Borders® Offers a Total eReading Experience with Kobo-branded eBook Store, Latest Kobo Apps, Borders eReading Blog ...

Press Release Source: Borders On Thursday June 2, 2011, 10:15 am EDT

ANN ARBOR, Mich., June 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- BordersR today announced an important milestone in its overall digital strategy. Through an expanded partnership with Kobo, Borders is now offering customers access to one of the premiere eReading experiences in the industry via the Kobo eBook store, one of the largest stores worldwide, and Kobo apps that offer a unique social reading experience. The company also announced a newly launched eReading Blog and eBook club, giving the eReading community great eBook deals, rich book-driven conversations, access to guest authors, and the opportunity to indulge their love of eReading when and how they want to.

(Logo: ?http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20060208/BORDERSLOGO )

"As a trusted authority in books, Borders is excited to team with Kobo, a global leader in eReading, to expand and enhance access to rich digital content, industry leading eReading apps and eReading devices with cutting-edge technology," said Borders, Inc. CEO Mike Edwards. "Borders and Kobo will continue to work with global eReader brands to provide a superior eReading experience to readers worldwide." ? ?

Kobo eBook store, apps available now on Borders.com

Beginning today, customers can visit Borders.com and easily download the latest free Kobo eReading apps, transition their existing Borders eBook library to their new Kobo library, or start a new account with Kobo. Customers who register for a free Kobo account or bring their Borders eBook library to Kobo will be entered into a contest to win one of 10 $500 Kobo eGift cards. The contest runs through August 31, 2011.

The free Kobo eReading apps are available for the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Android smartphones and tablets, BlackberryR smartphones and the BlackberryR PlayBooks as well as PC and Mac computers. Borders today sells the industry leading Kobo Wireless eReader and is now accepting pre-orders for the all new Kobo eReader Touch Edition, and expects customers will have the device in time for Father's Day.

With the Kobo eReading experience offered though Borders, customers can enjoy:

Access to popular newspapers and magazines — in addition to millions of ebooks, from the NYT's bestseller list, the hottest new releases, thrillers and romance to Oprah's Picks and more, delivered right to their devices;A unique and engaging social reading experience with Kobo's "Reading Life" available via the Kobo apps, allowing customers to earn awards for reading and share quotes and selections from the books they are reading with friends on Facebook and Twitter; Exclusive eBook offers including great discounts on new releases;App updates and new eReading features upon release;The option to gift eBooks to family and friends; ?The ability to borrow eBooks from local libraries; Easy library access — Borders and Kobo eBooks will be safely stored in the customer's library.

"We are pleased to provide Borders' customers with a leading eReading experience," said Mike Serbinis, CEO, Kobo, Inc. "Borders customers will now be able to download the latest Kobo eReading apps, access over 2.3 million eBooks, newspapers and magazines, and try Reading Life, Kobo's social reading platform — where customers can earn awards just for reading."

New Borders eReading Blog and Borders eBook Club

Borders has launched its first eBook club on Borders.com featuring "The Story of Beautiful Girl" by Rachel Simon. Throughout the month of June, Ms. Simon and the Borders Team will provide the back story behind the title, such as the research she conducted while writing, to give readers a one-of-a-kind book club experience. At the end of the month, Borders will host a Facebook chat with Ms. Simon, giving fans the opportunity to ask questions and engage with her on the book.?

Borders has also created the Borders eClectic Reader blog on Borders.com where customers can enjoy something different every day of the work week. Monday finds readers taking advantage of the Last Chance Deal, which offers great savings on select eBooks. Tuesdays feature the newest eBook releases, while Wednesday and Thursday find book lovers indulging in book trailers, author questions and answers, videos and musings by guest bloggers. On Fridays, customers can enjoy posts by guest authors and experts on a variety of engaging topics. ?

