08:18 AM by xg4bx in E-Book General | News

One of the leading lights of the science fiction world, editor and author Frederik Pohl, passed away this weekend after a career that defined the genre for decades.

His granddaughter Emily Pohl Weary confirmed the news.

Pohl was known for his mind-bending, often satirical novels (many co-authored with longtime collaborator C.M. Kornbluth), his editing acumen, his science fiction criticism, and his witty, fascinating blog, which he was updating right up until his death.

http://io9.com/rip-frederik-pohl-the...ict-1241405614

03:36 AM by fjtorres in E-Book General | News

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/micr...eal-8C11063106

Microsoft will buy "substantially all" of Nokia's devices and services business and license Nokia's patents and mapping services in a deal the companies valued at $5.44 billion euros, or about $7.2 billion, the companies announced late Monday.

More details to come.

Pretty much settles who the next MS CEO will be and kills the rumors of an XBOX spinoff.

From CNET:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57...ices-division/

From Microsoft:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/...9-02email.aspx

We announced some exciting news today: We have entered into an agreement to purchase Nokia’s Devices & Services business, which includes their smartphone and mobile phone businesses, their award-winning design team, manufacturing and assembly facilities around the world, and teams devoted to operations, sales, marketing and support.

[image: Maurits Knook / Flickr]

03:26 AM by doctorow in E-Book General | News

At this moment, the Paperwhite cannot be purchased from Amazon anymore - except used.

There are currently no New listings for Kindle Paperwhite, 6" High Resolution Display with Built-in Light, Wi-Fi - Includes Special Offers. However, you can choose a different condition.

There are currently no New listings for Kindle Paperwhite, 6" High Resolution Display with Built-in Light, Wi-Fi. However, you can choose a different condition.

When do you think Amazon is going to introduce the next Kindle (E Ink)?

07:22 PM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book General | News

The NYT has an interesting write up on how Kobo is losing its race against Amazon to dominate the Japanese e-reader market.

Amazon’s victory over Sony and Rakuten, which got into the e-reader business when it bought the Toronto-based Kobo in November 2011, began with aggressive pricing. Amazon sold the Kindle Paperwhite for 7,980 yen, or about $80. Not only was its price about $40 less than it was in the United States, it also matched that of Rakuten’s Kobo and Sony’s PRS-T2. [...]

But Amazon wasn’t winning just because of price. It also gave consumers another reason to prefer the Kindle. “The reason for the Kindle’s success in Japan is the same as it was in America,” said Munechika Nishida, author of “The Truth About the E-book Revolution” and a technology analyst. “The Amazon Web store is the easiest to use, the easiest to understand.”

The current market shares according to Tokyo-based MM Research Institute:

• Amazon: 38.3 percent
• Kobo/Rakuten: 33 percent
• Sony: 25.5 percent

Many of you have noticed that Kobo is currently revamping its online e-book store. Could this be the key for a successful fight against Amazon's market dominance?

[image: Haruhiko Okumura / Flickr]

05:37 PM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book General | News

John Scalzi has taken the best novel honors at this year's Hugo Awards for his work, Redshirts: A Novel with Three Codas. The Hugos are given every year by the World Science Fiction Society, since 1953.

Winners of this year's Hugo Awards:

• BEST NOVEL: Redshirts: A Novel with Three Codas, John Scalzi (Tor)
• BEST NOVELLA: The Emperor’s Soul, Brandon Sanderson (Tachyon Publications)
• BEST NOVELETTE: “The Girl-Thing Who Went Out for Sushi”, Pat Cadigan (Edge of Infinity, Solaris)
• BEST SHORT STORY: “Mono no Aware”, Ken Liu (The Future is Japanese, VIZ Media LLC)
• BEST RELATED WORK: Writing Excuses Season Seven, Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, Howard Tayler and Jordan Sanderson
• BEST GRAPHIC STORY: Saga, Volume One, written by Brian K. Vaughn, illustrated by Fiona Staples (Image Comics)
• BEST DRAMATIC PRESENTATION, LONG FORM: The Avengers, Screenplay & Directed by Joss Whedon (Marvel Studios, Disney, Paramount)
• BEST DRAMATIC PRESENTATION, SHORT FORM: Game of Thrones, “Blackwater”, Written by George R.R. Martin, Directed by Neil Marshall. Created by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss (HBO)
• BEST EDITOR, SHORT FORM: Stanley Schmidt
• BEST EDITOR, LONG FORM: Patrick Nielsen Hayden
• BEST PROFESSIONAL ARTIST: John Picacio
• BEST SEMIPROZINE: Clarkesworld, edited by Neil Clarke, Jason Heller, Sean Wallace and Kate Baker
• BEST FANZINE: SF Signal, edited by John DeNardo, JP Frantz, and Patrick Hester
• BEST FANCAST: SF Squeecast, Elizabeth Bear, Paul Cornell, Seanan McGuire, Lynne M. Thomas, Catherynne M. Valente (Presenters) and David McHone-Chase (Technical Producer)
• BEST FAN WRITER: Tansy Rayner Roberts
• BEST FAN ARTIST: Galen Dara

Link

Congrats to all the winners!

[via Pat's Fantasy Hotlist]

04:43 PM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book General | News

Roughly one day before the official Sony PRS-T3 unveiling, the guys at Librista managed to get their hands on a retail package of this new e-reader. We wish we had anything new to report other than what we've already mentioned in previous leaks, but we don't.

At least now we have some very nice hands-on photos to look at.

Update: And now we also have a video. Kudos again to Librista!

05:15 AM by pdurrant in E-Book General | Deals and Resources (No...

Just a reminder that if you want to buy Baen's October 2013 Bundle, six SF/Fantasy books for $18, you only have FOURTEEN days left to buy it. The bundle will come off sale sometime on the 15th September, and the full bundle can be downloaded by those who've bought it sometime from the 16th onwards.

The total cost of the individual books is about $52. So if you don't already have any of the books in the bundle, that's a saving of 65%!

The books in the October bundle are:

• 1636: The Devil's Opera by Eric Flint and David Carrico
• Treecat Wars by David Weber and Jane Lindskold
• Worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs by Mike Resnick and Robert T. Garcia
• In Space No One Can Hear You Scream edited by Hank Davis
• Swords of Exodus by Larry Correia and Mike Kupari
• Phoenix Rising by Ryk Spoor

01:40 PM by doctorow in E-Book General | News

[Moderator Edit: If you bought eligible e-books between 2010 and 2012, you're likely to receive up to $3.06 per book. For detailed information how much you're likely to get in the settlement, see AnemicOak's post, and onward.]

Original post:

No refund for me. My inbox is empty and sad.

Publishers Weekly:

Representatives from Rust Consulting, the firm retained to administer the settlement fund, confirmed to PW that 23,073,840 customers of Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google, and Sony have been directly notified via e-mail or by postcard that they are eligible to participate in the settlement. That figure represents consumer accounts, a Rust representative explained to PW, not the number of individual consumers, as some consumers have accounts with multiple retailers, or multiple accounts at a single retailer.

Who is eligible?

An eligible consumer is defined as anyone “who purchased e-books from an ‘Agency Five’ publisher from April 1, 2010 to May 21, 2012.” Anyone who received notice by e-mail or postcard purchased at least one qualifying e-book from one or more retailers. The figures do not include Minnesota, which has a separate settlement.

More details on the settlement Web site