Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Are Kindle Blogs Coming to the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch?

Kindle edition blogs may be coming soon to an iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch near you, and for bloggers, the route may be far easier than what's involved in programming or getting approval for an iPad or iPhone app!

Russ Grandinetti is the guy at Amazon when it comes to getting all kinds of books, magazines, newspapers, and blogs into the Kindle Store. Officially, he's Amazon's vice president for Kindle content, and he had some important things to say -- not only for readers but for authors and bloggers as well -- when he appeared on Len Edgerly's The Kindle Chronicles podcast the other day. Let's focus on blogs in this post, and we'll get into Grandinetti's positive reinforcement for authors in a later post.

Asked by Edgerly why Kindle edition bogs don't show up on other Kindle apps like the iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, BlackBerry, PC, Android, and Mac, Grandinetti made it clear that it is more a question of when than of why:
"It's a feature we're working on, so stay tuned.... It's something we're very interested in delivering over time."

That's bound to make Kindle edition blogs more appealing to readers, but it is important for blog publishers as well. It confirms, from a loftier perspective, what I have reported here in the past based on conversations with Kindle Support. As of this morning there are 9,398 active blogs in the Kindle store, and some of the most active, like Planet iPad and Kindle Nation Daily, have well over 5,000 Kindle edition subscribers. If Amazon improves the interoperability of the Kindle platform so that Kindle editions of blogs, magazines, and newspapers are served to Kindle subscribers on any Kindle-compatible device in any country, the sky's the limit for many reader-friendly bloggers to get the kind of support that could actually allow them to make a living at what they do and, in the bargain, do it better.

Although I was initially skeptical about the potential for Kindle edition blogs, I've learned from the support for my own efforts here that the convenience of being able to check on a blog right from your Kindle home screen drives subscriptions, and the same is likely to be true with respect to the convenience of being able to catch up on a handful of one's favorite Kindle blog subscriptions if they are served directly to the home screens of Kindle apps on millions of Kindle-compatible mobile devices including the iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, BlackBerry, and Android.

"Operationally, such an offering could be based on opening up those apps to include periodicals directly without any circuitous transfer procedures," I wrote in a post on this subject back on April 14. "Currently Kindle content customers can read Kindle books on their Kindle-for-X device apps, but booting up the Kindle app on the iPad, the iPhone, the iPod Touch, the PC, the Mac and the BlackBerry provides no access to their Kindle newspaper, magazine, and blog subscriptions. I receive multiple emails each day from my blog subscribers looking for Kindle-for-X device app access to their Kindle subscriptions Kindle Nation Daily or iPad Nation Daily, and it would not surprise me if Amazon was working both on serving blogs to their Kindle-for-X device apps and on making them accessible beyond U.S. borders."

If you are a current or prospective blog author or publisher and you are interested in bringing a blog "to market" through the Kindle Store, you might be shocked at how straightforward the process is using my guide: 21 Steps: How to Publish a Kindle Blog (And Why You Might Want To). It takes about 15 minutes of actual work -- in addition to the long hours of slaving away at your blog, of course -- and it doesn't cost a thing.

Monday, June 28, 2010

Have Your Cake & Hear It, Too: New Audio-Video Enhancements in Kindle for iPad & iPhone Books Go Beyond the Birds and the Beatles

Reading ebooks on your iPad, iPhone or iPad Touch is getting more fun, full-featured, and interesting every day, and Amazon announced overnight that readers can now enjoy embedded video and audio clips in Kindle books on these Apple devices. The important thing about these enhancements is that this is not a matter of adding "How I wrote this book" or "Here's the room where I write" videos to popular novels, which I frankly expect will be a non-starter. Instead, Amazon is focusing on an interesting selection of books for which embedded audio and video could really make a difference in what you get out of an ebook, as with these examples:
  • Together We Cannot Fail "brings [FDR] and his era to life like no other biography, combining the insight of noted historian Terry Golway with Roosevelt's own voice in audio excerpts from his most memorable speeches and chats."
  • Bird Songs: 250 North American Birds in Song  "presents the most notable North American birds, including the rediscovered Ivory-billed Woodpecker, with lavish full-color illustrations and accompanied by their corresponding songs and calls. Renowned bird biologist Les Beletsky provides a succinct description of each of the 250 birds profiled, with an emphasis on their distinctive songs."
  • Best of the Beatles for Acoustic Guitar helps you "learn the trademark acoustic guitar elements of rock's most influential band. This audio/ebook by guitar dean Wolf Marshall provides in-depth analysis of 21 songs including: Across the Universe, And I Love Her, Blackbird Girl, Here Comes the Sun, Hey Jude, I Will, I've Just Seen a Face, Julia, Norwegian Wood, Rocky Raccoon, Till There Was You, Yesterday, You've Got to Hide Your Love Away, and more. 
  • Rick Steves': Venice 2010 "includes 4 Venice audio tours: Frari Church, Grand Canal, St. Mark’s Basilica, and St. Mark’s Square, presented in 63 audio clips, narrated by Rick Steves."
  • Lullaby Baby by Audrey Ficociello features 50 well known lullabies with written lyrics and audio tracks and full-color illustrations.


