Book Dominoes

Here is a fun video for the weekend. Enjoy and Happy Halloween!

20 years of e-readers

A recent posting on CNNMoney.com features a slideshow of some of the e-readers that have hit the market over the past 20 years. The slideshow includes the first e-reader, Sony Data Discman, which was released in 1991 and designed to read audio CD’s and CD-ROMs. You can view the full slide show here.

B&N Nook Color

Earlier this week, Barnes & Noble unveiled a new color version of its Nook reader. The device features a 7–inch color LCD screen and Android operating system. This is an interesting device because it combines features of an e-reader and a tablet. It has a color screen and on screen keyboard like a tablet but does not include all of the capabilities or the larger device size. It is like other e-readers because it is designed primarily for the purpose of reading. However, this device will not be as easy on the eyes because it features a LCD screen with backlighting rather than a black and white E Ink screen. In terms of price, it also falls between cheaper e-readers and pricier tablets. Jamie Iannone, president of digital products at B&N, described the Nook Color by saying, “This device is the reader's tablet.”

According to an article from The Wall Street Journal, magazine and newspaper subscriptions with color photos will be available on the device. In addition, according to a posting on the Bits Blog, B&N has also introduced a new feature called Nook Friends that will allow readers to share content and notes with friends via social networks.

It will be interesting to see how this new type of device does this holiday season. B&N is expected to begin shipping the devices on November 19th.

Digital Happenings

While the blog highlights many of the digital happenings affecting our industry, there is often more going on than we have a chance to cover. Here are some links to interesting articles from the past few days.

• Apple sold 4.19 million iPads last quarter bringing its total sales to almost 7.5 million since April. Interestingly, the iPad sales last quarter were greater than the sales for the entire line of Macintosh computers which also hit a record high at nearly 3.9 million units. Some analysts are now predicting that Apple will sell up to 40 million iPads next year.
• According to an article from Adage, Apple has also expanded distribution for the iPad to retailers such as Target, Walmart, Sam’s Club, and Best Buy. Previously, the iPad was available at 300 Apple stores and now it will be available at 8,000 stores across the country.
• A recent survey of students by the Associated Press and mtvU found that 57 percent of students said that life without computers and cell phones would be stressful but 25 percent said it would be a relief.
• An article from The New York Times says that Sharp is scaling back its laptop operations to focus on tablets. Sharp plans to launch 5.5-inch and 10-inch screen Android tablets in December. In addition, Sharp will launch an e-book store that will give users access to 30,000 e-books, newspapers, and magazines. A second article from MacWorld provides more information about the tablets.
• According to a TechCrunch article, Amazon says that it continues to sell more Kindle books than print books. Amazon says that it has sold more than three times as many Kindle books from January to September of this year than it did for the same nine months of 2009. Amazon also says that sales for its latest Kindle device have already surpassed total Kindle device sales from the holiday season last year (October through December 2009).
• A recent article from Publishers Weekly discusses the challenges associated with formatting e-books.

Amazon announces a lending program for Kindle e-books

According to an announcement on Amazon’s website, later this year it will introduce an e-book lending program for Kindle users. Users will be able to loan an e-book to a friend that uses a Kindle device or the Kindle app. The loan period will be for 14 days and the lender will not be able to read the book during that time. The announcement notes that publishers and rights holders will determine whether or not their titles are available for lending. Barnes & Noble has a similar lending program in place for its Nook device.

Amazon also announced that it will make Kindle newspapers and magazines available for reading on the Kindle apps. This functionality will be available for Apple devices initially and for Android devices or other apps in the future. This functionality may encourage users to stay within the Kindle app for all of their reading on various devices.

Touch screen technology from Disney Research

An interesting CNN article says that Disney Research is working on a new touch screen technology called TeslaTouch. The new technology would allow users to feel the location of the keys on a flat screen because it uses small electrical impulses to create a pull and push between a person’s finger and the screen. It differs from other touch-sensitive screens because it can actually simulate the feeling of various textures or friction between objects.

Here is a link to a video demo with additional information.

Webinar on Effective Communication in Higher Education

On Tuesday, November 9th, Platt Retail Institute will be holding a webinar to discuss the results from their study on communication effectiveness in higher education. The webinar will include a discussion about the most effective communication methods and how digital technologies can improve the flow of information on college campuses.

In an email about the webinar, Steven Keith Platt, PRI Director and Research Fellow, noted, "Our research study found that 97 percent of students prefer to receive information via digital channels, rather than from non-digital sources. Overall, text messages were found to be the most effective distribution channel, followed closely by digital signage."

For those interested in attending, you can sign up here.

