08:31 PM by Steve_Haley in E-Book Software | Calibre Companion

Hello everyone,

I'd like to announce that Calibre Companion for iPhone has been started. It's been a long time coming! To reintroduce myself, I worked with Chaley on the original Android version a few years ago.

We're still a way off from making a public iPhone version, but the community here has been so fantastic in helping us test that we'd like to ask again. Who would like to be an alpha tester? Obviously you'll need an iPhone or iPad. Update: we now have enough people for the initial test, thanks to everyone who volunteered.

The plan would be to send a version out in about two weeks. It will contain the basic functions for CC: connecting 'as a wireless device', syncing books, sorting and the grouping drawer, and handing books over to a reader app. Testing the connecting is the main thing we'd like help with, as that took us quite a while to get right last time round.

After that initial version, the timeline is a bit more vague. It took chaley and me a few months to get the original CC Android version ready. This time round will be a bit quicker, but it will still take at least a month. So please don't get too excited, even though we do realise you've waited a long time for this. (This time, it will be nice to skip some of the errors we made with the first version. For example, we originally thought people would only want to have 10 to 50 books on their devices at one time. That clearly turned out to be wrong as people now routinely have thousands of books!)

Thanks,
Steve

06:00 AM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Week in Review

If you've been too busy to check out MobileRead this week, check out our usual roundup:

E-Book General - News

• eBook settlement credit is on the way
• New Basic Kindle from Amazon

E-Book General - Reading Recommendations

• July 2016 Book Club Nominations

E-Book Software - Marvin

• Marvin 3.0 is out

05:48 AM by kguil in E-Book Software | Marvin

Hello Everyone. Marvin 3 is out and available now. You can get it for free + 20% off premium upgrade for a limited time. Marvin Side-by-Side (SxS) is also available now at 20% off for a limited time as well.

You can download Marvin 3 for free from here.

App Store propagation may be a bit slow, so M3 might not show up right away in searches. Your best bet it to get it from Marvin's website.

I hope you enjoy it!

Have a lovely week.

09:54 AM by pdurrant in E-Book General | News

Amazon have just announced a new Basic Kindle model. Release date is 7th July in the US and 20th July in the UK.

Press release link
Amazon US Link
Amazon UK Link

"The all-new Kindle is 11% thinner and 16% lighter than the previous-generation Kindle, making it easy and comfortable to hold in one hand"

It's now available in black and white, but otherwise much the same: 167ppi eInk Pearl screen, no frontlight, 6" screen.

old basic Kindle: 169 mm x 119 mm x 10.2 mm, 191 grams
new basic Kindle: 160 mm x 115 mm x 9.1 mm, 161 grams

Instead of being a bit bigger than the PW3, it's now smaller.

There is one other big difference:
"Built-in Bluetooth audio for accessibility—The first Kindle with built-in Bluetooth audio support, Kindle makes it possible for visually impaired users to use the VoiceView screen reader on Kindle to read the content of the screen—including reading books and other Kindle content—without the need for an adaptor. This is enabled through a new out-of-box experience specifically for visually-impaired customers that allows them to pair their Kindle with Bluetooth headphones or a speaker. For other recent updates in accessibility, visit our Amazon blog."

06:59 AM by PatNY in E-Book General | News

Today I got this email from B&N:

We are happy to let you know that within the next several days you will receive your portion of the Apple Settlement as an electronic credit placed in your Barnes & Noble account. Use your credit to buy books, eBooks, and more in any of our channels — online, in-store, or on your NOOK® or NOOK Reading App™.

How will I know my credit is ready to use?
Within the next few days, you will receive another email confirming that your credit is in your account. That notice will also include a printable certificate that you can use at any Barnes & Noble store.

Find out more about the credit and how you can start using it.

Why am I getting this credit?
The credit results from the Settlement reached with Apple Inc. in an antitrust lawsuit filed by State Attorneys General and Class Plaintiffs about the price of electronic books. We previously sent you emails informing you that you were eligible for a credit in your Barnes & Noble account. If you did not receive those emails, you can read about the Settlement at www.EBookLawsuits.com. Barnes & Noble was not a party to the Settlement, but as a Barnes & Noble customer you can take advantage of the benefits agreed to by the settling parties.

