Just got an email from the team behindBooki.sh – a new in-browser HTML5 ebook-reading platform. They’re out of Melbourne – Come on, Aussies! – and they’ve used open-source HTML5 Monocle software to create a nice way to read ebooks in you browser – any browser – and/or on your phone. Is it a platform or a bookstore, or both? "A little bit of both," says Joseph Pearson, the software guru behind the project. "Booki.sh is a platform that will power the ebook stores for a number of independent booksellers. Since it doesn't require a particular device and doesn't lock users to a...

Two days ago I had a long exchange with REDgroup Retail’s head of publicity, Malcolm Neil, about the company’s efforts in almost single-handedly dragging the country into the ebook era You can read the post here, but the upshot is that they are currently chasing a deal with Hachette, who are the only publishers in Australia yet to sign a deal to supply ebooks to REDgroup’s brands Borders.com.au, Angus & Robertson and Whitcoulls in New Zealand. A few months ago, the knives were out for REDgroup. A story about their finances broke, was largely beaten up to sound more serious than it...

I’m building a service that will allow authors to sell their backlist (and side-project) ebooks directly to their readers, without having to set up a shopfront themselves. I’ll tell you why. I have been inspired by the self-publishing success of Joe Konrath, and others, but that’s not why I’m doing this. What spurred me into action were some recent conversations I’ve had with friends, who also happen to be authors. They’ve also told me about their author friends’ tales of woe. I’ve written about their predicaments recently, so I won’t go into great detail... Author 1: One UK author mate complained to his publisher...

Jason Davis has a video of the Samsung Galaxy Tab. You can read his hands-on article here. His verdict: This is the best tablet other than the iPad. Having said that, it’s definitely in second place, but Android’s more open nature can only help. Needs to be priced at under $A500 to compete in Australia. ...

Isn't it nice to be asked for your opinion? To think that someone in authority actually wants to know what you think. This implies that your thoughts are valuable, that you are valuable. It's rare to be consulted by tech companies on anything these days, let alone in the world of ebooks. Yet that's what happened this week in Australia, when Sony Australia asked me to cook up a survey and poll the opinions of the ebook masses. What do they want, what do they hate, what would make their ereading experience better? Sony have just launched two touchscreen ereaders in...

Has the world gone topsy-turvy? Is that a flying swine flitting past a blue moon? That's how I felt this week as Sony Australia, fresh from the local launch of their new touchscreen eReaders, asked me to solicit the opinions of the eReading public at large. What do they like, what do they hate? What direction would they like us to go in? Huh? Wha? They want to actually know what we think? So they can improve their business and products? The ones that we buy? Sure, that process could only feed through and improve a company's bottom line, but it's still...

Sony Australia has asked our contributor, journalist Jason Davis, to conduct a poll at his Book Bee site. As Jason says: Sony Australia is holding an eReading industry forum in Sydney on September 16 to discuss the future of ebooks in Australia. And you are invited! Well, in the sense that Sony wants me to get your input. This is your chance. What do you currently like about the user experience of ebooks, what to you hate? What do you think of DRM? What do you see as the future of eReading in Australia? What should happen next? I told them I...

It's been a big news week in Australia in the world of ebooks - as it has overseas. But, for this much-overlooked corner of the world, ebooks have started to take their first tentative steps into the mainstream, and the logjam of rights, content and device issues has started to free up. In short, some important players in book publishing and selling here have evidently been looking at the whole "ebook thing" and decided that rather than a fad, it's the inevitable direction of the book industry. To be fair, I'm sure this happened a while back but, aside from one major...

   1. Smashwords Smashwords continues to kick goals in self-publishing. In an increasingly crowded market, I just don’t think you can beat Smashwords for ease of use, price (you can’t do better than free), and distribution. Fling your words to Smashwords, and you’ll quickly end up with an ebook in multiple formats, playable on all devices, and distributed to iBookstore, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Kobo and the Diesel eBook Store. Soon they’ll be adding Amazon to the already impressive list. The website could use prettying up, but this offering is the best one-stop-shop free solution out there. Other services...

Given Australia’s geographical position, we’re used to seeing “Made in China” stickers on the backs of everything from TVs to Australian flags. For a while, Korea made a play as our chief supplier of everything, then Japan had a tilt at the title, but China is still king. In fact, China is now the world’s manufacturer. And I, for one, say hooray. During the last month, the promised flood of cheap ereaders and touchscreen tablet computers has begun here. And they haven’t been big brands. I either have reviewed, or am about to review three – the Kogan eReader, the LASER EB-101...

Editor's Note: I am proud to announce that Australian journalist Jason Davis will be contributing a regular column to TeleRead on the state of "e" in Australia and New Zealand. This content will be exclusive to TeleRead. Jason also runs the BookBee and EbookAnt websites. PB. This is my first official guest post, so I thought I’d start by bringing those who are interested up to speed with the state of play in ebooks in Australia. That Australia is a couple of years behind the rest of the West in ebook uptake is probably not news to many....

On Wednesday irreverent but respected political blog Crikey published a story trumpeting the imminent demise of Australasian bookselling conglomerate REDgroup Retail, owners of Angus & Robertson, Borders and Whitcoulls chains. The journalist’s name is Tom Cowie, and he’s new to Crikey, but a story like this is likely to turn heads for a journalist just earning his chops. Well, it would, if more of it were accurate. Focusing on the ebook side of publishing as I do, the yarn surprised me, since Borders.com.au and Kiwi chain Whitcoulls, both REDgroup brands, are the only companies really...