In just a few months’ time, the balance of power in the ebook retail marketplace could shift – again.
Between 2007, marking the launch of the Kindle, and today, we’ve witnessed the rise of ebooks, the dominance of Amazon, the challenges of Barnes & Noble and Apple, their challenges beaten back following the death of agency ebook pricing, and now the resurgence of Amazon as the dominant player.
This week, Apple’s new iOS 8 will start to hit its 800 million worldwide devices and, for the first time ever, it will come pre-installed with iBooks.
Apple won’t say how many new paying customers it thinks it will pick up, but considering the large numbers, the add could be huge.
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More on Apple iBooks (Pub Lunch)
In addition to the pre-installed iBookstore, Apple has added features that could make switching over from another ebook retailer more palatable.
Future-Proofing Ebooks (DBW)
More companies are using the EPUB3 standard but are moving away from the enhancements that make EPUB3 so exciting.
Related: Check out the Digital Book Awards
New Kindle on the Way? (DBW)
Leaked pages on Amazon sites around the world point to a new high-end Kindle e-reader that’s lighter and thinner than the Paperwhite – and more expensive, too.
New Basic Kindle Also Coming? (The Digital Reader)
More rumors, this time about a new basic Kindle model that has a touch screen and is a tad more expensive than its predecessor.
More on Amazon’s New Kindle Direct Payouts (Pub Lunch)
The bonuses for successful Kindle authors who go exclusive with Amazon via Kindle Direct Publishing just became even more of a winner-take-all game.
Related: Get the latest intel on Amazon and ebooks at Digital Book World 2015 where Kindle senior vice president Russ Grandinetti will take the stage in a special-event interview that’s not to be missed.
Reviving the Back-List (The Bookseller)
DBW-parent F+W is reviving a 50-year-old back-list with the magic of print-on-demand.
Related: Digital Back-List Marketing
Pivoting to Stay in Publishing (Pub Perspectives)
The book industry wasn’t ready for Slicebooks when it launched three years ago, so the company has had to pivot multiple times to stay relevant. It launched its own retail experience earlier this year.
More Musings on the Future of Ebooks (BuzzFeed)
We read this latest, perhaps longest, review of the future of books so you don’t have to, and we’ve come to the conclusion that you don’t have to. It’s a retread of stuff you already know as a DBW Daily reader, but if you have some spare time and love thinking about the future of publishing as much as we do, go for it.