Free interactive biology textbook in creation

A recent article from Wired Science discusses the efforts of the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation to create an interactive and comprehensive digital textbook for biology that will be available for free. The textbook will be called Life on Earth and it will be created from scratch in the digital format.

Neil Patterson, director of Life on Earth, commented on the effort to revolutionize science education. Patterson noted, “Motion and film are powerful ways of teaching. We’re trying to exploit the human brain, like videogames do, and it’s not a small matter to use technology now available to us.”

The digital book will contain 59 chapters and will be extremely expensive to create so university level editions will be sold for about 10 percent of the cost of an average print textbook. The foundation will also need donations to support the effort.

The Wired article also includes a couple of videos that are worth watching. The first video is a demonstration of the first chapter of Life on Earth and the second video provides more information about the initiative.

XanEdu and NYU Stern School of Business to conduct iPad pilot

According to a recent press release, XanEdu, provider of custom coursepacks and textbooks, has partnered with the NYU Stern School of Business to conduct a program-wide iPad pilot for MBA students. Instructors at the university will use XanEdu’s system to publish course materials that students can access on the iPads. The course materials will include digital note taking capabilities and collaboration tools. Throughout the pilot, students will be asked to provide feedback to help determine if the iPad app meets the needs of the students.

Mobile usage among teens and young adults is on the rise

Nielsen has released a new report about mobile usage in the U.S. that has some interesting statistics.

In regards to texting, teens between the ages of 13-17 far surpass every other age group. Teens send an average of 3,339 texts a month or about six texts for every hour that they are awake. Young adults between the ages of 18-24 come in second at about 1,630 texts per month or about three texts per hour. For both age groups, voice activity has decreased since last year.

According to the report, these age groups are now relying on their phones for many tasks in addition to texting including: the Internet, e-mail, multimedia, games, and apps. Since the second quarter of 2009, data usage among teens (ages 3-17) has quadrupled and among young adults (18-24) it has tripled.

The increased reliance on mobile devices among these age groups presents many opportunities for the mobile industry in the future.

New type of e-paper

A recent Ars Technica article discusses a new type of e-paper that is currently in development. The screen is being developed by Gamma Dynamics and is said to be more advanced than the E Ink screens that are used on many e-readers today. According to the article, the screen is much brighter but it does not use more power. It is also has a much faster refresh rate than the current E Ink screens. More information is available here.

96% of 18-29 year olds own a cell phone

A new report from the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project has some interesting findings about the number of Americans that own technology devices. Some of the findings include:

• 85% of all Americans and 96% of 18-29 year olds own a cell phone
• 52% of all Americans and 72% of 18-19 year olds own a laptop computer
• 47% of all Americans and 75% of 18-29 year olds own an mp3 player
• 42% of all Americans and 62% of 18-29 year olds own a home gaming system

In regards to e-readers and tablets, 5% of all Americans own and e-book reader and 4% own a tablet computer. The report notes that these devices are new but they are proving to be popular with early adopters. The ownership rates of these devices among college graduates and the affluent are roughly double the national average.

The full report is available here

August 2010 e-book sales statistics

E-book sales statistics for August 2010 have been released by the Association of American Publishers (AAP) via IDPF. Trade e-book sales were $39 million for August 2010, a 172.4% increase over August 2009. IDPF reports calendar year to date revenue is up 193%. Note: These figures represent the 12 to 15 trade book publishers who have been willing to supply their data to IDPF.

HP in-store print-on-demand pilots

This semester, Hewlett Packard (HP) is conducting print-on-demand pilots at three universities. NMS helped to facilitate the pilots with the college stores at Portland State University, The University of Kansas, and Arizona State University. The stores are utilizing HP in-store print-on-demand technology to print and bind course materials. Each college store has worked out agreements with publishers to print a select number of titles. In addition, books in the public domain and open-source books can be printed. More information about each of the pilots can be found below.

A recent article from AZCentral.com discusses the pilot at ASU. McGraw-Hill, John Wiley & Sons, and Cengage Learning have all made a limited number of titles available for the pilot. Some professors who own the rights to their books have also made the titles available for printing. As a result of the pilot, the textbook prices for several courses have reduced. Dennis Mekelburg, associate director of ASU Bookstore, estimates that students could save about a half-million dollars each semester if five percent of ASU classes switch to print-on-demand.

In another article Estella McCollum, director of the KU Bookstore, commented on the pilot at KU. She noted, “With this, we’re essentially never out of stock on the printable titles. We just have a more efficient option for purchasing.” The KU Bookstore hopes to expand the print options next semester to include: student projects, books, portfolios, cookbooks, and other projects.

