Sunday, May 29, 2011

Get a Free Amazon Kindle with an Hotels.com Stay

From the Hotels.com site:


Kindle Terms
1. This offer is valid on a new booking of three (3) or more consecutive nights, for a total of $450 or more before taxes and fees at a participating Price Match Guarantee hotel. ( To use the coupon, you must book by 11:59 PM CT on June 27, 2011 in US currency on the US version of hotels.com or at 800-246-8357 for a stay to be completed by July 31, 2011. Package bookings, bookings made through a group travel service, and bookings made without this coupon code are not eligible.
2. There is a limit of one (1) coupon per booking and a limit of one (1) Kindle per booking. The coupon cannot be combined with other offers. Bookings are subject to availability and the hotel's terms and conditions.
3. Within two (2) weeks of your completed stay, you will receive an e-mail asking you to confirm the shipping address. Kindles will only be shipped to addresses in the 50 United States and the District of Columbia.
4. The Kindle will be shipped to you within six (6) weeks of your redemption request. The Kindle must be redeemed by September 30, 2011.
5. If you change travel dates after using the coupon, the coupon will only apply to the changed schedule if it complies with the requirements set forth above. If you cancel your stay, you will not receive a Kindle.
6. This coupon is not redeemable for cash, may not be transferred or sold, and is void where prohibited by law. This offer is subject to change at any time.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Kindle Drops the Price of Kindle 3G by Adding Ads

Last month, Amazon.com introduced Kindle with Special Offers, a new member of the Kindle family that gives customers access to money-saving special offers. Just five weeks later, Kindle with Special Offers became the bestselling member of the Kindle family in the U.S. Today, Amazon announced that it is now making special offers available for Kindle 3G. Kindle 3G with Special Offers is available starting today for only $164 and ships immediately. At just $164, Kindle 3G with Special Offers is the lowest price of any 3G e-reader, and includes the latest Pearl electronic ink display. Learn more about the entire Kindle family, including the $114 Kindle with Special Offers and the new $164 Kindle 3G with Special Offers, at www.amazon.com/kindle3G.

"Kindle is the bestselling e-reader in the world. It's been just six weeks since we introduced the new $114 Kindle with Special Offers, and already customers have made it the bestselling member of the Kindle family," said Jay Marine, Director, Amazon Kindle. "In response to customer requests, we're now making these money-saving special offers available for Kindle 3G. You will get all the features readers love about Kindle 3G - free 3G wireless, global wireless access, Pearl electronic ink display that's easy to read even in bright sunlight, access to over 950,000 'Buy Once, Read Everywhere' Kindle books - all for just $164 - the lowest price for any 3G e-reader."

Special offers that will be available in the coming weeks include:

  • $10 for a $20 Amazon.com Gift Card - customers loved this offer, so we're making it available again in time for Father's Day
  • Save up to $500 off Amazon's already low prices on HDTVs with a unique 20% discount on 200 HDTVs from brands including Sony, Panasonic, LG, and VIZIO
  • $1 for a Kindle book, choose from thousands of books including Water for Elephants and the Hunger Games trilogy
  • Spend $10 on Kindle books and get a free $10 Amazon.com Gift Card

Kindle 3G with Special Offers includes all the same features that helped make the third-generation Kindle the #1 bestselling product in the history of Amazon.com:

  • Free 3G wireless , no annual contracts, no monthly fees
  • Global 3G coverage means books in under 60 seconds in over 100 countries and territories
  • Paper-like Pearl electronic ink display, no glare even in bright sunlight
  • Lightweight 8.7 ounce body for hours of comfortable reading with one hand
  • Up to two months of battery life with wireless off eliminates battery anxiety
  • Kindle Store with over 950,000 books - largest selection of the most popular books
  • Seamless integration with free "Buy Once, Read Everywhere" Kindle apps for Android, iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, PC, Mac, BlackBerry and Windows Phone

Kindle 3G with Special Offers is available for immediate shipment to customers in the U.S. at www.amazon.com/kindle3G.

Learn more about the new Kindle 3G with Special Offers at www.amazon.com/aboutkindlespecialoffers. Advertisers and agencies interested in learning more about Kindle sponsorship opportunities can contact kindle-sponsorships@amazon.com.

Details about new B&N Nook

Barnes & Noble Introduces The All-New NOOK, The Simple Touch Reader

Best Battery Life Ever Up to an Incredible Two Months on a Single Charge

Ultra-Light and Compact for Optimal Portability, Lighter than a Paperback

Full Touchscreen with E Ink® Pearl Display Technology for Reading Anywhere

Optimized Display Performance Offers 80 Percent Less Flashing
than Any Other eReader for the Most Immersive Reading Experience

The Most Intuitive, Easy-to-Use eReader for Everyone

Barnes & Noble Expert Recommendations,
Plus the Most Social Reading Experience with NOOK Friends

Pre-Order for $139 in Time for Fathers Day and Summer Reading


New York, New York May 24, 2011 Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the worlds largest bookseller, today expanded its bestselling digital reading offering with the All-New NOOK, The Simple Touch Reader. With a full touchscreen, NOOK features record-setting, extra-long battery life on the easiest-to-use, ultra-light, portable 6-inch eReader with the most-advanced E Ink Pearl display, and the worlds largest bookstore available by Wi-Fi®. Now available for pre-order at www.nook.com and at Barnes & Noble stores for just $139, NOOK will begin shipping on or about June 10. Barnes & Noble adds the All-New NOOK, a significant leap forward in the dedicated eReader category, to a product line that includes the bestselling NOOK Color, the only Readers Tablet. Based on the success of the NOOK product line, combined with focus on the absolute best reading experience, Barnes & Noble now claims more than 25 percent of the digital book market just 18 months after launching NOOK 1st Edition.

