Tablets and e-readers were a popular gift over the holidays, so much so that the number of people who own them nearly doubled between mid-December and January, a new study finds. A report from the Pew Internet and American Life Project set to be released Monday found that 29 percent of Americans owned at least one tablet or e-reader as of the beginning of this month. That's up from 18 percent who said the same in December.
Google opened its long-anticipated Internet book store Monday, putting itself in direct competition with Amazon.com. Buyers can read its 3 million e-Books on any Web device or reader -- except on Amazon's Kindle.
As the market for electronic book readers has grown, Apple's iPad has been pulling e-reader market share away from Amazon.com's Kindle, according to a new report from ChangeWave Research. The Kindle's market share has slipped to 47% from 62% in three months.
Amazon's third-quarter profits rose 16% thanks to surge in sales of electronic products such as its Kindle e-reader, the world's largest online retailer reported after the bell Thursday.
Sony unveiled a refreshed lineup of its e-book Readers on Wednesday that features a lighter and smaller model, and adds touchscreen displays to all three models. But while Sony's new designs take a page or two from the competition, its heftier price tags don't.
Amazon dropped the price of its basic Kindle e-reader last month -- and sales quickly reached what CEO Jeff Bezos calls a "tipping point." But the lack of inventory could hurt as Amazon fights to build market share.
Random House is throwing down the gauntlet with an announcement that it will stop doing English-language business with a top literary agency, Wylie Agency, because the agency signed an exclusive deal to sell e-books to Amazon.
Borders launched an electronic bookstore Wednesday, entering a market dominated by Amazon, Apple and Barnes & Noble. Despite the heavy competition, the company is optimistic.
The iPad release is less than 24 hours away, the reviews are largely good, and presales are in the hundreds of thousands. But for publishers and other e-book sellers, the iPad is a game-changer in a way they aren't quite ready for: It's totally altering the way they'll do digital business.
