The v3.01 update is now final and ready for download from Amazon servers, for all Kindle 3's.  Apparently, their private feedback was as good as feedback seen on the Amazon forums. See yesterday's original report of the v3.01 update for the details that were in that. At the linked page (above), Amazon also states: ' We're excited to announce that a new, free software update is available for the latest generation Kindle 6" device.  This software update adds the ability to create a new Amazon.com account directly from your Kindle, as well as additional performance...

Within the last 60 days there has been a bevy of announcements of new ereading devices. Amazon announced what is popularly called the Kindle 3 and Sony has announced 3 new models — the 350, 650, and 950. How far behind other makers will be is hard to tell, but the upcoming holiday season should be a good one for device buyers. So the question is this: Is this the time to take the plunge and buy a dedicated ereading device if you don’t already own one? The companion question, of course, is if you own one that is more than...

While it has been increasingly clear over the past year that Amazon is dominating the market share and price wars among dedicated ebook reader devices, it is now clear that Amazon is also winning its tug of war with traditional book publishers over ebook pricing. Amazon is succeeding dramatically in its efforts to bring an ever increasing number and percentage of all Kindle Store ebooks into its preferred price range between $2.99 and $9.99, inclusive, according to our most recent analysis of the overall pricing composition of the Kindle Store catalog and the "Top 100 Paid" spots on the Kindle Store...

  The “big” news ebook reading devices recently has been Amazon’s new Kindles with their Pearl screen. OK, ebookers got the point: Amazon is moving right along in its attempt to capture the wallets of all ebookers. Which raises the question, here in the United States, “Sony, Sony (and Barnes & Noble, as well) — Wherefore art thou?” Not a hint, not a misspoken word, not anything leaked to eBookland about a response by Sony and/or B&N to Amazon’s new Kindles. I, for one, am desperately seeking solace, especially from Sony, that there will be new competitive...

Just how fresh  is Amazon’s Web site information on Kindle 3 shipping dates? Paul has addressed the issue of already-acknowledged delays. But now here’s more. Could the Amazon Web site’s present estimate be weeks behind in saying that “orders placed today are expected to ship on or before September 8th”---in the cases of both the WiFi-only and the 3G models? An Amazon customer rep told me on the phone that I might not get my WiFi-only Kindle 3 until October 5 even though I ordered it on August 1. The October date had popped up earlier...

OK, gang. Parse this exchange between USA Today reporter Edward C. Baig and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, amid the ballyhoo for the third-generation Kindle: Q: Why doesn't Amazon support the popular "e-pub" standard used by your competitors and many libraries? A: We are innovating so rapidly that having our own standard allows us to incorporate new things at a very rapid rate. For example: Whispersync (which uses wireless connections to sync your place in a book across devices) and changing font sizes. Other standards over time may incorporate some of these things. But we're...

 Where I buy a print book often comes down to convenience (which store is closest), pricing, availability (is the book in stock?) and loyalty programs (e.g., member discounts).  The choice of a brick-and-mortar vs. an online store adds in the component of urgency; do you need the book today or can it wait till tomorrow? I'm buying ebooks almost exclusively now.  In fact, I can't even recall the last print book I bought for myself.  Although I ditched my Kindle on day one with my iPad, I do most of my book reading in...

Every week it seems something new is happening in eBookland to set the ebook cause back a decade or two. Always at the forefront of the reversal of fortune is greed. This week’s menace to eBookland is literary agent Andrew Wylie and his new publishing venture Odyssey. Wylie could have summed up his actions in simple terms: to disserve both his clients and the ebook-buying public. What, you ask, did he do? He agreed to give Amazon exclusive rights for 2 years to his authors’ backlist titles; Wylie will publish the books and exclusively sell them through Amazon. The backlist includes...

The big news this week in eBookland was Amazon’s announcement that ebooks outsold hardcovers 1.8:1 in the last quarter. That set tongues awaggin’ and has prompted hundreds of articles, blog posts, and comments, now including this one. So that raises the question: Who’s on first? One of the best comedy routines of all-time was Bud Abbott and Lou Costello’s “Who’s on First?” routine and Amazon’s announcement brought the routine to mind after many years of having been forgotten. For those of you unfamiliar with the routine, here it is: Isn’t this really the story — and value — of Amazon’s announcement? As many...

As I re-read this recent NY Times article about Google's possible role in the ebook retailer world I started thinking more about how the whole marketplace could shake out. It's important to note that Google Editions is a program that's been talked about for a couple of years but still hasn't materialized. The latest rumor is it will launch very soon...pretty much the same rumor that's been around the last couple of years! Nevertheless, at some point I'm convinced Google will produce an ebook retailing platform and it's sure to have an impact on our industry. Google Editions...

Donna Fasano’s first novel was published by Harlequin Silhouette in 1990, and it was chosen by the Romance Writers of America as a finalist for its Golden Hearts Award. In the twenty years that followed, Fasano–sometimes using the pen name Donna Clayton–published over 30 novels via the traditional publishing route, won the HOLT Medallion three times, and sold over 3.5 million copies worldwide. In December 2009, however, she tried something different: she self-published her new book The Merry-Go-Round, which had at one time been in the hands of a large publisher (more on that below), through Amazon’s Kindle Store. Now it’s...

WHICH KINDLE SOFTWARE VERSION IS THE ONE FOR YOUR KINDLE? No one outside Amazon knows, I imagine. But as long as you have Kindle software update v2.5.x (the "x" meaning any number), you can use the new Kindle features such as Collections, Pan & Zoom, Sending of highlighted passages to Facebook and/or Twitter, etc. The Amazon Kindle software-update files currently on their servers for download are all labeled v.2.5.2 within their long filenames and should be chosen for the Kindle model you have, which is explained there. See Intro and Guide to Software version v2.5.x for information on: 1. how to...