Barnes & Noble has always recognized the simplicity and ease that the element of touch brings to its NOOK product line, and the All-New NOOK is no exception. With a simple tap to the 6-inch touchscreen, its intuitive and easy to navigate, shop and read. Customers can look up words, highlight passages, adjust the font size and style or search by typing on the responsive on-screen keyboard that appears only when a customer needs it. The paper-like E Ink display features crisp, clear text thats great for reading anywhere, even in bright sunlight. The no-glare display offers 50 percent more contrast than NOOK 1st Edition.

At only 7.48 ounces (212 grams), the artfully designed All-New NOOK is lightweight and thin 35 percent lighter and 15 percent thinner than NOOK Wi-Fi 1st Edition. Lighter than a paperback, NOOKs sleek but durable, compact design (6.5 inches high by 5 inches wide by 0.47 inches deep) makes it easy to fit in a jacket, pocket, purse or backpack, holding up to 1,000 digital books and more personal content using the expandable memory slot. Its ergonomic, contoured design with a soft-touch back makes it easy and comfortable to read, even with just one hand, and for extended periods of time. And thanks to best-in-class battery life, read for up to 2 months on a single charge with Wi-Fi off thats twice as long as the other leading eReader available.

Barnes & Nobles use of the latest-generation E Ink screen and proprietary technology offers unmatched performance on the All-New NOOK, delivering a seamless and immersive reading experience. NOOK offers 80 percent less flashing than other eReaders whether turning pages, browsing for books or scrolling through your library. Page turns are lightning fast, using the touchscreen or well-placed side buttons, and with the new Fast Page feature, just press and hold a side button to quickly scan through content and skip right to the desired section.

We set out to design the easiest-to-use, most optimized, dedicated reading device ever created and accomplished it with the All-New NOOK, said William Lynch, Chief Executive Officer of Barnes & Noble. Touch makes it simple to use, and the beautifully compact design makes it the most portable eReader in its class. Add to that an unmatched battery life, the most advanced paper-like touch display on the market and wireless access to the worlds largest digital bookstore, and we believe that for readers of all ages, the All-New NOOK is the best eReader on the market, and a great value at $139.

The Worlds Largest Bookstore in Your Pocket
With the All-New NOOK, customers can enjoy a wide variety of digital content, all at their fingertips. Shop for everything from new releases and current bestsellers to classics and more, all in a single search. The NOOK Bookstore offers one of the most expansive digital catalogs of more than two million books, magazines and newspapers. Enjoy helpful recommendations from Barnes & Nobles experts, personalized based on customers favored authors and genres, to decide what to read next. Have more than 80 popular national and local market newspapers and magazines from the NOOK Newsstand automatically delivered to NOOK the moment theyre released, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and USA TODAY, as well as Forbes, Readers Digest, Discover, Fast Company and New York magazine. All periodicals are available for subscription with a 14-day free trial or via single copies.

Most NOOK Books are $9.99 or less, including most of The New York Times Bestsellers, plus theres over a million free classics. Enjoy more than 100,000 titles from independent publishers and self-publishing authors using Barnes & Nobles PubIt! digital publishing platform. Young readers will find more than 12,000 NOOK Kids chapter books in Barnes & Nobles worlds largest collection of digital childrens content. Sample NOOK Book titles for free and download all content wirelessly over a Wi-Fi connection in just seconds.

When customers visit Barnes & Noble stores with their All-New NOOK, the shopping and reading experience gets even better. Connect to free and fast Wi-Fi and browse complete NOOK Books for free through the companys innovative Read In Store program and get exclusive content and special promotions through the More In Store program. NOOK customers receive access at more than 24,000 AT&T Wi-Fi hotspots, as well as other personal and public hotspots to browse, buy and download new content wirelessly.

Get Social with NOOK Friends
Another way NOOK customers can learn more about great books is through NOOK Friends, an exciting social experience previously available only to NOOK Color customers. From the home page, customers can see book recommendations from friends. See what your friends have posted about their current read, swap recommendations, share reading status, favorite quotes, and much more. Through Twitter(R) and Facebook(R) integrations, right from their current book, customers can tweet the title theyre reading, post on their Facebook wall and see what their NOOK Friends like on Facebook. With Barnes & Nobles exclusive LendMe(R) technology, you can also lend eligible books to your friends at no cost for 14 days, and see and request to borrow friends LendMe books.

And coming in the next few weeks, Barnes & Noble will offer a new custom website, mynook.com, where customers can get recommendations from Barnes & Noble expert booksellers and NOOK Friends, access their NOOK Library, and manage their device.