An article about the pilot at Portland State University points out that the program is good for students, the store, and the earth because it reduces prices for students, keeps sales at the store, and reduces wasteful printing and transportation. The store hopes to get more publishers on board by next semester so that they can increase the amount of content that can be printed.

More information about these pilots will be available prior to CAMEX in February 2011.

Student PIRGs report on open textbooks

A new report regarding open textbooks has been released by The Student PIRGs. The report titled “How Open Textbooks are the Path to Textbook Affordability” concludes that “the next step toward textbook affordability is to promote the creation and adoption of open textbooks.” It says that rentals, e-textbooks, and e-readers are limited in the ability to reduce costs and address student preferences because they only match the preferences of some students. However, open textbooks can reduce costs substantially and accommodate the full spectrum of students.

Some of the Student PIRG data that contributed to this conclusion matches data from the NACS Student Watch study however, there are some differences. For example, in regards to student preferences, the Student PIRGs data shows that 75 percent of students prefer print while 25 percent prefer digital. The NACS study found a similar statistic but when students were subsequently asked the primary reason for purchasing print over digital only 42 percent indicated that their preference for print was the primary reason for their purchase choice. The next two reasons were: lack of inventory (19 percent) and that the professor used the print copy (13 percent). This shows that while a majority of students may prefer print to digital, that preference is decreasing in its relevance as a reason not to purchase digital -- suggesting that the preference for print over digital may be lessening in significance. If the content is available and if the faculty chooses digital more students may be ready to switch. Preference for print may have been definitive before but it is more marginal now.

The Student PIRGs report also estimates that students would spend an average of 80 percent less on textbooks each year if they moved to all open textbooks. This compares to 61 percent less for rentals, 52 percent less for e-textbooks, and 39 percent less for e-reader textbooks. While open textbooks may be more affordable now, the model may not be sustainable over the long term. As more faculty adopt open course materials, it may have an impact on overall educational affordability because revenue that goes to support financial aid, tuition sustainability, and other institutional expenses will be lost. This is not an argument against seeking lower cost course materials. Rather, it is an argument that open source still presents enough shortcomings that it is not yet a panacea for the textbook affordability problem.

While open textbooks will certainly play a part in the future, the associated limitations need to be worked out before they can be widely adopted. College Stores should be thinking about ways to incorporate open textbooks into their offerings. College Stores have an opportunity to provide access to the digital versions and offer printed versions through print-on-demand so that the store remains the primary source for student content needs, regardless of format or source.

E-book industry to be regulated in China

According to a recent report, China’s General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) has released a regulation to guide the development of the e-book industry in China. The regulation seeks to resolve some of the current issues in the industry. One of the issues is that the e-books are published in a variety of formats and the e-reader devices only support specific formats. This is also an issue in the U.S. and can be challenging for both consumers and publishers. The regulation will help resolve this issue by establishing standards for format, quality, and copyright. The regulation also includes tasks such as: establishing a pool of reading material for e-books, nurturing big e-book brands, and improving the quality of digital transformation of traditional publications.

Virginia Department of Education iPad pilot

A recent article from eSchool News discusses the iPad pilot that the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) is conducting. The VDOE is working with Pearson to implement the program for fourth, seventh, and ninth grade students in social studies classes. Additional content, software, and platforms are being provided by Five Ponds Press, Victory Productions, Adobe, and MashOn. In addition, AP biology students participating in VDOE’s online learning program will use an interactive textbook created by Inkling in cooperation with McGraw-Hill.

The iPad pilot is part of VDOE’s larger "Beyond Textbook" initiative which aims to “explore the potential of wireless technology and digital textbooks to enhance teaching and learning.”

Patricia Wright, Superintendent of Public Instruction, commented on the initiative, “The experiences of students and teachers will be evaluated, and the knowledge gained will help policy makers, educators, and our private-sector partners better understand the potential instructional uses of interactive digital media and wireless technology. We will learn what works in the classroom and build on that as our schools move beyond traditional textbooks.”

The iPad pilot program will kick off on November 1 and will run for 12 weeks. Additional information can be found in the press release.

Esquire magazine iPad app

Here is an interesting video of the Esquire magazine app for the iPad. The app was developed in partnership with Scrollmotion and features an engaging and interactive experience. The first issue of the magazine for the iPad is available now. You can also read more about it in this posting from Mashable.com.

“Digital Public Library of America”

Last weekend, Harvard’s chief librarian, Robert Darnton, organized a meeting of representatives from foundations, institutions, and libraries to discuss how to build a national digital library. The group issued a statement to endorse the idea which includes an open distributed network of online resources from libraries, archives, museums, and universities across the country. According to Mr. Darnton, the goal is not to coordinate existing digitization projects but to make “the entire cultural heritage of the country accessible free of charge to all of our citizens.”

