The transistion from physical to digital media is happening right now

[James]

Interesting that they're selling the Kobo, which is created and sold by the Canadian bookstore chain Chapters-Indigo.  So it seems they still don't have their own e-reader yet, but maybe they have some exclusive deal to sell the Canadian product in the U.S., which may solve their problem?

I've seen it in the stores and it seems quite good, actually, particularly the recent version that has the bells and whistles.  I think this is the earlier version, though, which is still a decent, if basic, e-reader.

[Dil Bert]

So it seems they still don't have their own e-reader yet, but maybe they have some exclusive deal to sell the Canadian product in the U.S., which may solve their problem?

Selling someone else's eReader won't solve their problems.

I think this is the earlier version, though, which is still a decent, if basic, e-reader.

Seems to be the new model: "Kobo Wireless eReader   A new model with Wi-Fi capability was launched October 15, 2010."  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobo_eReader

[James]

Selling someone else's eReader won't solve their problems.

I thought it might help them attract more e-book sales, but you're right, of course.  The problem is deeper than just that.

Seems to be the new model: "Kobo Wireless eReader   A new model with Wi-Fi capability was launched October 15, 2010."  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobo_eReader

Hmm.  Strange.  I assumed it was the older one because it's priced more cheaply than the same e-reader here.  Maybe they're anticipating mass sales or something which is why they can lower the price point.  Maybe they're just desperate to attract customers...

[Dil Bert]

Borders headed for bankruptcy filing, according to WSJ
http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/11/borders-headed-for-bankruptcy-filing-according-to-wsj/

"The company's financial troubles have been no secret as of late, and those same people familiar with such matters say that the filing could come as early as next Monday, which will be followed by the closure of roughly 200 of its brick and mortar stores, and plenty of job losses."

I wonder if they will close the one near me.  It has an OK but not great location between two big shopping centers, but the anchor grocery store in its little shopping center is gone, and there is a much better placed Barnes & Noble nearby.

[corbie]

Borders announced Chapter 11 today. Since I am angry with them and had shredded my so called rewards card, I am having problems caring.

I  had that card for 5 years, when I ask when I buy something do I get anything yet and they always so no it was useless.

Sister got a me a gift card for $30 and I found everything was now double the price of everywhere else. I finally got some puzzles on line and the woman told me the card had never been activated. I did get free shipping, but then they sent the wrong puzzle and I can't get it fixed. Gave up and started doing it anyway, even if it wasn't the one I wanted.

I do like the reader I got there, but I could have gotten that at Amazon.  Since for a couple of years anytime I wanted a book Borders didn't have it and Amazon did, I got out of the habit of even looking there. And when I asked I was told that they could only carry approved selections and even had to place them where corporate said to that just nailed the coffin.

I am sorry about the job losses, but the corporation has sucked for a long time now.

[kmemphis]

Do you think Barnes and Noble is in trouble? I'd assume with the Nook, they'd be safe, but one closed last month and they're being replaced at my school bookstore - they were going to extend the contract, but then they backed out.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2011/feb/11/follett-take-over-operations-university-memphis-bo/

The one that closed last month was amazing - it was in an old theater.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/nov/10/poplar-plaza-bookstar-close-end-january/

I know, two closings aren't a lot, but two in the same short period of time... maybe it's just a location issue? Nothing's happening with the other B&N, it's out by the mall in a big suburb. Also, it seems huge to me because they are so close physically as well.

ETA - D'oh! Guess they are. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/04/barnes-and-noble-for-sale

Hopefully independent bookstores will see an increase in popularity, because I do love browsing a bookstore.

It will really really suck if the one by the mall closes - one stop shopping and all. There's another big bookstore - Hastings - on the same road, but it's a few miles away and traffic is nasty most of the day.

The school bookstore closing sucks for me, because I get B&N gift cards from relatives at my birthday (before the fall semester) and Christmas, and I could use them on the textbooks!

[Dil Bert]

The school bookstore closing sucks for me, because I get B&N gift cards from relatives at my birthday (before the fall semester) and Christmas, and I could use them on the textbooks!

Have you checked on their website?  You might be able to order them.

[latishya]

I'm happy with Amazon's store for my Kindle, and for paper books I never go past http://www.bookdepository.co.uk or http://www.bookdepository.com free shipping worldwide is hard to beat.

[Prem Rogue]

Really?  You mean to say the store that sells everything at MSRP is going out of business?  Say it ain't so!

Stores like Borders and B&N are good for magazines, and every now and then their coupons or special sales (BN's 50% off Criterions sale, for example) make it worth it to go there but I'd never buy anything there otherwise.  I'll be on the look out for going-out-of-business sales.

[mainhoonemily]

I'd be sad to see the Barnes and Noble here close - I don't buy a lot from them but it's one of my favorite places to hang out on a Saturday afternoon.  And much as I love buying books online, I like browsing and seeing what I can find on the shelves, too.  Barnes and Noble is pretty much the only bookstore in town.  There's a Hastings, but their store is too small and the book section is treated like an afterthought.

[corbie]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/mar/06/ebooks-on-borrowed-time

Interesting article on e books and the library.

[Dil Bert]

Barnes & Noble: eBooks will pass print -- fast
http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/03/25/barnes-noble-ebooks-will-pass-print-in-2-years/
"The book business is changing more radically now, and quicker, than movies or music or newspapers have, because we're doing it in a matter of months," he said. "In [the] next 24 months is when this business will totally shift," implying that eBooks will dominate sales. (Note: In a post-conference follow-up, Parrish now says he didn't mean to put a specific timeline on the shift.)