Read Your Way
Customers can customize their All-New NOOK and reading experience to their liking. Choose from 7 font sizes and 6 font styles. NOOK owners can personalize their device with one of Barnes & Nobles screen savers or transfer personal photos (JPG, PNG, BMP and GIF) to make NOOK their own, and choose from a complete line of exclusive, new NOOK accessories (www.nook.com/accessories) to show their style wherever they go. They can also create personalized My Shelves to organize their NOOK Library and group reading content similar to their bookcase.

Read Everywhere
A customers entire NOOK Library follows them wherever they go. They can also easily transfer personal EPUB and PDF files to their All-New NOOK device to read documents on the go using the 2GB internal memory or a microSD card. Since the All-New NOOK is built on Android Operating System 2.1 and uses Adobe technology, device owners can also borrow digital books from their local library, a feature Barnes & Noble has always offered to NOOK device customers. Customers can also read seamlessly, accessing their NOOK Library and sync the last page read across their NOOK devices and their favorite mobile and computing devices using Barnes & Nobles free line of eReading software (www.bn.com/freenookapps).

Availability
The All-New NOOK can be pre-ordered for $139 today and is expected to begin shipping on or about June 10, making it the perfect gift for dads and grads, and a great addition for every book lovers summer reading wish list. Experience the All-New NOOK at www.nook.com or at the NOOK Boutiques and displays in one of Barnes & Nobles more than 700 bookstores. With The Barnes & Noble Promise, the company offers unmatched customer support in neighborhood Barnes & Noble bookstores, as more than 40,000 booksellers across the country are ready to assist customers with setting up their NOOKs or choosing their next great read. The company also continues to provide award-winning customer service support via phone and email. The All-New NOOK will also be available beginning next month at Best Buy, Walmart, Staples and Books-A-Million, along with NOOK Color.


- Be of Good Cheer!

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Google Books Adds Translate, Define and Search to Google eBooks

Google Books Adds Translate, Define and Search to Google eBooks: "When you read Google eBooks in a web-browser, there are new tools that will improve your reading experience."

Friday, May 20, 2011

Will Barnes and Noble be Sold?


Barnes & Noble Board of Directors Announces Proposal from Liberty Media To Acquire Company

Proposal Contingent on Participation of Founding Chairman Leonard Riggio


New York, NY (May 19, 2011)-Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), today announced that the Special Committee of its Board of Directors has received a proposal from Liberty Media to acquire the Company at a price of $17 per share in cash. The proposal is subject to, among other things, the signing of a definitive purchase agreement, customary closing conditions, such as the receipt of regulatory and shareholder approvals, and receipt of acceptable debt financing. The proposal states that it is contingent on the participation of founding chairman Leonard Riggio, both in terms of his continuing equity ownership and his continuing role in management.

The Special Committee of the Board of Directors formed in connection with the Company's review of strategic alternatives will evaluate this proposal and its financial advisors will be Lazard Freres & Co., LLC. Counsel to the Special Committee is Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell LLP, and counsel to the Company is Cravath, Swaine & Moore, LLP.

The Company cautions its shareholders and others considering trading in its securities that the proposal from Liberty Media has not yet been evaluated by the Special Committee and its advisors. There can be no assurance that any definitive offer to acquire the Company will be made, or if made what the terms thereof will be, or that this or any other transaction will be approved or consummated. The Company does not intend to comment further regarding this proposal or the Company's evaluation of strategic alternatives, unless a specific transaction is recommended by the Special Committee.


- Be of Good Cheer!

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Amazon.com Now Selling More Kindle Books Than Print Books

Amazon.com Now Selling More Kindle Books Than Print Books
Kindle with Special Offers for only $114 is already the bestselling member of the Kindle family
SEATTLE, May 19, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) --

(NASDAQ:AMZN)--Amazon began selling hardcover and paperback books in July 1995. Twelve years later in November 2007, Amazon introduced the revolutionary Kindle and began selling Kindle books. By July 2010, Kindle book sales had surpassed hardcover book sales, and six months later, Kindle books overtook paperback books to become the most popular format on Amazon.com. Today, less than four years after introducing Kindle books, Amazon.com customers are now purchasing more Kindle books than all print books - hardcover and paperback - combined.

"Customers are now choosing Kindle books more often than print books. We had high hopes that this would happen eventually, but we never imagined it would happen this quickly - we've been selling print books for 15 years and Kindle books for less than four years," said Jeff Bezos, Founder and CEO, Amazon.com. "In addition, we're excited by the response to Kindle with Special Offers for only $114, which has quickly become the bestselling member of the Kindle family. We continue to receive positive comments from customers on the low $114 price and the money-saving special offers. We're grateful to our customers for continuing to make Kindle the bestselling e-reader in the world and the Kindle Store the most popular e-bookstore in the world."