Kobo eReader? Touch Edition Now Available for Pre-Order on Borders.com

Rounding out Borders' latest eReading offerings is the Kobo eReader Touch Edition, which customers can now pre-order on Borders.com. The new device, which retails for $129.99, boasts a revolutionary new touch screen experience with new Infrared Touch Technology. Equipped with the newest E Ink Screen, the Kobo eReader Touch Edition is easy on the eyes, even in bright sunlight, and with the Real Touch? page turning — the experience is just like reading a real book.

Created for readers by readers, the beautiful new design provides the ultimate in reading comfort and is the most portable eReader — thin and light, it travels easily anywhere. Kobo's Reading Life, and industry-first social eReading platform, enables readers to gain insight into their reading habits with Reading Life Stats, which tracks the minutes per reading session, the number of pages they've turned, plus provides an overview of books completed in their library. In the coming weeks, customers will be able to share the fun and exciting awards they receive for reading, as well as their favorite book quotes and selections with friends, on Facebook and Twitter.

About Borders Group, Inc.

Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich., through its subsidiaries, Borders Group, Inc. is a specialty retailer of books as well as other educational and entertainment items. Online shopping is offered through borders.com. Find author interviews and vibrant discussions of the products we and our customers are passionate about online at facebook.com/borders, twitter.com/borders and youtube.com/bordersmedia. For more information about the company, visit borders.com/media.

Safe Harbor Statement

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. One can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of words such as "expect," "believe," "planning," "possibility," "opportunity," "goal," "will," "may," "intend," "anticipates," "working toward" and other words of similar meaning. One can also identify them by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and plans to differ materially from those included in the company's forward-looking statements.

These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to (i) the ability of the company to continue as a going concern, (ii) the company's ability to obtain Bankruptcy Court approval with respect to motions in the chapter 11 cases, (iii) the ability of the company and its subsidiaries to prosecute, develop and consummate one or more plans of reorganization with respect to the chapter 11 cases, (iv) the effects of the company's bankruptcy filing on the company and the interests of various creditors, equity holders and other constituents, (v) Bankruptcy Court rulings in the chapter 11 cases and the outcome of the cases in general, (vi) the length of time the company will operate under the chapter 11 cases, (vii)risks associated with third party motions in the chapter 11 cases, which may interfere with the company's ability to develop and consummate one or more plans of reorganization once such plans are developed, (viii) the potential adverse effects of the chapter 11 proceedings on the company's liquidity or results of operations, (ix) the ability to execute the company's business and restructuring plan, (x) increased legal costs related to the company's bankruptcy filing and other litigation, (xi) the company's ability to maintain contracts that are critical to its operation, to obtain and maintain normal terms with its vendors, landlords and service providers and to retain key executives, managers and employees.

In the event that the risks disclosed in the company's public filings and those discussed above cause results to differ materially from those expressed in the company's forward-looking statements, the company's business, financial condition, results of operations or liquidity, and the interests of creditors, equity holders and other constituents, could be materially adversely affected.

About Kobo, Inc.

Kobo is a global eReading service with more than 2.3 million eBooks, magazines and newspapers – one of the largest eReading catalogues in the world. Kobo believes consumers should have the freedom to read any book on any device and has attracted millions of readers from over 100 countries across the globe. Kobo has top ranked eReading applications for iPad, iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, Windows and MacOS, and is the eReading application of choice for leading tablets. The Kobo eReader is also available at leading retailers including Indigo, Walmart, Best Buy, Borders, WHSmith, Angus & Robertson's and Whitcoull's. Kobo's innovative Reading Life is an industry-first comprehensive social eReading experience – Kobo users can earn awards simply for time spent reading and encouraging others to read. ?Kobo is backed by majority shareholder Indigo Books & Music Inc, Cheung Kong Holdings, Borders Group, Inc., and institutional investors. For more information, please visit www.Kobo.com.

View the original article here

iFlowReader predicts ebook publishers will abandon App Store

An independent ebook seller says Apple's policies have forced it out of business. iFlowReader is closing up shop and pulling out of the App Store, and the company's founder expects his app's departure to be the first of many among ebook publishers.

