Special Pages - Reports

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Amazon and Hachette situation worsens - Amazon's announcement to its forums and what we can do when wanting a book not available in the interim. Timeline of the ebook pricing wars. Free Android app of the day is the normally $5 Mathlab Pro. Amazon launches their Collectible Coins store. Updated.



The Kindle Community Forums is carrying an Amazon announcement that gives some details on the situation with Hachette Book Group, from Amazon's perspective.  I'll post the full text below, as most customers don't frequent the Kindle forums.  I've bolded some of the more salient points.
Initial post: May 27, 2014 4:42:07 PM PDT
The Amazon Books team says:
(AMAZON OFFICIAL)

We are currently buying less (print) inventory and "safety stock" on titles from the publisher, Hachette, than we ordinarily do, and are no longer taking pre-orders on titles whose publication dates are in the future.  Instead, customers can order new titles when their publication date arrives.  For titles with no stock on hand, customers can still place an order at which time we order the inventory from Hachette -- availability on those titles is dependent on how long it takes Hachette to fill the orders we place.  Once the inventory arrives, we ship it to the customer promptly.  These changes are related to the contract and terms between Hachette and Amazon.

At Amazon, we do business with more than 70,000 suppliers, including thousands of publishers.  One of our important suppliers is Hachette, which is part of a $10 billion media conglomerate.  Unfortunately, despite much work from both sides, we have been unable to reach mutually-acceptable agreement on terms.  Hachette has operated in good faith and we admire the company and its executives.  Nevertheless, the two companies have so far failed to find a solution.  Even more unfortunate, though we remain hopeful and are working hard to come to a resolution as soon as possible, we are not optimistic that this will be resolved soon.

Negotiating with suppliers for equitable terms and making stocking and assortment decisions based on those terms is one of a bookseller's, or any retailer's, most important jobs.  Suppliers get to decide the terms under which they are willing to sell to a retailer.  It's reciprocally the right of a retailer to determine whether the terms on offer are acceptable and to stock items accordingly.  A retailer can feature a supplier's items in its advertising and promotional circulars, "stack it high" in the front of the store, keep small quantities on hand in the back aisle, or not carry the item at all, and bookstores and other retailers do these every day.  When we negotiate with suppliers, we are doing so on behalf of customers.  Negotiating for acceptable terms is an essential business practice that is critical to keeping service and value high for customers in the medium and long term.

A word about proportion: this business interruption affects a small percentage of Amazon's demand-weighted units.  If you order 1,000 items from Amazon, 989 will be unaffected by this interruption.  If you do need one of the affected titles quickly, we regret the inconvenience and encourage you to purchase a new or used version from one of our third-party sellers or from one of our competitors. *

We also take seriously the impact it has when, however infrequently, such a business interruption affects authors.  We've offered to Hachette to fund 50% of an author pool - to be allocated by Hachette - to mitigate the impact of this dispute on author royalties, if Hachette funds the other 50%.  We did this with the publisher Macmillan some years ago.  We hope Hachette takes us up on it.

This topic has generated a variety of coverage, presumably in part because the negotiation is with a book publisher instead of a supplier of a different type of product.  Some of the coverage has expressed a relatively narrow point of view. Here is one post that offers a wider perspective.

"Who's Afraid of Amazon?" [at The Cockeyed Pessamist site].

Thank you.

* How to get a Hachette book you want for your Kindle Fire tablet in the interim
  Note that one of Amazon's recommendations for those seeking a book not available at Amazon at the time you want it is to buy a new or used version from one of their 3rd-party sellers or "from one of our competitors."

    However, Amazon's customers normally want KINDLE versions of course, which poses a problem.
  What I've done is to buy a book I want, then, from Barnes and Noble (where I have a membership because I like their stores) and then get the Barnes and Noble Android app to use on a Kindle Fire tablet.  Others can get a B&N app for their Apple iOS devices, and there's one for Windows devices.  There should be a B&N app for Windows and Mac desktops as well.