Recent milestones for Kindle include:

Since April 1, for every 100 print books Amazon.com has sold, it has sold 105 Kindle books. This includes sales of hardcover and paperback books by Amazon where there is no Kindle edition. Free Kindle books are excluded and if included would make the number even higher.
So far in 2011, the tremendous growth of Kindle book sales, combined with the continued growth in Amazon's print book sales, have resulted in the fastest year-over-year growth rate for Amazon's U.S. books business, in both units and dollars, in over 10 years. This includes books in all formats, print and digital. Free books are excluded in the calculation of growth rates.
In the five weeks since its introduction, Kindle with Special Offers for only $114 is already the bestselling member of the Kindle family in the U.S.
Amazon sold more than 3x as many Kindle books so far in 2011 as it did during the same period in 2010.
Less than one year after introducing the UK Kindle Store, Amazon.co.uk is now selling more Kindle books than hardcover books, even as hardcover sales continue to grow. Since April 1, Amazon.co.uk customers are purchasing Kindle books over hardcover books at a rate of more than 2 to 1.
Kindle offers the largest selection of the most popular books people want to read. The U.S. Kindle Store now has more than 950,000 books, including New Releases and 109 of 111 New York Times Best Sellers. Over 790,000 of these books are $9.99 or less, including 69 New York Times Best Sellers. Millions of free, out-of-copyright, pre-1923 books are also available to read on Kindle devices. More than 175,000 books have been added to the Kindle Store in just the last 5 months.

All Kindle Books let you "Buy Once, Read Everywhere" - on all generation Kindles, as well as on the largest number of devices and platforms, including iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, Mac, PC, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, Android-based devices, and soon HP TouchPads and BlackBerry PlayBooks. Amazon's Whispersync technology syncs your place across devices, so you can pick up where you left off. With Kindle Worry-Free Archive, books you purchase from the Kindle Store are automatically backed up online in your Kindle library on Amazon, where they can be re-downloaded wirelessly for free, anytime.


- Be of Good Cheer!

Monday, May 16, 2011

Nook Color has 1 million apps downloaded !?!


Barnes & Noble Quickly Hits 1 Million NOOK Apps(TM) Downloads by NOOK Color(TM) Customers

Milestone Reached Just One Week After NOOK App Shopping Made Available to All NOOK Color Customers

Angry Birds, Drawing Pad, Fliq Calendar and Pulse Among Most Popular Apps

New York, New York - May 16, 2011 - Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world's largest bookseller, announced a major new milestone for its recently updated award-winning NOOK Color Reader's Tablet(TM). Just one week after the company made its free software update featuring popular NOOK Apps available over the air for all NOOK Color customers, customers have made more than one million apps downloads. NOOK Color customers are enjoying access to a variety of popular NOOK Apps and downloading a selection of both paid and free apps that get even more out of their Reader's Tablet, and have given the top 10 paid and free NOOK Apps the highest 4 or 5 star rating.

All NOOK Apps are optimized for NOOK Color's stunning 7-inch color touchscreen. The top five paid NOOK Apps are Angry Birds, Drawing Pad, Solitaire, Aces Jewel Hunt and Astraware Mahjong. Among the top five free NOOK Apps are Fliq Calendar, Fliq Notes, Pulse, NOOK Word of the Day(TM) and Fliq Tasks, which help keep customers organized and informed on the highly portable NOOK Color. With the recent v1.2 software update, Barnes & Noble brought the most-requested tablet features to its bestselling NOOK Color, which, in addition to NOOK Apps, includes full-featured built-in email, enhanced Web experience and more exciting content for adults and children. The device, which had already been acclaimed as the best reading device on the market, is now the best tablet value on the market at just $249.

"Our recent software update to NOOK Color delivered the most requested tablet features by our customers, including the ability to shop for and download high-quality apps. Reaching over a million app downloads in just a week since the launch of NOOK App shopping for all NOOK Color customers exceeded expectations, and is an exciting milestone for our developers, publishing partners, and most importantly for our rapidly growing NOOK Color user base," said William Lynch, Chief Executive Officer of Barnes & Noble. "Our stores and booksellers have been a key part of educating our large NOOK customer base on the terrific applications available for them. We're building on the early success of our NOOK Apps offering by scaling our collection of popular apps with the thousands of developers who've approached us, while ensuring we continue to deliver the high-quality experience NOOK Color is known for.

Barnes & Noble continues to bring NOOK Color customers new applications from leading third-party developers and content providers for the whole family to enjoy. In the past weeks, Barnes & Noble has added new NOOK Apps including QuickOffice Pro, FriendCaster for Facebook, UrbanDaddy, more games from Concrete Software including Aces Traffic Pack, Aces Cribbage and PBA Bowling 2, FlightView Elite, RepliGo Reader, and 3001 Wisdom quotes. Recently added NOOK Apps for children include Bloki, My First Alphabet Sights & Sounds and CardDroid Math flash cards. Through the Shop area on the device, NOOK Color customers can easily explore NOOK Apps, available in categories including Play, Organize, Learn, Explore, Lifestyle, News and Kids. Approximately half of the collection available for $2.99 or less and the vast majority priced at $5.99 or less.



- Be of Good Cheer!

Sunday, May 15, 2011

YouVersion is on CNN

My Take: How technology could bring down the church – CNN Belief Blog - CNN.com Blogs: "Thus the almost-insane popularity of Youversion, a digital Bible available for free on iTunes and developed by a 34-year-old technology buff and Christian pastor from Oklahoma named Bobby Gruenewald. He conceived of it, he told me, while on a layover at Chicago O'Hare International Airport, wishing he had a Bible to read.

“What we’re really trying to address is, how do we increase engagement in the Bible?” he said."

YouVersion is on CNN! It is in "My Take: How technology could bring down the church – CNN Belief Blog - CNN.com Blogs."

I've written about YouVersion a lot - and I use it almost daily. I think the author of this article has it wrong -- we are the church. The church is strengthened by digital media, and even if the method has changed, the message hasn't.

