Friday 6 December 2013

The Digital Reader

The Digital Reader


Did B&N Cook the Nook’s Books?

Posted: 06 Dec 2013 03:42 PM PST

There’s abarnes noble logo juicy story going around today about a brief mention in Barnes & Noble’s latest SEC filing. No one really knows what it means (or if it has any importance at all) but that’s not stopping everyone from writing about it.

According to Forbes, the SEC is investigating an allegation and the company’s recent financial disclosures:

In Barnes & Noble's quarterly report filed Thursday, the company noted that the SEC "notified the Company that it had commenced an investigation into: (1) the Company's restatement of earnings announced on July 29, 2013, and (2) a separate matter related to a former non-executive employee's allegation that the Company improperly allocated certain Information Technology expenses between its NOOK and Retail segments for purposes of segment reporting." The company announced that it is cooperating with the SEC on this matter.

Barnes, & Noble, of course, had nothing to say. “We are cooperating with the SEC, including responding to questions and requests for documents,” company spokeswoman Mary Ellen Keating said in an email. “We cannot comment on why the SEC is investigating the restatement,” she added.

B&N has experienced a severe setback in their digital ambitions over the past year, with revenues of the perennially unprofitable Nook Media division continuing to drop over that time.  This probably led to B&N having to write off expenses in ways that may or may not have been quite kosher.

Maybe.

I don’t know about you but I’m going to wait until there’s a report before drawing any conclusions. For all we know this investigation could result in a conclusion about as interesting as a spreadsheet.

The post Did B&N Cook the Nook’s Books? appeared first on The Digital Reader.

Mr Reader Updated With New Fonts, iOS 7 Background Updating

Posted: 06 Dec 2013 10:31 AM PST

The app_icon_mrreader_176[1]developers of Mr Reader have rolled out a new update this week  with new features and full support for iOS7. Don’t look now but the best news reader app for the iPad just got better.

Mr Reader now supports the background updates option (iOS7 required), meaning that you’ll no longer have to tell it to check for new content; instead the latest articles will be waiting whenever you open the app. In addition to 3 new fonts, the app now has a cleaner interface which (based on the screen shots) is as flat as the rest of iOS7.

The app has also gained (partial) support for Aol Reader; users of that service can join BazQux, Feedly, Fever, FeedBin, InoReader, SubReader, FeedHQ, and Feed Wrangler users in following and sharing the news on the highest rated news reader app. And that’s not all; readers have a new Facebook sharing option (friend of friend) and they can now add an article to their Safari reading list.

mrreader_v3_sydney_theme_634[1]

This app first crossed my desk back in August when I reviewed a handful of news reader apps. Of the 5 apps for Android and iOS that I bought, Mr Reader was clearly the best of the bunch. I have been using it quite a bit over the past couple months as I have grown to appreciate catching up on the news before betting out of bed in the morning.

Mr. Reader 3.0 is a free upgrade for existing users, and sells for only $4. It’s worth getting, IMO.

iTunes

The post Mr Reader Updated With New Fonts, iOS 7 Background Updating appeared first on The Digital Reader.

New Promo Video Offers a First Look at the PocketBook CAD Reader

Posted: 06 Dec 2013 07:11 AM PST

Pocketbook’spocketbook cad reader 13.3″ ebook reader might not have a price or release date yet but it does have its first commercial. As you can see in the video below, Pocketbook is targeting the ?AD Reader at small builders who might find a 13.3″ Android tablet with an E-ink screen appealing.

Like many tablets, the CAD Reader offers AutoCad integration and Wifi/3G connectivity, making it a useful tool for displaying digital blueprints.

The PocketBook CAD Reader, which debuted last week at the Autodesk University trade show in Las Vegas, NV, is going to be the speediest ereader on the market when it ships. It runs Android 4.0.4 on a dual-core 1 GHz CPU with 2 GB RAM, 16 GB Flash storage, and an 8Ah battery.

It has 2 touchscreens (Wacom and capacitive), not one. Sony's writing slate is similarly equipped with dual touchscreens.

This ereader/tablet’s claim to fame is its one of a kind screen. The CAD Reader is the first device to use E-ink’s new Fina screen tech, which is both lighter and thinner than Pearl or Carta E-ink screens. Of course, the 13.3″ with its resolution of 1600 x 1200 also packs in fewer pixels per inch (150ppi vs 265ppi on the Kobo Aura HD), but you can’t have everything.

There's still no info on price or release date, but I am hoping to have those details soon.

The-eBook.org

The post New Promo Video Offers a First Look at the PocketBook CAD Reader appeared first on The Digital Reader.

Google Play Books Launches in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru, And Venezuela

Posted: 06 Dec 2013 05:19 AM PST

It’s been about a month since Google last opened a new branch of Google Play Books and you know what that means: it’s time for another expansion.

Google play books argentina

Google Play Books is now live in an additional 5 countries in South America. Readers in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru, And Venezuela can now join Brazilians in buying ebooks from Google and reading them on their iDevice, Android, or ereader (except the Kindle).

In keeping with Google’s past low key announcements, the Google Play team tweeted the news, which was confirmed by Google Play’s help pages. This brings the total number of countries supported by Google Play Books to 44, including a broad swath of Europe, southeast Asia, Australia,most of North America, and now most of South America.

Google Play Books is now available in more countries than any other type of content which Google is selling, and at this point Google is far in the lead in terms of local ebookstores, with over twice as many local sites as the Kindle Store but still fewer supported countries than the 51 supported by Apple. What’s more, Google’s pace appears to be accelerating. The intervals between launches is getting shorter, having shrunk from several months down to 5 or 6 weeks and now under a month. At this rate Google will launch local ebookstores in most of the world by the end of 2014.

Android Police

The post Google Play Books Launches in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru, And Venezuela appeared first on The Digital Reader.

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