  However, the Kindle Fire tablets can't access GooglePlay store, as Kindle Fire tablets are not recognized by GooglePlay.  And the Amazon Android appstore doesn't carry the Nook app.  I go, instead, to 1Mobile's app site which now has over 800,000 GooglePlay apps which they allow to be downloaded to Kindle Fire tablets.  Once you get there, download the 1Mobile-store app (which is used the same way we use the Amazon-store app when we want Amazon apps).

  However, there is a setting under the top bar's swipedown area -- older Kindle Fires say "More" and "+" for those settings, while the newer Kindle Fires say "Settings" and then the older Kindle Fires have, under DEVICE, an option to allow the installation of "apps from unknown sources," while the newer Kindle Fires have this setting under "APPLICATIONS" (rather than under "Device). Make sure you 'allow' the installation of "unknown apps" by turning it 'On'...
  For Step-by-Step instructions if you encounter any problems, see the article on installing NON-Amazon apps.


Some news stories on the Amazon-Hachette situation to get some history and other viewpoints.

Amazon escalates standoff with publisher Hachette - nj1015.com - May 28

Amazon isn't -- and likely never will be -- a monopoly - finance.fortune.cnn.com - May 28

 This one makes points against the familiar 'monopoly' cries similar to what was voiced when Big5 publishers joined Apple in 2010 in trying to raise ebook prices, pointing to what they described as Amazon's "monopolist" ways.

Points made:
. "Antitrust courts since the 1970s have consistently held that it's not illegal for a company to hold huge market share, as long as they aren't using that power to raise prices for the end consumer."

. "What in Amazon's past practices should make us believe that this is anything more than Amazon pressuring its suppliers to offer a product at a lower price? This has been Amazon's secret to success for two decades, and something Walmart (WMT) (another common media target) has been doing for much longer."

Amazon war with Hachette over ebook profit margins intensifies - The Guardian - May 27.
  This one mentions that, in general, authors and journalists are busily excoriating Amazon, while Stephen Fry tweeted "a link to a commentary by the self-published author David Gaughran, who characterises the current furore as an anti-Amazon PR campaign.  Fry described the piece as a 'sane counter' to the prevailing views on the dispute.
  Here's Gaughran's detailed look at this.


  For reference: Simpler Timeline of key elements of ebook pricing wars -- events noted by the Department of Justice with similar arguments made against Amazon's dealings with Big5 publishers at the time.


FREE Android App of the Day - today, 5/28 only


MathLab (Pro)
- Normally, $5, this app is a graphing calculator with algebra.



Amazon launches its Collectible Coins Store
Collectible Coins area - "Beta" version
  I know nothing about collectible coins but am passing this on for those who are interested in this.





Current Kindle Models for reference, plus free-ebook search links.
US:
New Kindle Fire HD 7" 2nd Gen - $139/169
Kindle Fire HDX 7" 16-64GB - $229/269/309
Kindle Fire HDX 8.9" 16-64GB - $379/429/479
- with 4G added: $479/529/579
Kindle Fire HD 8.9" 16GB - 1st Gen $269 $229
  $299 Price rise ~2/24/14
- 32GB w/ no special-offers: $314
Kindle NoTouch ("Kindle") - $69/$89
Kindle Touch WiFi - $99
Kindle Paperwhite 2, WiFi - $119/$139
Kindle Paperwhite 2, WiFi+3G - $189
Kindle Keybd 3G - $139/$159, Free web
Kindle DX - $379 $199
UK:
Kindle Basic, NoTouch - £59
Kindle Paperwhite 2, WiFi
£109
Kindle Paperwhite2 3G, UK
£169
Kindle Fire Basic HD 8/16GB, UK
 from £119
Kindle Fire HDX 7" 16-64GB, UK
from £199. 4G/3G
Kindle Fire HDX 8.9" 16-64GB, UK - from £329. 4G/3G

CANADA - Kindlestore, CDN-$
Kindle Basic, NoTouch - $79
Kindle Paperwhite 2 - $139
Kindle Paperwhite 2, 3G - $209
KFire HD Yr 2012 7" $214,  8.9" $244.
Yr 2013 KFires: HD Gen2, HDX line
India - Amazon India