Jeff Bezos Discusses the Amazon Kindle, Tablets, and Color E Ink

Jeff Bezos Discusses the Amazon Kindle, Tablets, and Color E Ink: "In a May 11, 2011 Consumer Reports interview with Jeff Bezos, Amazon's CEO shared his thoughts about Kindles and some future possibilities of ebook devices."

Friday, May 13, 2011

Free Fridays for Barnes and Noble Nook (and Amazon Kindle)

This week's free Nook Book, which Amazon matches, is The Four Corners of the Sky by Mjcheal Malone.


- Be of Good Cheer!

Nook News


Barnes & Noble Updates NOOK(TM) for Android(TM) App, Gives Tablet Users Access to Largest Digital Periodical Offering on Android

More than 140 NOOK Newsstand(TM) Titles Including Interactive Magazines
with Exclusive ArticleView(TM) Now Available to Android Tablet Customers

Optimized Reading Experience for Most 7-Inch and Larger Tablets
Including Honeycomb

Free App Now Available in Android Market, V CAST Apps, Samsung Apps, GetJar, and AppsLib

New York, New York - May 13, 2011 - Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world's largest bookseller, today announced an updated version of its popular, free NOOK for Android eReading application that brings the most comprehensive selection of digital periodicals to customers with Android(TM) tablets including more than 140 top magazine and newspaper brands from ESPN The Magazine and The Economist to Food & Wine and Us Weekly. To take advantage of large and extra large, high-resolution Android tablet screens, NOOK for Android now offers customers an optimized library grid view and reading experience with enhanced book margins and line spacing, as well as an improved shopping experience and more. The new app features are available for popular 7-inch and larger tablets using Android OS 2.1 and higher (Honeycomb).

Today's announcement marks the largest digital newsstand offering for Android tablet customers to date, with more than 140 of the best daily, weekly and monthly periodicals, all optimized for high-resolution displays in rich color. Barnes & Noble's interactive NOOK Magazine(TM) experience, previously available only to NOOK Color(TM) Reader's Tablet(TM) customers, is now available to the Android tablet community, featuring more than 120 popular titles such as Esquire, Maxim, Men's Health, Rolling Stone, Newsweek, Popular Science, PC Magazine, Elle, O, The Oprah Magazine, Travel + Leisure and many more. NOOK for Android customers with large tablets can also enjoy favorite NOOK Newspapers(TM) including USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post and The Chicago Tribune. All can be enjoyed with a 14-day free trial, via subscription or purchased in single issue form.

With NOOK for Android on larger tablets, magazine reading is easy and engaging with full-color pages in landscape and portrait mode, and Barnes & Noble's exclusive ArticleView technology (formerly available only on NOOK Color) which features only the article's text, customized to the reader's favorite style, on a central panel on the display. NOOK Magazines also feature a universal, easy-to-use reading experience with a slider to jump to the desired page, pinch and zoom to enlarge images and more.

"With our free, updated NOOK for Android application, we're delivering customers with Android tablets a great optimized reading experience and access to the largest ever collection of interactive magazines, as well as top newspapers, all optimized for high-resolution displays," said Jamie Iannone, President of Digital Products at Barnes & Noble. "Using their Android tablets, customers can enjoy our collection of more than two million digital books, as well as their morning paper and latest magazines, delivered right to their device through their NOOK for Android app, for an amazing periodical experience which includes our innovative ArticleView feature."

NOOK Newsstand and the optimized book reading experience on NOOK for Android will be available for customers using 7-inch and larger Android OS 2.1 and higher (Honeycomb) tablets with 800 x 480 (160 DPI or less) or higher screen resolution, and include Samsung Galaxy Tab(TM), Motorola XOOM(TM), LG G-Slate(TM) and ARCHOS internet tablets, among others. NOOK for Android customers on smartphones will also enjoy minor performance enhancements.

NOOK for Android gives customers with Android smartphones and tablets access to Barnes & Noble's expansive NOOK Bookstore(TM), one of the world's largest digital content catalogs, with the most NOOK Books(TM) priced at $9.99 or less. As part of Barnes & Noble's promise to "Read What You Love, Anywhere You Like(TM)," customers can enjoy NOOK Books from their Barnes & Noble digital library on their NOOK Color, NOOK eReader devices and mobile and computing devices using free NOOK eReading software or apps.

Expanded App Availability
To make it easy for Android smartphone and tablet customers to find and download the free NOOK for Android app, Barnes & Noble has expanded availability for the free app to include Android Market, V CAST Apps from Verizon Wireless, Samsung Apps, GetJar, and AppsLib, with more to come. NOOK for Android will also be pre-loaded or made available in future firmware upgrades for some of the current leading and highly anticipated Android tablets coming to market. Customers can learn more about NOOK for Android v2.6.1 at www.bn.com/nookforandroid.

