Posted on 2013-Apr-29
Rumored Kindle Paperwhite Release for Amazon in China
Kick starting the new week at the end of April, the rumor mill states that Amazon is releasing Kindle Paperwhite in China. According to The Digital Reader that quoted BoloPad, Amazon may have released the famous eReader on April 26. This morning I checked Amazon.cn and literally found no information about the Paperwhite. Instead, there are a lot of Kindle eBooks available for free-of-charge download on the website.
Available Chinese Kindle eBooks
I can speak some Mandarin and read Chinese a bit, and with a little help from Google Translate, I was able to navigate my way to the Kindle eBook section on Amazon’s China store. All-time favorite titles like Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Sun Tzu’s works, and Dream of the Red Chamber are up for grabs with Buy now with 1-Click®. Unfortunately, my standard Amazon account was not compatible with the Chinese store and setting up a new account was not a piece of cake. So far, there are altogether paid and free 35 eBooks in the store—a small number compared to the millions in the Western languages. Regardless of the absence of the sought-after eReading devices, it seems the Chinese identity of Amazon is preparing something for the public real soon.
Interestingly, Chinese Amazon store will be releasing a new eBook about Google talents early next month.
Note: If you are looking to publish something in Chinese, please let BB eBooks know. We have done numerous Chinese eBooks in the EPUB3 format for iBooks and creating a Chinese MOBI/KF8 eBook for Amazon would be no problem.
E-Ink Is Nominated for European Inventor Award
In Europe, the European Inventor Award has recognized the top-notch work of Joseph M. Jacobson and Barrett Comiskey. In case you have never heard of their names before, perhaps the fact that they are the inventors of e-Ink displays can freshen up your memory a little bit. The award nomination page states the brief description about the history of eBooks and how they have revolutionized the way consumers read and impressed worldwide readers. With the high technology of putting layers of plastic film inside electronic circuitry that hold electronic ink, the end result can display thousands of eBooks in black and white on a non-glare display. The power efficiency is the killer feature that long hours of reading is not seen as an obstacle any longer. The affordable price range of e-ink devices is logically affordable for most consumers who have spent more money on high-end tablets and smartphones.
CourseSmart Crashes
The power of social media wielded its sword on CourseSmart when their server was temporary down. The unfortunate event affected students who needed the service the most during the exam week. Twitter and Facebook have been the outpouring channels for those who were disappointed. Taken the hefty fee to begin with, you might see how frustration can be over the limit sometimes. Pando Daily captures the screenshots of the several angriest tweets. They also report that “schools are aware that innovation doesn’t happen without risk.” Innovation is a great thing putting technological errors aside but customer service seems to be the equally significant factor that can determine how long end users can put up with errors.
Learning from Mistakes
Although Amazon going overseas is nothing new, their step to expand their hardware service outside the West marks a significant move to support international customers. The recognition of e-Ink technology is very important for the world to realize how this technology has revolutionized the publishing industry and the reader’s perspective. For most aspiring and established authors, e-Ink eReaders have opened up new possibilities for them to publish the book the way they want it to rather than what others have demanded them to change. Regarding CourseSmart’s issues, perhaps, the mere dependability on online content must be reviewed. As long as a 500 Internal Server Error message cannot be prophesied, students might feel unsafe from now on to expect the server to operate normally 24/7. Although technology has its downside, hopefully these mass sorry tweets will be the last to frustrate their valued customer in prior to the most life-and-death moment, namely, before the exam week. CourseSmart needs to win their trust back and it is evident that the tweets below are trying to amend such a viral frustration.
Label: eBook Industry News
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