*OTHER Int'l pages*
Kindle NoTouch Basic - $89
Paperwhite 2 WiFi $139, 3G/Wifi $209
KFire HD Yr 2012: 7" $214,  8.9" $244
Yr 2013: HD Gen2 + HDX line

Australia Kindlestore
France Boutique Kindle
Deutschland - Kindle Store
Italia - Kindle Store
Spain - Tienda Kindle
Brazil - Amazon Brazil
China - Amazon China [?]
Amazon Japan - Japan


Check often: Temporarily-free recently published Kindle books
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.  Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published free books, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

  *Click* to Return to the HOME PAGE.  Or click on the web browser's BACK button

Monday, May 19, 2014

Kindle Tips: Free Android App of the day, a PDF reader with annotation capability normally $7.99 ... Certified Refurbished Kindle Fire HD 8.9" 4G-LTE (Nov. 2012) on sale May19-only at 219


Free Android App of the Day, PDF MAX, normally goes for $7.99

For those who didn't see this already, Guven Witteveen sent an alert that PDF Max, normally $8 is available today as the free Amazon Android app of the day.

  While popular in the Apple iOS version, this Android version has been less successful in the past, although there have been various recent improvements noted and seen if you sort Customer Reviews by "Newest first" (as I've done in the reviews link).

  Things customers have noted:

1. Ability to print via wireless
2. Can annotate (but this seems a bit glitchy for some)
3. Also possible: Magnifying, highlighting, dropbox file sharing, editing tools
4. Works offline (as I'd expect)
5. Seems quicker than some other PDF readers and handles large files
      but large files will take a lot of memory
6. Downloaded PDF files are more easily 'found' than with some other PDF readers
7. Print drivers are found under "SHARE"

At any rate, worth a try at the one-day "free" price and if you just keep it in your Cloud, you'll be eligible for future updates as an owner of the app.


GoldBox deal today ONLY on Certified Reburished Kindle Fire HD 8.9" 4G LTE (November 2012 model), with physical HDMI port to HDTV.
  It needs to be added to a data plan to be use the 4G Capability, though of course it has WiFi access too.
  IBM charges $130 additional for any of its 4G/LTE models.
Normal pricing: 32GB storage: $299     64GB storage: $349
May 19 pricing: 32GB storage: $219     64GB storage: $269

 This 8.9" HD model will be slower than the current 8.9" HDX tablet and will not be nearly as light -- and doesn't have "Mayday" help, "Miracast" mirroring (wireless) to HDTV, or "Fling" technology for separate content shown on tablet and HDTV. But as a 4G LTE cellular network tablet, it's quite a bargain.

Monday, May 12, 2014

Notice to feed-readers re an updated blog entry for installing and playing NON-Amazon (Google Play apps) on Kindle Fire tablets (basic, HD, HDX)


This is a brief entry just to alert feed-reader users (using sites like Feedly.com) that the Kindle Fire HD/HDX Guide to installing and playing NON-Amazon apps (finding Google-Play apps that we can download direct -- NO 'side-loading' necessary) has an update to point out that the settings-location for allowing installation of NON-Amazon apps was moved to another settings category when they released the updated Kindle Fire tablets (HDX line, HD 2nd Generation) at the end of year 2013.

See updated entry for how to fix that.  (The feeds don't all pick up revised blog entries as current ones, and Feedly.com doesn't.  [Correction, this time it DID, but I'll keep this for any other feeds that don't carry these forward -- Thanks to Feedly for changing the process to include updated versions of older entries.]

Thanks to blog commenter Boyd for pointing out that Amazon moved the settings-location for allowing installation of non-Amazon apps



Friday, May 9, 2014

Amazon and Kindle News Roundup - HBO deal for Prime; Fire TV Voice Search expands (includ'g new Prime Browse) ; Amazon acquires Comixology; Replace faulty power button on iPhone 5 for free; HDX tablets still on sale


News some may have missed

Amazon snagged HBO exclusive in late April
Geekwire's Todd Bishop reported that HBO gave Amazon an exclusive deal on its popular earlier shows like, The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, The Wire, True Blood and others.