About NOOK(TM) from Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble's NOOK brand of eReading products makes it easy to read what you love, anywhere you like with a fun, easy-to-use and immersive digital reading experience. With NOOK, customers gain access to Barnes & Noble's expansive NOOK Bookstore(TM) of more than two million digital titles, and the ability to enjoy content across a wide array of popular devices. NOOK products are the most full-featured, dedicated eReading devices on the market. The award-winning NOOK Color Reader's Tablet, the best-value on the tablet market ($249), features a stunning 7-inch VividView(TM) Color Touchscreen to read all of the content you love, shop popular apps, connect via e-mail, browse the Web and more. For book lovers, NOOK 3G ($199) and NOOK Wi-Fi® ($149) offer a paper-like reading experience with a color touchscreen for navigation. In Barnes & Noble stores, NOOK owners can access free Wi-Fi connectivity, enjoy the Read In Store(TM) feature to read NOOK Books(TM) for free, and the More In Store(TM) program, which offers free, exclusive content and special promotions. Barnes & Noble was the first company to offer digital lending for a wide selection of books through its LendMe(TM) technology, available through NOOK eReading products. Find NOOK devices in Barnes & Noble stores and online at www.BN.com, as well as at Best Buy, Walmart, Staples and Books-A-Million.

In addition to NOOK devices, Barnes & Noble makes it easy for customers to enjoy any book, anytime, anywhere with its free line of NOOK software, available at www.bn.com/nookapps. Customers can use Barnes & Noble's free eReading software to access and read books from their personal Barnes & Noble digital library on devices including iPad(TM), iPhone®, iPod touch®, Android(TM), BlackBerry® and other smartphones, PC and Mac®. Lifetime Library(TM) helps ensure that Barnes & Noble customers will always be able to access their digital libraries on NOOK products and software-enabled devices and BN.com. Barnes & Noble also offers NOOK Study(TM) (www.nookstudy.com), an innovative study platform and software solution for higher education, NOOK Kids(TM) (www.nookkids.com), a collection of digital picture and chapter books for children, and NOOK Books en espaƱol(TM) (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ebooksenespanol), the first-ever Spanish language digital bookstore in the United States.

For more information on NOOK devices and eReading software, updates, new NOOK Book releases, Free Friday(TM) NOOK Books and more, follow us on www.twitter.com/ebooksbn and www.facebook.com/nookbn.


- Be of Good Cheer!

Sunday, May 8, 2011

A New Barnes and Noble Nook eReader May Debut May 24, 2011 | Suite101.com

A New Barnes and Noble Nook eReader May Debut May 24, 2011 | Suite101.com: "A Barnes and Noble comment in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing is fueling speculation that a new Nook is planned. What features could we expect?"

Saturday, May 7, 2011

A new adventure at WeFormat!

Alex Sharp | Suite101.com: "Alex and Victoria Nicks are freelance consultants who work transform articles, rough drafts, and perform other acts of ebook magic at wEformat."

We've already started editing, so if you want to turn your articles, rough drafts, essays, stories, poems, plays into ebooks, just let me know! www.weformat.com

The Royal Wedding Comes to NOOK Color(TM) with Exclusive Us Weekly Digital Magazine and NOOK Book(TM) Available Beginning Today - lxwrites@gmail.com



The Royal Wedding Comes to NOOK Color(TM) with Exclusive Us Weekly Digital Magazine and NOOK Book(TM) Available Beginning Today

Relive the Royal Nuptials with Exclusive Us Weekly Special NOOK Magazine(TM): Will & Kate The Royal Wedding: Special Collector's Edition

Revel in Stunning Images in NOOK Book William & Catherine: Their Romance and Royal Wedding in Photographs, Available for a Limited Time Exclusively on NOOK Color


New York, New York - May 6, 2011 - Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world's largest bookseller, today announced the availability of two exclusive digital Royal Wedding titles available only for NOOK Color customers. Those who want to relive the beauty and excitement of the recent nuptials can enjoy a special exclusive NOOK Magazine from the editors of Us Weekly, Will & Kate The Royal Wedding: Special Collector's Edition, and a stunning NOOK Book from Sterling Publishing, William & Catherine: Their Romance and Royal Wedding in Photographs, available exclusively for a limited time. Both titles depict the romance of Prince William and Kate Middleton that charmed the world, fascinating never-before-seen interviews and more brought to life on the 7-inch VividView(TM) color touchscreen on NOOK Color Reader's Tablet(TM).

"With one of the world's largest digital content collections, we always look to bring our customers the content they love. With these exclusives for NOOK Color owners, we're delivering two exciting and timely titles that recapture the Royal Wedding to be enjoyed for years to come," said Jamie Iannone, President of Digital Products, Barnes & Noble. "Both titles offer customers an inside glimpse at the event that recently captivated the world, with hundreds of images that look amazing on NOOK Color's beautiful display."

The special Will & Kate The Royal Wedding: Special Collector's Edition features more than 130 pictures to view, a look at Prince William and Kate Middleton's love story, Kate's new life as a princess, interviews with family and friends and much more. The NOOK Magazine is available for $9.99 exclusively through NOOK Newsstand(TM) for NOOK Color customers, and the print edition can be found at Barnes & Noble stores or BN.com.

With William & Catherine: Their Romance and Royal Wedding in Photographs, book-loving royal watchers can immerse themselves in the beauty and fairy-tale quality of Prince William's marriage to Kate Middleton with photography and detailed captions, available for a limited time exclusively on NOOK Color. Authored by David Elliot Cohen, the creator of more than thirty illustrated books including The New York Times bestsellers A Day in the Life of America and America 24/7, with a foreword by official NBC royal commentator Robert Jobson, the title is available today for $7.99.