A recent article from The Chronicle includes an interview with Mr. Darnton about the meeting and the challenges. Darnton noted that the biggest obstacle will be “finding our way through our baroque copyright laws.” Next steps for the group include: forming a coalition of foundations to fund it and bringing together leaders to mobilize support in Washington.

Mr. Darnton also recently wrote a column for The New York Review of Books blog that discusses why the U.S. should begin building a national digital library and the other countries that are doing so.

Scholastic study on reading in the digital age

Scholastic has released the results from its 2010 Kids and Family Reading Report that explored reading in the digital age. The study included children between the ages of 6 and 17, and their parents for a total of 2,090 respondents.

The study produced some interesting findings including:

• 25 percent of children (age 6-17) have read a book on a digital device
• 57 percent of children (age 9-17) say they are interested in reading an e-book
• 33 percent of children (age 9-17) say they would read more books for fun if they had greater access to e-books.

While digital is appealing to many children, the results also showed that kids still embrace print books. 66 percent of children (ages 9-17) agreed with the statement, “I'll always want to read books printed on paper even though there are e-books available."

As for the parents, 6 percent said that they currently own an e-reader and another 16 percent plan to buy one within the year. In addition, 83 percent of the parents said they do or will encourage their child to use their e-reader device. However, many parents worry about the impact of digital devices. 56 percent of parents said that they worry that their children will become less interested in reading books for fun as they become more involved with digital devices.

The full report is available on Scholastic’s website.

Digital Happenings

• According to The Wall Street Journal's Digits blog, earlier this week Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer commented, “You’ll see new slates with Windows on them. You’ll see them this Christmas.” Ballmer did not provide any additional information.
• Earlier this year, the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) organization announced a partnership with Marvell and now OLPC has received a grant from Marvell to fund the development of an Android educational tablet for children around the world. According to an Ars Technica article, the device will be available for demonstration at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.
• Rumors have been circulating that MIT is planning to charge for its free online course materials via the MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW) system. An article from The New York Times reports that this is not the case.
• A posting on the Gadgetwise blog features a round-up of the tablets that are in the works. The posting does not include the latest news that Dell is preparing to launch a second Android tablet. Dell recently showed off a 7-inch tablet at a conference but details about the device were not disclosed.

Sales forecasts for the iPad and Kindle

A few recent articles discuss updated sales predictions for the iPad and Kindle.

Gene Munster, analyst for Piper Jaffray, says that Apple could control 94 percent of the global tablet market this year. This means that Apple may sell an estimated 10.7 million tablets out of 11.3 million in industry sales. Munster also increased the forecast for iPad sales in 2011. Munster previously estimated that Apple would sell about 14.5 million units in 2011. The new forecast says that Apple could sell 21 million iPads and surpass sales of the Mac.

A second article from Electronista discusses Kindle sales. Douglas Anmuth from Barclays Capital estimates that Amazon will sell about five million Kindles this year and 11.5 million in 2012.

These forecasts put Apple ahead of Amazon in terms of device sales but Amazon will still benefit from e-book sales on the iPad. Currently, the Kindle app is one of the most popular apps for the iPad.

The Future of the Book by IDEO

Here is an interesting video from IDEO, a global design company, about how they envision the future of the book. Their design concept is broken down into three tracks: Nelson, Coupland, and Alice. Nelson is a reading experience that comprises multiple perspectives, Coupland incorporates social networking into the experience, and Alice invites the reader to engage in the story telling process.

The video has some really interesting ideas and is worth a watch. In addition, here is an article with more information.

e-reader users are likely to read more and purchase more books

A new study from market research firm Harris Interactive found that 8 percent of Americans use an e-reader and an additional 12 percent plan to purchase an e-reader within the next six months.

The study also found that consumers that own e-readers read more and purchase more books. The study notes, "Overall, two in five Americans (40%) read 11 or more books a year with one in five reading 21 or more books in a year (19%). But among those who have an e-reader, over one-third read 11-20 books a year (36%) and over one-quarter read 21 or more books in an average year (26%)."

Additional results from the study can be found here.

Text messaging statistics

The Mashable website recently featured an interesting article about text messaging and how it has become one of the most popular forms of communication. The article includes a graphic to illustrate the texting trends and averages in the U.S. and around the world. Some interesting stats include:

• Texting has surpassed e-mail, phone, and face-to-face conversation as the main communication vehicle for 12-17 year olds.
• In the U.S., 14-17 year old girls send about 100 texts per day while boys in the same age group send about 30 texts per day.
• By 2009, 5 trillion text messages were being sent annually worldwide.

For more statistics, visit the Mashable website.