"I believe they're all going to abandon the App Store," iFlowReader co-founder Dennis Morin told Macworld, referring to?his bigger competitors in the space, like Amazon's Kindle, Barnes & Noble's Nook, and Kobo.

"Apple is now requiring us, as well as all other ebook sellers, to give them 30 percent of the selling price of any ebook that we sell from our iOS app," Morin said. In a letter to users posted on iFlowReader's website, the developers explain that Apple's policy, combined with?the agency model now adopted by most major publishers (which gives sellers a 30 percent share of the proceeds), makes iFlowReader unsustainable.

But whether the major ebook sellers really will follow iFlowReader into the night is anything but clear at this point.

What we do know is that, in February of this year, The New York Times published a story featuring complaints from Sony over an App Store rejection. Sony said it had run afoul of an Apple rule that prohibited iOS apps from selling ebooks unless those transactions went through Apple's in-app purchasing process. That seemed to contradict the evidence: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and others - including iFlowReader - had been selling ebooks via their apps for a while now. Had Apple suddenly changed up the rules?

When contacted by Macworld (and other outlets), Cupertino denied that this was new,?responding to Sony's claims with this statement:

"We have not changed our developer terms or guidelines. We are now requiring that if an app offers customers the ability to purchase books outside of the app, that the same option is also available to customers from within the app with in-app purchase."

That seemingly self-contradicting statement also appears to match the company's policy on subscription sales, issued around the same time. As written, the relevant section of the App Store guidelines is unambiguous:

Apps can read or play approved content (magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music, video) that is sold outside of the app, for which Apple will not receive any portion of the revenues, provided that the same content is also offered in the app using IAP at the same price or less than it is offered outside the app. This applies to both purchased content and subscriptions.

All Things Digital also reported back in February that Apple had set a deadline for developers, requiring that apps implement the in-app purchase API policy no later than 30 June 2011. Presumably, apps that didn't comply by that point would be removed from the store.

And yet, aside from iFlowReader, we've seen little movement on the part of ebook sellers so far; the major vendors haven't cried foul about Apple's rules or updated their apps to adhere to the policy. That would seem to suggest that either they believe (or know) themselves to be exempt from Apple's stated rules - having, perhaps, struck individual deals with the company, along the same lines as periodical publishers - or that they still plan on updating their apps to comply by the end of June.

We reached out to several of the ebook sellers for clarification on this matter. Mary Ellen Keating, Barnes & Noble's senior vice-president for corporate communications and public affairs, replied via email: "We have made no official comment on this." Similarly, a?spokeswoman for ebook seller Kobo only told?Macworld: "Business as usual, Kobo has no intention of leaving the Apple App Store." Amazon did not reply to a request for comment.

But iFlowReader is a smaller shop, and doesn't necessarily have the clout of those majors, or the ability to weather the uncertainty. Even though Apple's new policies don't kick in until the end of June, Morin is shuttering the app now. His attempts to reach out to the company and find some sort of common ground have met with little response on Apple's side.

"Their basic attitude," said Morin, "is 'we don't have time'."

And with that, it would appear iFlowReader is out of time as well.

View the original article here

E FUN Adds Kobo eBook Store and SlideME App Manager to New 2011 Nextbook Android Tablets

SOURCE: E FUN

New Preloaded Software From Kobo and SlideME Enhance Nextbook's Fun and Ease-of-Use

WEST COVINA, CA--(Marketwire - Apr 14, 2011) - E FUN, a consumer electronics designer and marketer of fun, easy-to-use lifestyle products, is adding the Kobo eBook Store application and the SlideME App Marketplace to its 2011 line of sleek Nextbook Android tablets. Both will be available on the new Nextbook Android tablets that will start shipping in April.

"Our E FUN philosophy is to offer electronic products that are fun and easy to use," stated Jason Liszewski, Managing Director and VP of Sales for E-Fun. "The addition of Kobo's eBook Store and SlideME's SAM Application Manager do just that. They provide easy access to one of the largest collections of online reading material as well as a number of Android applications, many of which are not available on similar sites."