  These will be available as part of an Amazon Prime subscription (US), and Prime subscribers won’t need to be HBO subscribers to watch the shows.
(The Amazon UK Prime program has different content from the U.S. one.

  This is the first time that HBO has licensed content to an online-only subscription streaming service.

  Also, Amazon has verified that they're working with HBO-Go app developers on the app for its Amazon Fire TV set-top box.   Bishop adds that this app, which can be used by HBO subscribers to access the premium cable channel’s library of content, isn't expected to be ready until "the end of the year" though.

  However, the current crop of Kindle Fire HD tablets (HD 2nd Gen and HDX) do have the HBO-Go app available, and the tablets can be used to easily "mirror" the shows to your HDTV hooked up to a Fire TV box.

Bishop adds that "there will be a three-year delay for current and recent seasons and shows."


VOICE SEARCH on Amazon's Fire TV is being expanded to some non-Amazon-content
Dave Limp, VP, Amazon Devices, said, in a press release in April, "...we’re working hard to expand existing features and build new ones.
We’re thrilled to have Hulu Plus, Crackle, and SHOWTIME integrating their full selection of movies and TV shows into Fire TV’s unified voice search.”

Note that there's no mention of Netflix though, which has a clumsy search (as it does on my other HDTV Internet box (by LG).  Limp also mentions that:

  "In addition to the over one hundred games available on Fire TV, you will be able to play touch-enabled games with the upcoming Fire TV app for your phone or tablet.

Other new features announced in the press release, the first one an important one for me, include:
'   * New Prime browse will make it even easier to discover movies and TV shows that are included in Prime Instant Video.

   * Amazon FreeTime and Amazon MP3 integration coming as part of a free, over-the-air software update. '

Amazon acquires COMIXOLOGY
Guardian Liberty Voice's Stacy Lamy writes, in Apple and Google Take Blow From Comixology that
  "Right on the heels of being purchased by Amazon, Comixology has made a bold move. With their newest update ... both Apple and Google will no longer be receiving a cut from purchases made on Comixology. The decision is largely unprecedented.

Since in-app purchases have been completely removed, those with Apple devices will have to go to the Comixology website to make purchases.  This was always an option, but now the iOS app will just serve as a comics reader."

Since Comixology is now able to retain 30 percent of their sales, Lamy points out that this should bring greater profits for the Comixology comic creators and publishers, as well as the app developers.


Do you have an iPhone 5 with a faulty power button? Get it REPLACED FOR FREE.
  "Apple confirmed that some iPhone 5 smartphones have defective sleep/wake/power buttons and they've announced a free component replacement program in the U.S. and Canada.

Apple says the button mechanism "on a small percentage of iPhone 5 models may stop working or work intermittently." Their support document explains how to determine if your unit is affected and how to get the replacement.


The Kindle Fire HDX and HD-Generation-2 tablets are still on sale, and I'm guessing that'll be so, up to Mother's Day.



  For daily free ebooks, check the following links:
Temporarily-free books - Non-classics
USA: by:
   Publication Date  
   Bestselling   High-ratings

UK: PubDate   Popular

The Kindle Daily Deal

What is 3G? and "WiFi"?       Battery Care

Highly-rated under $1
,  Newest: $1-$2, $2-$3
Most Popular Free K-Books
U.S. & Int'l (NOT UK):
   Top 100 free
UK-Only:
   Top 100 free

Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.

USEFUL for your Kindle Keyboard (U.S. only, currently):
  99c Notepad 1.1,   99c Calculator,
  99c Calendar,   99c Converter

  *Click* to Return to the HOME PAGE.  Or click on the web browser's BACK button


Monday, May 5, 2014

Kindle News: Kindle DX discontinued but Used pricing fluctuates wildly


While the Kindle 9.7" DX EReader seems to have been dropped

  ... the last noticed pricing was $199.

  Checking out the situation, I saw that, in the side box, they were announcing 9 used DX's available at only $9,999.00 each and then shown on the "Used" page:


  While pondering the effect of sudden scarcity, I saw that the box at the right of the product page has been changed to a more doable lowest price of $149, although the "Used" page itself had not been changed yet for 8 of the 9 devices, so I made a screenshot to show you how much you will have saved overnight if interested in a used, large eReader.