Through more than two hundred spectacular photographs, William & Catherine recounts the couple's wildly different childhoods, their romance and engagement, the events leading up to the wedding, and the grand affair itself. Fans can remember the massive crowds lining the parade route, the sparkling celebrities at Westminster Abbey, the bride's spectacular gown, "The Kisses" on Buckingham Palace's balcony, and the worldwide celebrations. Also included is a brief pictorial history of British royal weddings from Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1840 to Prince Charles and Lady Diana in 1981. The hardcover print edition is available for pre-order now at BN.com and will be available in Barnes & Noble stores beginning May 17.

About NOOK(TM) from Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble's NOOK brand of eReading products makes it easy to read what you love, anywhere you like with a fun, easy-to-use and immersive digital reading experience. With NOOK, customers gain access to Barnes & Noble's expansive NOOK Bookstore(TM) of more than two million digital titles, and the ability to enjoy content across a wide array of popular devices. NOOK products are the most full-featured, dedicated eReading devices on the market. The award-winning NOOK Color Reader's Tablet, the best-value on the tablet market ($249), features a stunning 7-inch VividView(TM) Color Touchscreen to read all of the content you love, shop popular apps, connect via e-mail, browse the Web and more. For book lovers, NOOK 3G ($199) and NOOK Wi-Fi® ($149) offer a paper-like reading experience with a color touchscreen for navigation. In Barnes & Noble stores, NOOK owners can access free Wi-Fi connectivity, enjoy the Read In Store(TM) feature to read NOOK Books(TM) for free, and the More In Store(TM) program, which offers free, exclusive content and special promotions. Barnes & Noble was the first company to offer digital lending for a wide selection of books through its LendMe(TM) technology, available through NOOK eReading products. Find NOOK devices in Barnes & Noble stores and online at www.BN.com, as well as at Best Buy, Walmart, Staples and Books-A-Million.

In addition to NOOK devices, Barnes & Noble makes it easy for customers to enjoy any book, anytime, anywhere with its free line of NOOK software, available at www.bn.com/nookapps. Customers can use Barnes & Noble's free eReading software to access and read books from their personal Barnes & Noble digital library on devices including iPad(TM), iPhone®, iPod touch®, Android(TM), BlackBerry® and other smartphones, PC and Mac®. Lifetime Library(TM) helps ensure that Barnes & Noble customers will always be able to access their digital libraries on NOOK products and software-enabled devices and BN.com. Barnes & Noble also offers NOOK Study(TM) (www.nookstudy.com), an innovative study platform and software solution for higher education, NOOK Kids(TM) (www.nookkids.com), a collection of digital picture and chapter books for children, and NOOK Books en espaƱol(TM) (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ebooksenespanol), the first-ever Spanish language digital bookstore in the United States.

For more information on NOOK devices and eReading software, updates, new NOOK Book releases, Free Friday(TM) NOOK Books and more, follow us on www.twitter.com/ebooksbn and www.facebook.com/nookbn.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Amazon has anew romance book line


Amazon Launches New Publishing Imprint, Montlake Romance
Debut title will be bestselling author Connie Brockway's "The Other Guy's Bride"
SEATTLE, May 04, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) --

(NASDAQ: AMZN)--Amazon.com today announced the launch of Montlake Romance, the fourth and latest imprint from Amazon Publishing. Connie Brockway, two-time winner of the Romance Writers Association's "RITA Award" for best historical romance, and bestselling author of seventeen novels, including "My Dearest Enemy" and "The Bridal Season," will be the debut author of Montlake Romance. Brockway's new romance, "The Other Guy's Bride," will be published in Fall 2011 and will be available to North American readers in Kindle, print and audio formats at www.amazon.com, as well as at national and independent booksellers.

"I am thrilled to be the launch author for Montlake Romance, bringing readers the freshest, most innovative and compelling love stories possible," said Connie Brockway. "Montlake is giving me the opportunity to write romances that capture the imagination as well as the heart and I'm thrilled to invite readers to join me on this exhilarating journey. There are so many stories I've been dying to tell you, and people you simply have to meet."

"Connie Brockway is an award-winning and bestselling author who knows her audience as well as they know her work," said Alex Carr, editor, Amazon Publishing. "She writes her heroines as well as her heroes, and 'The Other Guy's Bride' features a cast of strong personalities that will engage new readers and please fans of Brockway's earlier novel, 'As You Desire.' Emerging from the swirling sands ofearly 20th century Egypt, 'The Other Guy's Bride' is full of adventure, daring escapes, and, of course, romance."

"Romance is one of our biggest and fastest growing categories, particularly among Kindle customers, so we can't wait to make 'The Other Guy's Bride' and other compelling titles available to romance fans around the world," said Jeff Belle, Vice President, Amazon Publishing. "We also know our customers enjoy genre fiction of all kinds, so we are busy building publishing businesses that will focus on additional genres as well."

Montlake Romance takes its name from the central Seattle neighborhood of Montlake, and will publish a broad range of front list titles in popular romance sub-genres, including romantic suspense and contemporary and historic romance novels, as well as fantasy and paranormal. The new imprint joins AmazonEncore, AmazonCrossing and Powered by Amazon as part of the Amazon Publishing family. Montlake Romance books will be available to North American readers in Kindle, print and audio formats at www.amazon.com, as well as at national and independent booksellers.

