Barnes & Noble Announces Self Publishing Service
If you’ve always wanted to see your name in print, you’re in luck. Barnes & Noble announced a new service which will allow authors to easily publish and sell their works digitally through Barnes & Noble.com and the Barnes & Noble eBookstore. Barnes & Noble’s “ Pubit ” service, once launched this summer, will allow qualified independent authors and publishers to upload their works to Barnes & Noble where it will be converted to the industry standard ePub format. Once published, the authors work is available to Barnes & Noble customers via BN.com and the eBookstore. B&N said they will offer authors competitive compensation, but the exact details of their proposed royalty model will be announced in the coming weeks. The company has plans to support the most popular reading devices and has said they will fully support Apple’s iPad. However, even though the iPad’s iBooks app can read ePub books natively, it will not be able to read books from Barnes & Noble. Barnes & Noble will use its own Digital Rights Management (DRM) system to protect the books from illegal downloads and copying. Since iBooks does not support Barnes & Noble’s DRM, users will have to download the free B&N eBook reader app in order to purchase and read books from their eBookstore. The Pubit service is an innovative approach to self-publishing. It gives independent authors and publishers greater reach and distribution of their works and provides them a potentially new revenue source. We would not be surprised to see Apple and Amazon adopt similar self-publishing capabilities in the not to distant future. Tags : authors , Barnes and Noble , publish Category : iPad News , iPad for Readers Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds
Words With Friends Tournament
Are you hooked on Words With Friends? If so, and you live in Dallas, get your game on! D Magazine, Dallas’ city magazine, is hosting a WWF tournament beginning June 1st.
The cover story of D’s June issue (on newsstands now) features an in-depth look at the brothers who started it all. With 4.5 million WWF downloads since its release, and more apps from Newtoy Inc. on the way, it comes as no surprise that David and Paul Bettner are two of the hottest names in the gaming business right now.
In an email sent to PadGadget from Gillea Allison with D Magazine, Allison states, “Now, while their story is fascinating, and the phenomenon one to pay attention to, we had one burning question: how good are the WWF creators at their own game?” So in conjunction with the June issue, D staffers plan to find out the answer to their own question by hosting a WWF tournament. A group of 64 iPhone, iPod and iPad toting Newtoy employees, Dallas celebrities, D editors and local fans and readers will face off starting June 1st for the chance to be named Words With Friends Champion.
Think you’ve got what it takes? Registration for an opportunity to participate it what’s sure to be several days of throwing down your best vocabulary and anagramming skills lasts until May 27th. Good luck!
Incoming search terms:
- words with friends champion
- words with friends net
Question of the Day: Does Froyo Make You Want to Get an Android Phone? [Qotd]
Since new iPhones have come out every summer for the past few years, June and July is a time when many, many cell contracts expire. Do Google's new Android OS features make you want to switch to their team? More
Mahjongg Artifacts: Chapter 2 HD for iPad – Quick App Review
I am not a huge mahjong fan myself, but since my significant other cannot stop hogging my iPad in order to play Mahjongg Artifacts: Chapter 2 HD , and given the good reviews on the App Store, I gave it a try. The game is actually a lot more fun than your traditional mahjong, as the more you progress, the more you collect “pearls” that help you activate special powers, such as tiles shuffle, tiles swap, undo moves, or hints, all designed to help you when you are locked – something that can happen quite often with mahjong. The game takes you on a journey throughout the world, and features hundreds of puzzles. The game also features special power-up tiles, that will allow you to: Move a specific tile to the top of the board Shuffle the tiles adjacent to a specific tile Get rid of all tiles of a specific kind Move/swap tiles The game is really polished, and the soundtrack is pleasant and soothing, even if a bit repetitive. If you want to try the app first, G5 also offers a limited but free version of the game, available here: Mahjong Artifacts: Chapter 2 HD Free . Screenshots and video available below the fold. App Name: Mahjongg Artifacts: Chapter 2 HD Developer: G5 Entertainment Version used for this review: 1.0 Price when reviewed: $4.99 Score: Tags : app review , mahjong , Mahjongg Artifacts Category : App Reviews , iPad News Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds
Analysts Raise iPad Sales Estimates
iPad sales continue to remain strong causing analysts to revise their sales estimates upwards to reflect the high demand. RBC Capital Markets’ analyst Mike Abramsky, just upped his iPad sales forecasts from 5 million units to 8 million for 2010. In his most recent research note, Abramsky attributes his bullish stance to the upcoming international rollout of the iPad, as well as product shortages in the US indicating continued strong demand. “Checks indicate that US iPad sales remain strong post-launch, driven by rising consumer visibility to iPad’s user experience, sustained PR/word-of-mouth marketing, 3G iPad launch, and broadening iPad apps/content. We believe Apple is now selling > 200k iPads/wk, greater than US Macs (est. 110k Macs/wk) and just below US iPhone 3GS first qtr (246k/wk).” Abramsky is one of the more bullish Apple analysts and his forecasts routinely run higher than his peers. In comparison, Piper Jaffray’s Gene Muster is currently forecasting around 5 million iPads to be sold by the end of this year, although Munster has noted his estimates may be too conservative given recent demand. The amazing thing is, by Aramsky’s estimates, iPad sales are running nearly twice as high as Mac sales. It’s clear that Apple has a hit on their hands and iPad sales will easily eclipse the $1 billion mark this year. Tags : forecast , Gene Munster , Mike Abramsky , Piper Jaffray , RBC , Sales Category : iPad News Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds
Scott A. Snyder Furniture iPad Stand – Gear Review
Yesterday I featured a stand from Twelve South so today the stand from Scott A. Snyder Furniture is up. Unlike the modern lines of the BookArc, this stand incorporates both artistic design and traditional woodworking. My kids, husband and I enjoy watching PBS together on Saturday afternoons, and two of our favorite shows are This Old House and New Yankee Workshop . This iPad stand reminds me of the type of high quality pieces Norm Abrams always produces on those shows. Design: Art meets functionality in this iPad stand. I’d classify it as an Arts & Crafts or Shaker style, that blends well in almost any environment. This sturdy stand is made of beautiful wood, has tight joints and a nice finish. It provides a secure fit for your iPad, allowing it to sit snugly in place while you work. There’s plenty of space to attach the sync cable underneath and felt pads on the bottom of the stand prevent your desk from being scratched. This particular stand (#266) is made of Tiger Maple and accented with Jatoba. Additional designs and wood choices are available for purchase on the website. The hand crafted workmanship of this custom stand is sure to be a conversation piece when your friends or colleagues see it sitting on your desk. What I liked: I love the custom design plus, it’s handmade of real wood right here in the USA. What I didn’t like: It’s not very portable and the price might be too high for some. To buy or not to buy: The attention to detail, fine lines and custom quality make this stand an elegant addition to any traditional office setting! Accessory Name: iPad Stand #266 Company: Scott A. Snyder Furniture Maker Price: $65.00 Score: Tags : custom furniture , iPad Stands , Scott A. Snyder Furniture Maker Category : Gear Reviews , iPad News Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds
Twelve South BookArc for iPad – Gear Review
Today and tomorrow I’ll be reviewing two different styles of iPad stands. One is a modern heavy gauge steel design from Twelve South called BookArc for iPad , while the second is a more traditional wood stand, handmade in Woodstock, Georgia by custom furniture maker Scott A. Snyder . You could say they’re Donny and Marie , one’s a little bit country and the other’s a little bit rock-and-roll. First up is the Twelve South BookArc. We featured this stand on PadGadget the end of April, shortly before the release of the 3Gs, and have been using it in our office ever since. Whenever I use my iPad as a workstation to surf the net and check email, I always sit it in the BookArc on my desk (or at a table) and use my bluetooth keyboard. Design: It’s slick! BookArc is a silver steel bow design with a slot down the middle to put your iPad. It comes with rubber feet and two exchangeable rubber inserts for the slot, the one you use depends on whether or not your iPad’s in a case. If you have a thicker case, such as the Speck Fitted Case, you might not be able to use the silicon insert. I got around this problem by simply removing the insert all together allowing the BookArc to hold my iPad like a champ. There are four viewing positions: upright portrait, upright horizontal, tilted portrait and tilted horizontal. I typically use the tilted portrait position because I’m working, but have used the tilted horizontal to watch movies on a few occasions. (My kids love to use it that way, it’s like their own little movie screen!) The stand’s two inserts allow you to use it with a range of thin cases. We w What I like: This stand is well made, very stable and easy to use. I like the fact that it offers four different positions for viewing. What I dislike: The shape and weight of this stand prevent it from being very portable – at least, I wouldn’t want to carry it around in my purse and use it. To buy or not to buy: If you’re looking for a stand with a sleek modern design to compliment your iPad, look no further. The BookArc is for you. Accessory Name: BookArc for iPad Company: Twelve South Price: $39.99 Score: Tags : BookArc for iPad , Scott A. Snyder Furniture Maker , Stand , Twelve South Category : Gear Reviews Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds
Apple Reverses Its No Cash Policy
If you’ve been following along today, you read our post about Diane Campbell, the lady who wanted to purchase an iPad with cash but was turned away. Apparently, there was quite an outrage across the nation and Apple has responded in a big way. Effective immediately, the no cash policy has been reversed!
During an interview with Channel 7 On Your Side this afternoon, Apple Sr VP Ron Johnson said, “We want to make sure it’s as fair as possible for people to get iPads.” It was only a month ago that Apple said they wanted consumers to use a credit card to purchase iPads. According to Johnson, it was “the best way we could think of to make sure people only bought two per individual.” Johnson further stated, “We made a decision today to change that.” Consumers are now allowed to use cash to purchase iPads, with one caveat, they must setup their Apple Account while in the store.
Today turned out to be Diane Campbell’s lucky day. Not only did she get her iPad, but she got it for free. Two Apple employees delivered it to her house this afternoon. Enjoy Diane!
Note: This video will not play on an iPad.