  However, I don't see the device in the Certified Refurbished, or Kindle Outlet Store page, although the $9,999 used-devices were listed as being shipped by Amazon.

  Hopefully, by the time you read this, that page's data will have been adjusted -- but I couldn't resist.

(Some may still like that this is a 3G eReader that has free but very slow 3G web browsing on it, not available on newer Kindles.)



May 2014's Monthly Kindle Books for $3.99 or less - 110 items currently - listings by Most Popular or by Average Customer Rating. Also, free non-classics by publication date + discounted-book alerts, Amazon listings for Mother's Day, New Kindle Outlet Store.


For newcomers to the Kindle or to this blog, here are the special book deals for May 2014 -- where to find them, etc.

MAY 2014's Kindle Books deal, for $3.99 or less (See UK page below.)

I often highlight this monthly deal at or near the beginning of the month for those who don't know about it or might not remember.

For those who want to quickly look first at only the ones that are star-rated at 4 or above, here is Amazon's page for exactly that.

  On the main monthly Kindle book deals page, separate categories are highlighted, using Amazon's usual horizontally-scrolling pick-lists, for the following topics highlighted on the main page. They link to "See all" at the bottom of each horizontally-scrolled category row [ I'm adding direct links to the full category listings ]:

  1. History and by Avg Customer Rating
  2. Science Fiction & Fantasy and by Avg Customer Rating
  3. Biography and Memoirs and by Avg Customer Rating
  4. Literary Fiction Deals and by Avg Customer Rating
  5. Religion and Spirituality and by Avg Customer Rating
  7. Whispersync for Voice and by Avg Customer Rating     Newer
        The Whispersync category has sometimes shown up with an explanation that the
        corresponding audio book is also sold at the monthly-deal price, if wanted.
  ' Now you can seamlessly switch between reading featured Kindle books and listening to them without ever losing your place...
  First, purchase the Kindle book for $3.99 or less. Then add the narration from Audible for $3.99 or less to enable the feature. '
But the Whispersync category is no longer on the main Monthly Deals page, although the deals still exist (there are about 45 of these Whispersync-ready books in this month's deals).  They ARE included in the overall scrolled monthly deals that can be sorted by several options at the bottom of that main page.

This main monthly deals page also has, on the right, two vertically-scrolling categories:
  1. A list of Bestsellers
  2. Mystery, Thriller, and Suspense highlighted + more in the linked full list w/ sorting options)
      Here's that fuller listing by Avg Customer Rating

THEN, at the bottom of the new main monthly Kindle book-deals page, they offer the FULL current monthly listing, defaulting to sorting by "New and Popular" and there are 110 in all, currently, but the number may vary.

  Here's a direct link to that Full-listing (US), sorted by "New and Popular" for the month, so
    it's a good one to bookmark if you just want to jump to that) and
    you can choose another sort option for this full listing, such as
        Avg Customer Rating or by Price: Low to High

These options should make it easier to find books of interest to you.

The pricing for May's group of Kindle books ranges from $0.99 to $3.99, as is usual for this monthly deal.

  The Kindle books you'll see on this special monthly-deals page  (UK version here) are new for May 2014.

(US Link: amzn.to/mkbooks-1to4,  UK Link: amzn.to/100kbooks-1to4uk)


FREE KINDLE BOOKS (Non-classics) for May (and April)
I've updated the "Temporarily-free books -- Non-classics" search results to show free contemporary Kindle books for MAY, sorted by publication-date, as of May 5, 2014.  There are only a few shown on the first day or two of any month, and these include pre-orders due that month.  On the first few days of the month, most of these are listed as "free preview" of whatever chapters chosen, some are short stories, and a few (overnight) not-entire-family-safe titles may show up.

  Here, also, are the current Search results for still free Kindle non-classics, by publication date during the last month (April).


Amazon's additional Mother's Day (and other) listings of recommended Kindle books and products
  Here are their book recommendations for Mother's Day
  In addition, they've added a section for general Mother's Day gift ideas.

  And while they were at it, with June looming, they added a GRADUATION ideas page.