[...]

For 2011, the company predicts 18 million ereaders will be sold -- compared with just 900,000 sold in 2009 -- and 35% of readers will own come to own one. As for actual book sales, the Association of American Publishers reported ebooks in the U.S. brought in $70 million last January, a 116% increase from the same month last year, while adult paperback sales fell from$104.2 million to $83.6 million during the same period.

[corbie]

Typical. How come theses executives keep getting away with this stuff?

http://www.politicususa.com/en/borders-group-awards-executives-millions-for-putting-6000-out-of-work

[corbie]

Why I will only get a reader that does not hook to the internet!

http://m.gizmodo.com/5793334/when-you-cancel-your-magazine-subscription-on-your-kindle-your-back-issues-disappear-too

[Dil Bert]

Amazon Now Selling More Kindle Books Than All Print Books
http://moconews.net/article/419-amazon-now-selling-more-kindle-books-than-all-print-books/

[Dil Bert]

South Korea plans to convert all textbooks to digital, swap backpacks for tablets by 2015

"South Korea announced this week that it plans to spend over $2 billion developing digital textbooks, replacing paper in all of its schools by 2015. Students would access paper-free learning materials from a cloud-based system, supplementing traditional content with multimedia on school-supplied tablets. The system would also enable homebound students to catch up on work remotely -- they won't be practicing taekwondo on a virtual mat, but could participate in math or reading lessons while away from school, for example."

http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/03/south-korea-plans-to-convert-all-textbooks-to-digital-swap-back/

[jjake61]

South Korea plans to convert all textbooks to digital, swap backpacks for tablets by 2015

"South Korea announced this week that it plans to spend over $2 billion developing digital textbooks, replacing paper in all of its schools by 2015. Students would access paper-free learning materials from a cloud-based system, supplementing traditional content with multimedia on school-supplied tablets. The system would also enable homebound students to catch up on work remotely -- they won't be practicing taekwondo on a virtual mat, but could participate in math or reading lessons while away from school, for example."

http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/03/south-korea-plans-to-convert-all-textbooks-to-digital-swap-back/

Very Cool! I am sure school districts here will begin to make this change...One more thing for students at my school to fall further behind on though..when I think about my students this kind of stuff is depressing.

[Dil Bert]

One more thing for students at my school to fall further behind on though..when I think about my students this kind of stuff is depressing.

I don't see how it would hurt your students if it's provided by the schools, as it will be in South Korea.  Devices such as the iPad and Kindle are straightforward to operate, a big reason for their popularity.

[kmemphis]

I can't see the average school district in America providing these. We don't fund education well enough for that.

[jjake61]

I don't see how it would hurt your students if it's provided by the schools, as it will be in South Korea.  Devices such as the iPad and Kindle are straightforward to operate, a big reason for their popularity.

We provided Lap tops a few years back...lost them all. Too much mobility in populations with high poverty. Also most don't have internet access easily available..have to go to libraries which are not funded fully in Minnesota so aren't open every day. We are getting some Ipad labs and having e-books would save us lots on textbooks too (we go through textbooks like crazy) But the actual Ipads or kindles..would be hard to keep enough running in the district for all the students to have access. If the kids don't own them and see them as belonging to the district they don't take care of them..loan them to relatives..sell them,, lose them, move away,  forget them at grandma's etc...It's what happens to our textbooks too.

[Dil Bert]

Sorry to hear about the problems.  If it happens with textbooks as well, at least it's not unique to these higher tech solutions.  The problems you describe would seem to argue more for a $180 Kindle 3, with 'free 3G', than a $500 wifi iPad, even though that would limit the kind of apps which could run, and wouldn't have color.

Unfortunately the transition from physical to digital isn't going to cure poverty -- that's up to teachers. 

[jjake61]

Sorry to hear about the problems.  If it happens with textbooks as well, at least it's not unique to these higher tech solutions.  The problems you describe would seem to argue more for a $180 Kindle 3, with 'free 3G', than a $500 wifi iPad, even though that would limit the kind of apps which could run, and wouldn't have color.

Unfortunately the transition from physical to digital isn't going to cure poverty -- that's up to teachers. 

LOLS Yep I'll get right on that...

[Dil Bert]

Philly papers to offer subscribers discounted Android tablets [...]

"As the internet has overtaken newspapers as an information source, convincing readers to shell out the dough for online news has proven an uphill battle. Now two papers are trying a new approach: entice customers with discounted Android tablets and pre-loaded content apps. The Philadelphia Media Network, which owns the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News, is planning a pilot program for mid-August which will offer around 2,000 tablets; if successful, it could expand to more readers." [...]

[James]

A similar project is in the works for La Presse, the largest French language daily in North America based out of Montréal. Word is they will offer a free iPad to those willing to subscribe for three years to the paper, similar to mobile companies that offer a 'free' phone to clients who sign a contract (there are lots of sites discussing this in French, but this was the best I could find in English. For a French source, see here). Reports are the transition should be completed by 2013.

[Dil Bert]

Amazon rolls out textbook rentals for Kindle, promises discounts up to 80 percent

http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/18/amazon-rolls-out-textbook-rentals-for-kindle-promises-discounts/

It would be good to see textbook prices go down, as that's an easily identifiable problem with the cost of higher education.