The Kobo eBook Store
The open-standard, Kobo eBook Store currently has over 2.3-million titles, including New York Times Bestsellers, award winners, classics and more. It is continually adding books, newspapers, and magazines. The company is geared toward helping book lovers enjoy the e-reading experience anytime, anyplace, much like E FUN is with its Nextbook line.

Nextbook users can download their favorite titles right from the comfort of their own home. Each Nextbook unit has 25 eBooks preloaded. The Kobo robust store platform handles sales, payment, and delivery. It handles multiple currencies and works with multiple languages.

Since the Border's eBook Store on previous Nextbook models is "powered by" Kobo, consumers who purchase a new Nextbook will still have access to their libraries of books that they purchased through Borders on the new Nextbook tablets.

The SlideME SAM Application Manager
The SlideME's SAM Application Manager eases app downloading and purchasing. It hosts nearly 3000 Android applications, some of which may not be listed in similar Android app sites, providing a wide range of selections. It enables users to search, download, purchase, subscribe, trial, rate, and uninstall applications.

SlideME includes much more information about an application than other Android app sites. Users can browse a gallery of screenshots for an application or even watch a video demonstration. Description size is not limited, allowing developers to tell an app's complete story.

The Nextbook Product Line
The E FUN Nextbook line of sleek, lightweight Android tablets is just that: the next generation of books that can be taken anywhere and read anywhere. The line currently includes four models: Next2, Next3, Next5, and Next6. The Next5 comes with an E FUN standard-shape, digital APEN writing tool. The Next6 incorporates a capacitive touch-screen displays that can be controlled with very light finger touches.

In addition to the two new apps, all models feature Google's powerful Android operating system, a TFT touch-screen color display, up to 8GB of built-in memory with support for a MicroSD card, built-in Wi-Fi technology, and a MP3/photo viewer.

E FUN Nextbook products are available at leading online sites. For a listing, visit www.nextbookusa.com.

About E-Fun
As its name implies, E FUN is a designer and marketer of fun, lifestyle e-products that are easily accessible. While appreciated by techies, E FUN products are primarily designed for consumers who desire the latest technological products, but are more concerned with what they do, not how they do it. E FUN's ongoing product innovation focuses on making electronics and computing more fun! Initial product offerings from E FUN include the APEN digital pen and Nextbook Android tablets. E FUN is headquartered in West Covina, California.

For additional information regarding E FUN's brands, please visit APEN at www.apenusa.com; and Nextbook at www.nextbookusa.com

All products/services and trademarks mentioned in this release are the properties of their respective companies.
c 2011 E-Fun. All rights reserved.

View the original article here

World's First Social eBook Store

PitchEngine? is not responsible or liable for the accuracy, validity or quality of this content. Users are solely responsible for the facts and accuracy of all information posted and shared on the Site. PitchEngine reserves the right to reject or hold social media releases that it deems not newsworthy in its judgment, at any time.

Limitation of Liability - In no event will PitchEngine be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, exemplary or consequential damages (Including, but not limited to, damages for loss of business profits, business interruption, loss of programs or information, and the like). This disclaimer of liability applies to any damages or injury under any cause of action, including, without limitation, those caused by any failure of performance, error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, computer virus or bug, communication line failure, theft, destruction or alteration of or unauthorized access to the Site or materials on the Site.

c Copyright 2011 PitchEngine, Inc.

View the original article here

The Diesel eBook Store Launches Their New and Improved Affiliate Program

Richmond, VA (PRWEB) March 14, 2011

The Diesel eBook Store (http://www.diesel-ebooks.com), one of the leading independent eBook stores, officially launched their new Affiliate Program featuring an intelligent ad generator and aggressive commission package. Affiliates earn 10% on each referral and get to keep the customer for a full 90 days. Most eBook programs only pay on the 1st sale and mandate that a referral cycle through the affiliate’s site again for a commission to be paid on a future sale. The Diesel program is unique in that it enables affiliates to “own” the customer for 90 days.