The ongoing Kindle Daily Deals page
for any given day usually shows a lot of books since it includes children's books, a couple of genre-specific deals, and the monthly daily deals as well.




DISCOUNTED / Price Dropped Kindle eBooks III - the ongoing Kindle Forum message thread
  This is an ongoing message thread in which Kindle owners share information on recent drops in pricing on specific Kindle books, often with some added info by the person posting it.

  Here's a link to the thread, starting at an April 30 posting that includes a book that's still on sale today May 5..

  These include some large price drops on books with fairly high customer ratings.

  The books discussed in this forum thread tend to be very short-term discounts.

  That forum topic link is to a specific post to start, in this case, a book alert on April 30, as mentioned.  Previous titles mentioned for that day had smaller discounts, but you can look at previous posts or days, or keep up with ongoing alerts after that, because Amazon keeps track of the last message# that you read, so that you can start from there next time.
 While many of the better deals seem around $1.99-$4.99, there usually are a decent number of larger-publishing house deals included (primarily price-matching) that tend to end in a DAY, so you'd need to double-check the current pricing of ANY Kindle books that interest you to see if the discounts are still active.

  Again, Kindle book prices are discounted for only a very short time, too often, and are promos, and that's another reason to watch the list.  Most of the large-publisher discounts last only one or two days even when they originate the discount.


DISCOUNTS ON ACCESSORIES Amazon's current pages (some, ongoing) on accessories for Kindle e-Reader and Kindle Fire
  1. Up to 50% (higher discount than usual) on cases for Kindle eReaders
  2. Up to 50% on cases for Kindle Fire (Gen 2) and Kindle Fire HD tablets but NOT HDX tablets
  3. Accessories for all Kindles, with some discounted.


For larger discounts, there are the Goldbox and Lightning Deals which sometimes include bigger one-day sales.


While a brief sale on the Kindle Paperwhite is over, the Kindle HDXs and 2nd-Gen HD tablets are still on sale for now (as of May 5, 2014).


New Kindle Outlet Store
In the meantime, Amazon has put together a new Kindle Outlet Store to feature their certified refurbished Kindle devices, at up to 25% off.




Current Kindle Models for reference (current regular-pricing), plus free-ebook search links.
US:
New Kindle Fire HD 7" 2nd Gen - $139/169
Kindle Fire HDX 7" 16-64GB - $229/269/309
Kindle Fire HDX 8.9" 16-64GB - $379/429/479
- with 4G added: $479/529/579
Kindle Fire HD 8.9" 16GB - 1st Gen $269 $229
  $299 Price rise ~2/24/14
- 32GB w/ no special-offers: $314
Kindle NoTouch ("Kindle") - $69/$89
Kindle Touch WiFi - $99
Kindle Paperwhite 2, WiFi - $119/$139
Kindle Paperwhite 2, WiFi+3G - $189
Kindle Keybd 3G - $139/$159, Free web
Kindle DX - $379 $199
UK:
Kindle Basic, NoTouch - £59
Kindle Paperwhite 2, WiFi
£109
Kindle Paperwhite2 3G, UK
£169
Kindle Fire Basic HD 8/16GB, UK
 from £119
Kindle Fire HDX 7" 16-64GB, UK
from £199. 4G/3G
Kindle Fire HDX 8.9" 16-64GB, UK - from £329. 4G/3G

CANADA - Kindlestore, CDN-$
Kindle Basic, NoTouch - $79
Kindle Paperwhite 2 - $139
Kindle Paperwhite 2, 3G - $209
KFire HD Yr 2012 7" $214,  8.9" $244.
Yr 2013 KFires: HD Gen2, HDX line

*OTHER Int'l pages*
Kindle NoTouch Basic - $89
Paperwhite 2 WiFi $139, 3G/Wifi $209
KFire HD Yr 2012: 7" $214,  8.9" $244
Yr 2013: HD Gen2 + HDX line

Australia Kindlestore
France Boutique Kindle
Deutschland - Kindle Store
Italia - Kindle Store
Spain - Tienda Kindle
Brazil - Amazon Brazil
China - Amazon China [?]
Japan - Amazon Japan