Barnes and Noble Posts Big Nook Loss

During the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2013, Barnes and Noble as a company suffered a net loss of $118.6 million, which is more than double what it lost in 2012. The Nook business, however, took an especially big hit, to the tune of $56 million this year alone, representing a 34% drop from Q4 2012. Device sales have dropped dramatically and fell in the fourth quarter by a whopping 8.9%. The future for the Nook – and the Barnes and Noble company as a player in the book sphere – is surely in doubt. 

CES: The power of the printed word

CES: The power of the printed word (ThePlan8 Podcast)The 2010 Consumer Electronics Show this week in Las Vegas is crammed with the latest gadgets, all blasting out light and noise and motion in high definition goodness. Much of the news this week will be about 3D TV, motion controlled video games, and the blending of Internet and broadcast on traditional television platforms.

There will also be a lot of press around e-readers. They are everywhere – CES has an entire section of the show floor dedicated to e-reader developers; most major CE manufactures will also have branded e-readers. And of course, the rumor mills churn with the news of an Apple iSlate, though there have been no formal announcements yet.

These little flat, grey-scale tablets seem to have little to compete with the walls of flat screen monitors in every booth. Although e-readers offer lots of consumer benefits, the actual experience is not as exciting as 3D, not as immersive as new gaming technology. It is just reading, after all, right? Continue reading “CES: The power of the printed word”

A new kind of e-reader?

Vook imageAs many publishers and newspaper professionals contemplate the death of traditional print, along comes another format to participate in its demise, The “VOOK.”   The Vook, Simon and Schuster’s new hybrid book/video combination will be available on computers, iPhones and iPod Touch and allow you to read a book interspersed with videos that add to the narrative, or offer a visual aid for training and education purposes.

Vook’s marketing promises that you can read your book but also watch videos, view how-tos and connect in that social media way with authors and other readers. In fact their big push is that you can “do it all in one place…[no more] switching between applications or websites.” Continue reading “A new kind of e-reader?”