Liberty Media, the conglomerate controlled by John Malone, made a $1 billion bid Thursday to buy Barnes & Noble. The bricks-and-mortar bookstore business is declining everywhere, so for Malone's gamble is to pay off, the Nook will have to gain some ground against Apple's iPad and Amazon's Kindle.
The tech giant kicked off an e-reader price war last summer and another may be in store. Why? The company announced Monday that it would cut its price on a new Kindle that will display ads. Will competitors follow its lead?
AT&T says its retail stores will start selling Amazon.com's Kindle electronic book readers Sunday. The e-readers will cost $189, the same price as they currently sell for on Amazon.com, and buyers won't have to sign up for AT&T data plans to get the popular gadget.
The online retail giant functions like two stocks: One is speculative and volatile, with unusually high valuations -- and high demands for returns. The other is for long-term investors, who get rewarded for buying and holding with capital gains and consistent growth.
Borders says it will postpone January payments to many vendors to conserve cash, though the move may do no more than delay a prepackaged bankruptcy or breakup of the company.
As electronic media accounts for a larger and larger portion of the book business, consumers are benefiting from lower prices for books, and manufacturers are enjoying massive sales. But how is the e-book revolution affecting authors? It's opening new opportunities -- but no guarantees.
In these precious few holiday shopping days left, e-readers make for an easy gift for a wide range of family and friends. So, DailyFinance has assembled a guide to the major e-readers and what each one is best suited for as well as what issues you should consider before buying.
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.
