GeekSugar

Physical Books Dead in 5 Years: Do You Agree?

GeekSugar — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 03:47:33 PDT

Last week at a tech conference in Lake Tahoe, California, Nicholas Negroponte, the founder of One Laptop Per Child, said that he believes physical books will be "dead" in as little as five years. Of course, there will always be books around (I'm not giving up my library card just yet), but considering the fact that digital forms of books have already outsold hardcovers, not to mention how quickly consumers are snatching up ereaders of all forms (and how easy they are to transport), I suppose it's a prediction that isn't too far fetched.

I'm a big fan of my Kindle, but there's just something about reading a real book that gives me the warm fuzzies. Do you agree with this prediction, or are you a die-hard physical book proponent?

6 Geeky Books to Load on Your Kindle

GeekSugar — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 07:00:40 PDT

The price of the Kindle has been taking a nosedive recently, but some of you still aren't buying. For those of you who are taking advantage of the new sticker price, you're going to need to decide on which books to load onto your new tech toy before you take off on your next reading trip. Want some help? I have six books ripe for the picking that satisfy your need for all things geek, entertainment, knowledge, social network, and business domination. Check 'em out right here.

Geek Tip: Find Free and Paid eBooks, Audio Books in One Place

GeekSugar — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 09:00:40 PDT

If you're proud of your growing collection of ebooks and audio books you've amassed over the years, but want another place to find interesting titles, then listen up - Librophile is a website that lets you search free and priced ebooks and audio books Audible all in one place.

Download audio books directly to iTunes, in chapters, or the entire zip file to listen to at your leisure (whether it be on your computer, MP3 player, or smartphone), and read ebooks straight from your computer. Keeping things organized, Librophole also lets you search ebooks and audio books by price or genre, or do a site-wide search for a title you've been looking for.

Daily Tech: The Giorgio Armani Phone Is Back. . . and Better Than Ever

GeekSugar — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:10:22 PDT

Samsung's New eBook Reader Comes on the Scene

GeekSugar — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 12:10:24 PDT

Samsung joins Sony and Amazon (and, most recently, Barnes and Noble) with its foray into the eBook reader market with the new SNE-50K, released in South Korea first and hopefully internationally sometime next year.

Previously known as "Papyrus," the SNE-50K is pretty petite: it's got a 5-inch screen and weighs 6.5 ounces (perfect for slipping into a small bag). Pricing (converted) is about $270, and hopefully it'll stay in that lower range when it comes to the US.

Image Courtesy of Samsung

Summer eReading: Hotels Add Kindles, Sony Readers to Perks

GeekSugar — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 03:30:00 PDT

Who's not a fan of the geeked-out hotel?

Of course, there are still a handful of tech-unfriendly hotels, but these hotels are not anywhere near that list: the Epic Hotel in Miami and the Gansevoort Hotels in New York City, Miami, and Turks & Caicos are offering their guests free use of Sony Readers and eBooks.

NYC's Algonquin Hotel has already been giving its hotel guests access to Kindles - and did I mention that at the Epic Hotel, you get poolside Sony Reader access? Yowza.

This would be great if you forgot your travel reading, or even if you just wanted to give an eBook reader a shot while you're on vacay. Do you think this is something you would end up taking advantage of during your hotel stay?

Image Courtesy of Epic Hotel

eBooks as Textbooks: What's Your Take?

GeekSugar — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 07:33:20 PDT

If you haven't heard, California's economy is pretty much in the crapper. Billions of dollars in the red, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is looking to technology and digital solutions to save money. One way he thinks the state can cut costs is using digital forms of textbooks rather than investing in and assigning the standard paper bound book that we're all used to.

Although I like the idea for more than one reason (it's more eco-friendly than printing up millions of pages worth of text, and you wouldn't have to lug around your school books everywhere), it isn't quite coming together for me. Sure, digital text books would be amazing, but who's going to provide the eReaders? Will the State of California buddy up with Amazon to furnish a Kindle to every student, or will they just reside online? Additionally, what about those families that don't have computers? There's a lot of questions to be answered, but while the state is ironing out the details, what's your take on textbooks going digital?

Check Out Sony's 60th Anniversary Harlequin eBook Reader

GeekSugar — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 07:00:58 PST

Last year for Valentine's Day, Sony showed off a limited-edition pink eReader that came loaded with 14 Harlequin novels.

Well this year, they are offering the Digital Book (PRS-505) in not just red, but Sangria Red. This Limited Edition 60th Anniversary Harlequin reader is coming stocked with 16 Anniversary Harlequin eBook titles and a free copy of Secret Fantasy by Carly Phillips. It'll also feature an embossed cover.

Expect to see this reader on the Sony Style website later this month for around $300.

Have You Ever Bought an eBook?

GeekSugar — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 15:45:51 PDT

Author Neil Gaiman and his publisher have reported that giving away eBooks of his novel American Gods earlier this year ended up selling more books for him in the long run. Ask Radiohead - it turns out that giving people free things actually ends up being amazing promotion!

I've been tempted to buy the Kindle plenty of times, and now that I have the eReader app on my iPhone, I'm looking forward to purchasing and reading eBooks, something I don't do very often. I won't turn my back on "real" books, I just like the option of having another vehicle to get my reading in on. What about you? Like digital music, have you started buying digital books?

Indie Author Makes Millions Selling Ebooks

Emily Co — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 11:45:39 PST

Amanda Hocking is 26 and sells about 100,000 ebooks a month at the Kindle store. Although each ebook sells at a low price of about $3 or 99 cents, she gets to keep 70 percent of the money because she's an independent author and doesn't have a deal with a publishing house. Business Insider calculated that if she keeps up with the sales, she has the potential to make millions annually. Amanda previously published her stories on her blog, but her writing career has since taken a profitable turn thanks to Amazon.

Times are changing in the book industry, and these days, wannabe authors do not have to get a book deal with a publisher to sell their work. Personally, I like where technology is taking us and it's great that it's so easy to start something on your own - like publishing an ebook, uploading a video on YouTube, and creating your own website. This means we'll have more ways to generate revenue on our own, and we'll face less barriers and lower start-up costs. Have you considered publishing an ebook?