Thursday 02 December 2010

Google Editions To Start Book Sales This Year    [ 02-12-2010 15:08 ]

Author: Serge Novikov   Source: WSJ     Translation by:     

Google likes to have its fingers in a lot of pies and the latest would appear to be the online book business. The Wall Street Journal are reporting that Google will have an online ebook store up and running in the U.S. by the end of the year with an international launch in Q1 of 2011.

The store, to be called Google Editions, will seemingly rely on independent book sellers as the basis of its sales the WSJ reports "Users will be able to buy books directly from Google or from multiple online retailers—including independent bookstores—and add them to an online library tied to a Google account. They will be able to access their Google accounts on most devices with a Web browser, including personal computers, smartphones and tablets."

Contrast that with Amazon's approach, which forces the user to buy their books in kindle format.

There also looks to be a revenue sharing model in place for Editions with websites and blogs able to link to Editions so their readers can buy a particular book and the site can then take a share of Google's cut of the sale for driving the purchase. It miht mean a much more personal means of selling books, with speciic sites able to discuss or review particular works and drive sales to just that title.

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Windows Phone Update: Not As Big As First Thought?    [ 02-12-2010 15:02 ]

Author: Irina Turina   Source: All Things D     Translation by:     

It was just the other day that reports were circulating of a 'massive' Windows Phone 7 update coming in Janaury. Some fresh chatter, however, downplays that excitement and suggests that we shouldn't be getting to hopeful of a gargantuan update for the platform.

All Things D are reporting that the January update, and there will be an update around that time yes, will contain two major things, copy/paste and support for CDMA networks. The former is probably the more well known and talked about, but the latter may very well prove to be the more important, at least from Microsoft's point of view.

With Windows Phone 7 off to what some have seen as a rocky start the ability to sell devices through more networks, especially the large American Verizon network, would be a big boost for Microsoft.

As for multi-tasking, that is not being touted as a major feature of the forthcoming update, which suggests that it won't be included. Multi-tasking would almost certainly be classified as a major new feature so it looks like that might be something we end up waiting a little longer to see, in whatever form it eventually comes to WP7.

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Froyo Single Biggest Android Iteration, But More Fragmentation On The Way?    [ 02-12-2010 14:53 ]

Author: Serge Novikov   Source: Google     Translation by: Paul Smith     

One of the biggest problems affecting Android, if not the single biggest problem, is fragmentation. With multiple builds now in the wild it is inevitable that not everyone will be singing from the same hymn sheet.

However, Google's most recent set of figures does paint a much better picture than we have seen the past. According to the Big G 43.4% of users are using Froyo whilst another 39.6% are using Eclair. All in all that means that 83% of Android users are now using Android 2.1+ and thus can use the latest generation of apps.

There are of course two caveats to these wonderfully unifying numbers, the first of which is in the 83% figure itself, namely that 17% of users are still using older versions of Android. That may not seem like a large percentage, but it does represent a lot of customers as Android grows.

The other point to take note of is that Gingerbread, Android 2.3, will be upon us within the next few weeks and could arguably kick off a whole new round of fragmentation just as it seems this round is drawing to a close.

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RIM Buys Some TAT    [ 02-12-2010 14:47 ]

Author: Irina Turina   Source: BlackBerry Blog     Translation by: Paul Smith     

RIM made a pretty big purchase today in the form of Swedish design company TAT (The Astonishing Tribe). It's a big purchase, not so much for the cost, but for what it means for RIM, which ahs increasingly found itself squeezed as Android continues its rise to dominance.

Speaking of Android you may already be familiar with TAT as they were the chaps who helped create the original Android interface way back when the G1 was first released. They have garnered a good reputation for themselves and many are already giving RIM a pat on th back for what looks to be a very canny move.

With its marketshare sliding in the face of both iOS and Android RIM could certainly use a boost, and TAT might just be the fellows to do that.

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