For more information on Montlake Romance and upcoming titles, visit www.amazon.com/montlakeromance. For more information about all imprints of Amazon Publishing, visit www.amazon.com/amazonpublishing. Montlake Romance is a brand used by Amazon Content Services, LLC.

Amazon Publishing is hiring. To learn more, please visit www.amazon.com/careers/amazonpublishing.

About Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth's Biggest Selection. Amazon.com, Inc. seeks to be Earth's most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as Books; Movies, Music & Games; Digital Downloads; Electronics & Computers; Home & Garden; Toys, Kids & Baby; Grocery; Apparel, Shoes & Jewelry; Health & Beauty; Sports & Outdoors; and Tools, Auto & Industrial. Amazon Web Services provides Amazon's developer customers with access to in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon's own back-end technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any type of business. Kindle, Kindle 3G, Kindle with Special Offers and Kindle DX are the revolutionary portable readers that wirelessly download books, magazines, newspapers, blogs and personal documents to a crisp, high-resolution electronic ink display that looks and reads like real paper. Kindle 3G and Kindle DX utilize the same 3G wireless technology as advanced cell phones, so users never need to hunt for a Wi-Fi hotspot. Kindle is the #1 bestselling product across the millions of items sold on Amazon.

Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.co.jp, www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.ca, www.amazon.cn, and www.amazon.it. As used herein, "Amazon.com," "we," "our" and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.

Forward-Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management's expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to competition, management of growth, new products, services and technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com's financial results is included in Amazon.com's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings.



SOURCE: Amazon.com, Inc.

Amazon.com, Inc.
Media Hotline, 206-266-7180
www.amazon.com/pr



- Be of Good Cheer!

Monday, May 2, 2011

Barnes & Noble Announces National "Teacher of the Year" Winner in Its First-Ever "My Favorite Teacher Contest"

Barnes & Noble Announces National "Teacher of the Year" Winner in Its First-Ever "My Favorite Teacher Contest"

Debbie Davis From Christian Heritage School in Riverdale, Utah Named Winner

New York, NY - May 2, 2011 - Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world's largest bookseller, today announced that Debbie Davis from Christian Heritage School in Riverdale, Utah, has been named the national winner and "Teacher of the Year" in the "Barnes & Noble My Favorite Teacher Contest." Davis was chosen from more than 18,250 entries at Barnes & Noble stores nationwide. Davis was nominated by Emily Burns.

Students were invited to nominate their favorite teacher by writing essays, poems or thank you letters that share how their teacher has influenced their life and why they appreciate and admire their teacher. Entries were accepted at Barnes & Noble stores and online at Tikatok.com. Entries were judged on the compelling nature of the teacher's qualities, the sincerity of the student's appreciation and the quality of expression and writing.

"Educators have always been a tremendous partner for Barnes & Noble and we are thrilled to be able to name our first-ever Teacher of the Year," said Sarah DiFrancesco, director of community relations. "Debbie Davis truly embodies the qualities of a fantastic educator, which is clear through the glowing essay we received from Emily Burns. This award is well-deserved and we're so pleased to present it."

Along with the title of "Teacher of the Year," Davis will receive $5,000 and will be recognized at a special community celebration at her local Barnes & Noble store. Davis's school will receive $5,000 and a free author visit from Laurie Halse Anderson, a New York Times bestselling author who writes for children of all ages. Davis will also receive five copies of the winning essay published in hardcover by Tikatok.com, the website where students create and publish their own books, and a $250 Tikatok Gift Card, which will allow her to publish stories written by students in her class.

The Barnes & Noble My Favorite Teacher program provides students with the opportunity to tell their communities how much they appreciate their teachers. Teachers from Kindergarten through Grade 12 were eligible for nomination. Awards for local and regional winners included prizes for the teachers and schools, NOOK(TM) eBook Readers and more.

Only students enrolled in Kindergarten through Grade 12 and teachers employed in elementary, middle or high schools in the United States were eligible to win. More details on the contest rules can be found at www.bn.com/myfavoriteteacher.

ABOUT BARNES & NOBLE, INC.
Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS), the world's largest bookseller and a Fortune 500 company, operates 705 bookstores in 50 states. Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Barnes & Noble, also operates 636 college bookstores serving nearly 4 million students and faculty members at colleges and universities across the United States. Barnes & Noble conducts its online business through Barnes & Noble.com (www.bn.com), one of the Web's largest e-commerce sites, which also features more than two million titles in its NOOK Bookstore(TM) (www.bn.com/ebooks). Through Barnes & Noble's NOOK(TM) eReading product offering, customers can buy and read eBooks on the widest range of platforms, including NOOK eBook Readers, devices from partner companies, and hundreds of the most popular mobile and computing devices using free NOOK software.

General information on Barnes & Noble, Inc. can be obtained via the Internet by visiting the company's corporate website: www.barnesandnobleinc.com.


- Be of Good Cheer!

Sunday, May 1, 2011

YouVersion Plans a Mass Bible eBook Reading for 400 Seconds

YouVersion Plans a Mass Bible eBook Reading for 400 Seconds: "On May 2, 2011, YouVersion.com will continue to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the King James Version of the Holy Bible with a digital flash mob twist."