Although some publishers have spoken of enhanced ebooks as if they might somehow justify prices in the range of current hardcover prices, Amazon has wisely priced these new offerings at $9.99. Here's the guts of today's Amazon press release:

Amazon Announces New Functionality for Kindle Apps for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch
Readers can now enjoy embedded video and audio clips in Kindle books on their iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch
SEATTLE, Jun 27, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) today announced a new update to Kindle for iPad and Kindle for iPhone and iPod touch, which allows readers to enjoy the benefits of embedded video and audio clips in Kindle books. The first books to take advantage of this new technology, including Rick Steves' London by Rick Steves and Together We Cannot Fail by Terry Golway, are available in the Kindle Store at http://www.amazon.com/kindleaudiovideo.
"We are excited to add this functionality to Kindle for iPad and Kindle for iPhone and iPod touch," said Dorothy Nicholls, director, Amazon Kindle. "Readers will already find some Kindle Editions with audio/video clips in the Kindle Store today--from Rose's Heavenly Cakes with video tips on preparing the perfect cake to Bird Songs with audio clips that relate the songs and calls to the birds' appearances. This is just the beginning--we look forward to seeing what authors and publishers create for Kindle customers using the new functionality of the Kindle apps."
"We are truly excited to have collaborated with Amazon to launch Kindle Editions with audio/video," said Peter Balis, Director, Digital Content Sales, Wiley. "Innovations like these represent the advantages that digital can offer. Advancing our content in this manner is important for our authors and our readers and it will raise the bar on what digital reading can offer for years to come."
"In the new Kindle Edition with audio/video of Rick Steves' London, the embedded walking tours allow customers to listen to Rick as they explore the sites of London," said Bill Newlin, publisher, Avalon Travel. "Rick's narration adds depth to the reader's experience, while listeners can follow the routes more easily with the text."
Kindle Editions with audio/video are available now with the latest Kindle App on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. Kindle for iPhone is now optimized for iPhone 4's retina display. For more information, go to http://www.amazon.com/kindleapps.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Planet iPad Free Book Alert for Sunday, June 27 - Over 100 Free Promotional eBook Titles, Now Sorted by Category!

We're happy to launch a new approach today with Planet iPad Free Book Alerts, in response to good suggestions from our readers. Beginning today we will present the list sorted by category in order to make it easier for you to find the kind of books that appeal to you. Each day's list will be sponsored by one paid title that is offered at $2.99, and of course, we urge you to support our sponsors. Some of these $2.99 paid titles will be from our own Kindle Nation Daily press (an imprint of Harvard Perspectives Press), while others will be paid titles by other authors. (Scroll down to the bottom of this post to learn more about sponsorship.)

Today's Sponsor

Today's Kindle Nation Daily Free Book Alert is sponsored by The Complete User's Guide To the Amazing Amazon Kindle 2: Tips, Tricks, & Links To Unlock Cool Features & Save You Hundreds on Kindle Content (#1 Guide to the Kindle US & Global), by Stephen Windwalker, just $2.99 in the Kindle Store and downloaded already by over 100,000 Kindle owners.


Here's a list of the categories in today's Free Book Alert:
Memoir, Biography, Personal Story
Writing and Publishing
Children/Young Adult/Teen
Contemporary Fiction
Nonfiction/Leadership/Change/Reference/Essay
Christian Spirituality & Christian Fiction
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Romance 
Erotica
Naughty Nooners -- Erotica from Cerridwen Press
Scintillating Samples -- Romance/Erotica from Cerridwen Press
Samples



Here are our updated free promotional iPad-compatible listings in the Kindle for iPad Store as of June 27:
Memoir, Biography, Personal Story

Writing and Publishing

Children/Young Adult/Teen
In Between: A Katie Parker Production (Act 
I)
In Between: A Katie Parker Production (Act I)

Contemporary Fiction
Nonfiction/Leadership/Change/Reference/Essay
Romance 
Erotica
Peak Energy
Naughty Nooners -- Erotica from Cerridwen Press
Scintillating Samples -- Romance/Erotica from Cerridwen Press
Samples
Tumor Chapter 1


Sponsor a Kindle Nation Daily Free Book Alert!

Kindle Nation readers have been known to send their favorite reading recommendations soaring up the bestsellers list, and we'd love to help you promote your Kindle book to over 10,000 Kindle owners. Use the pull-down menu and buy button below to select an option that works for you and follow the prompts to enter your title, 10-digit Kindle Store ASIN, and up to 50 words to help us describe your book to Kindle owners. The only requirement is that your Kindle edition must be priced at $2.99, since the Free Book Alerts are all about helping our readers find great bargains. We'll respond within 2 business days with a schedule for your sponsorship to appear. If for any reason we choose not to provide you with a sponsorship opportunity within 10 days we will refund your payment in full.




Choose Your Sponsorship Level