Will my credit expire?
If you do not use some part of the credit to make a purchase within one year, your entire credit will expire on June 24, 2017, and you will no longer have access to use it. However, if you make a purchase that only uses part of your credit, the remainder of the credit will have no expiration date.

How was my credit amount calculated?
The amount of your credit was determined by (1) how many qualifying eBooks you purchased during the claims period and (2) if the eligible eBook was ever a New York Times Bestseller. eBooks that were New York Times Bestsellers received a higher per eBook credit than those that were not New York Times Bestsellers.

As always we appreciate your business. Thank you for being a valued Barnes & Noble customer.

Sincerely,

Barnes & Noble

So others who bought books during the time period covered will also likely receive their credits soon.

I'm not even sure what my refund will be, but I'm glad it's arriving soon.

--Pat

12:03 AM by WT Sharpe in Reading Recommendations | Book Clubs

Help us select the book that the MobileRead Book Club will read for July, 2016.

The nominations will run through midnight EST June 26 or until 10 books have made the list. The poll will then be posted and will remain open for five days.

The book selection category for July is a Free-For-All!

In order for a book to be included in the poll it needs THREE NOMINATIONS (original nomination, a second and a third).

How Does This Work?
The Mobile Read Book Club (MRBC) is an informal club that requires nothing of you. Each month a book is selected by polling. On the last week of that month a discussion thread is started for the book. If you want to participate feel free. There is no need to "join" or sign up. All are welcome.

How Does a Book Get Selected?
Each book that is nominated will be listed in a poll at the end of the nomination period. The book that polls the most votes will be the official selection.

How Many Nominations Can I Make?
Each participant has 3 nominations. You can nominate a new book for consideration or nominate (second, third) one that has already been nominated by another person.

How Do I Nominate a Book?
Please just post a message with your nomination. If you are the FIRST to nominate a book, please try to provide an abstract to the book so others may consider their level of interest.

How Do I Know What Has Been Nominated?
Just follow the thread. This message will be updated with the status of the nominations as often as I can. If one is missed, please just post a message with a multi-quote of the 3 nominations and it will be added to the list ASAP.

When is the Poll?
The poll thread will open at the end of the nomination period, or once there have been 10 books with 3 nominations each. At that time a link to the initial poll thread will be posted here and this thread will be closed.

The floor is open to nominations. Please comment if you discover a nomination is not available as an ebook in your area.

Official choices with three nominations each:

(1) Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
Goodreads | Amazon US / Barnes & Noble / Kobo US / Overdrive
Print Length: 610 pages

(2) City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi by William Dalrymple
Goodreads | Amazon UK
Print Length: 352 pages

(3) The Golem and the Djinni by Helene Wecker
Goodreads | Amazon UK / Amazon US
Print Length: 657 pages

(4) Nothing But Blue Skies by Tom Holt
Goodreads | Amazon US / Kobo US / Overdrive
Print Length: 336 pages

(5) Something Fresh (original title: Something New) by P.G. Wodehouse
Goodreads | Amazon US / Audible / Many Books / Whispersync
Print Length: 284 pages

(6) Death in the Dordogne (Bruno Chief of Police Book 1) by Martin Walker
Goodreads | Amazon UK
Print Length: 262 pages

The nominations are now closed.

06:00 AM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Week in Review

Once again, our weekly roundup of highlights from the past seven days of MobileRead:

E-Book General - News

• E-book prices becoming lower in the Netherlands

06:54 AM by Katsunami in E-Book General | News

Source: Nu.nl

The price of e-books has been dropping for years, while physical books have become more expensive.

In 2010, an e-book cost around €11,25, while a physical book had an average price of about €13. In 2015, the prices are about €8 and €15, respectively.

Book sales have been stable in 2015, after some years of decline. The market share of e-books is about 6.9 percent.

Bestsellers constitute less and less of the total sales of books. Last year, this was 12,8 percent, while in 2010 it was still 15,4 percent.

More than 80% of physical books are bought in brick and mortar stores; the rest are ordered through the internet.