … Read more

DC's e-comics expand to a multiverse of devices

Digital comics sales are on the rise, according to DC Comics, and the publisher today has started to expand its weekly books beyond its app.

Starting today, the Kindle Store, Apple iBookstore (iTunes link), and Nook Book Store will offer the same weekly issues previously limited to the Comixology and DC Comics apps. New issues of DC's superhero New 52 line, as well as its Vertigo imprint, will publish on the same day and date in the proprietary e-bookstores, the Comixology app, and in physical comic bookshops.

"It's not a move [away from Comixology], it's an … Read more

Apple to expand iBookstore to 18 new countries

Apple's iBookstore is going live in 18 new countries, according to AppleInsider and other tech blog sites.

Citing information from an Australia-based iBooks label, AppleInsider said that the countries in line for iBookstore are Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela. Those 18 would bring the total number of iBookstore-supported countries to 50.

The expansion of iBookstore comes on the same day that Apple is expected to unveil the iPad Mini. The company also is reportedly aiming to push the education angle with its new tablet, … Read more

Batman, DC Comics drop in on iBooks

Digital comic books continue to proliferate beyond comics-specific apps like Comixology as Apple's iBooks gets its first DC Comics book: the recently published, original graphic novel Batman: Earth One.

Batman: Earth One, which retells the Batman origin with some startling differences -- ready for faithful butler Alfred to wield a gun, anybody? -- continues DC Entertainment's strategy of selling graphic novels through marketplaces that focus on traditional books and magazines, while the single-issue monthlies are available through the company's branded iOS and Android apps. Its digital release comes on the heels of the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con, … Read more

Best Buy offers discount on iTunes gift cards

Those of you shopping for iTunes gift cards can grab them at a healthy discount at Best Buy.

The retail outlet is offering the full range of iTunes gift cards for 15 percent off the usual price. So a $15 card is selling for $12.75, a $25 card for $21.25, a $50 card for $42.50, and a $100 card for $85.

Buyers can opt to purchase online so the code is delivered via e-mail or pick up a card at their local Best Buy store. No returns or refunds are allowed on the iTunes gift cards, but … Read more

Apple's digital storefronts rumored to get a face-lift

Apple's trio of digital storefronts are getting a visual overhaul soon, according to a new rumor.

Citing anonymous sources, Apple blog 9to5Mac said today that the iTunes Store, the App Store, and the iBookstore are getting visual overhauls that will bring "more interactivity." What that actually entails is unclear.

The report adds that the change will also add more social features to store pages. Presumably this would go beyond the current "tell a friend" option that lets you send a quick detail page about the app to someone else by e-mail. 9to5Mac suggests Apple will … Read more

How to self-publish an ebook

A while back I wrote a column titled " Self-publishing: 25 things you need to know," which was mostly about how to create and sell your own paper book. After folks asked me to do something similar for e-books, I created this article, which has now been updated a few times.

I begin with one caveat: The whole e-book market is rapidly evolving, and a lot of self-publishing companies are offering e-book deals bundled into their print book publishing packages, which makes them harder to break out and evaluate. It's all quite complicated, and in an effort to sort through the confusion, I've decided to offer a few basic tips and present what I think are some of the best options out there for creating an e-book quickly and easily. As things change -- and they will -- I'll do my best to keep this column up to date. … Read more

Why Apple needs to settle its e-book suits

commentary Amazon.com has outmaneuvered Apple in the e-books sector. Nowhere was this made more apparent than in court documents released last week.

In antitrust lawsuits filed by the U.S. Department of Justice and others, Apple stands accused of conspiring with five of the six largest U.S. book publishers to raise the price consumers paid for e-books and stifle competition in an attempt to snatch control of the e-book market away from Amazon, the sector's dominant player.

Soon after the Justice Department filed its complaint last month, Apple and two of the five publishers filed motions with … Read more

Tor Books to drop DRM on entire catalog of e-books

Science-fiction/fantasy publishing company Tor Books dropped a big bomb on the e-book world today by announcing plans to abolish DRM on its entire collection of e-books in early July.

The shift will most likely appear seamless to consumers, as an official blog post on the Tor Web site mentions that DRM-free titles will sell at the same retailers that currently sell Tor's books, and will additionally appear on DRM-free-only e-book stores. The Macmillan-owned company also publishes titles under Forge, Orb, Starscape, and Tor Teen. … Read more