“Our new program provides an unprecedented opportunity for any site wanting to monetize their traffic with eBook sales. With a few clicks, an affiliate can now virtually have their own eBook store,” said Scott Redford, President and Founder of Diesel-eBooks.com.

In addition to a range of banners and textual links, Diesel features a state-of-the-art cover widget generator. Affiliates can generate topical or author specific galleries featuring one to 50 eBook covers. For example, a sewing website could feature their own eBook store focused entirely on sewing eBooks. Search tools enable affiliates to tailor their galleries by category, title or author.

The ability to open customer service tickets directly through the Affiliate program has also been added.

Affiliates receive additional value from the program through Diesel’s use of SEO safe affiliate links that go directly to category and display pages rather than a 3rd party affiliate system. Real time status reports are provided in order that affiliates can track their results and payments.

2011 is turning out to be an exciting year for this eBook retailer. In December 2010, Diesel-eBooks.com launched its new eBook retailing platform and is unique in the marketplace for their expanded categories and their ability to host customer created bundles. Their new site also boasts a suite of new features such as the “Deal of the Day”, social networking, video integration, access to over two million free eBooks via partnerships with Google and a new and improved search engine.

Along with their new Adobe Content Server (ACS4), Diesel-eBooks is now able to host, encrypt and fulfill eBook titles from their own servers. They recently signed direct deals with such publishers as Dorchester, E-Reads, Macmillan, O’Reilly and Smashwords, to name a few.

For more information and to join the Diesel-eBooks Affiliate Program, please go to:
http://www.diesel-ebooks.com/affiliates/

About the Diesel eBook Store
Launching in December 2004, Diesel-eBooks.com is one of the world’s largest independent eBook stores, offering over 2.4 million original eBook titles including hundreds of exclusive cyber bundles for deep discounts. Based in Richmond, Virginia, Diesel sells titles from hundreds of publishers including Harlequin, HarperCollins, John Wiley & Sons, Macmillan, McGraw-Hill, O’Reilly, Penguin, Random House, and Smashwords and in multiple formats including ePub, Microsoft Reader, Mobipocket, and Palm/eReader and PDF for all eBook devices and eReading hardware. Forty categories and 2,700 sub-categories mean customers find it faster at Diesel eBooks. http://www.diesel-ebooks.com

# # #

View the original article here

Building iPhone Apps with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript: Making App Store Apps Without Objective-C or Cocoa

What people are saying about Building iPhone Apps w/ HTML, CSS, and JavaScript

"The future of mobile development is clearly web technologies like CSS, HTML and JavaScript. Jonathan Stark shows you how to leverage your existing web development skills to build native iPhone applications using these technologies."

--John Allsopp, author and founder of Web Directions

"Jonathan's book is the most comprehensive documentation available for developing web applications for mobile Safari. Not just great tech coverage, this book is an easy read of purely fascinating mobile tidbits in a fun colloquial style. Must have for all PhoneGap developers."

-- Brian LeRoux, Nitobi Software

It's a fact: if you know HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, you already have the tools you need to develop your own iPhone apps. With this book, you'll learn how to use these open source web technologies to design and build apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch on the platform of your choice-without using Objective-C or Cocoa.

Device-agnostic mobile apps are the wave of the future, and this book shows you how to create one product for several platforms. You'll find guidelines for converting your product into a native iPhone app using the free PhoneGap framework. And you'll learn why releasing your product as a web app first helps you find, fix, and test bugs much faster than if you went straight to the App Store with a product built with Apple's tools.

• Build iPhone apps with tools you already know how to use


• Learn how to make an existing website look and behave like an iPhone app


• Add native-looking animations to your web app using jQTouch


• Take advantage of client-side data storage with apps that run even when the iPhone is offline


• Hook into advanced iPhone features -- including the accelerometer, geolocation, and vibration -- with JavaScript


• Submit your applications to the App Store with Xcode

This book received valuable community input through O'Reilly's Open Feedback Publishing System (OFPS). Learn more at http://labs.oreilly.com/ofps.html.

Price: $29.99

Click here to buy from Amazon