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e-books posts

Filed under: Business, Text, Web services

Self-publishing site Lulu adopts Scribd's iPaper

Document-sharing site Scribd and online self-publishing service Lulu have teamed up to offer Lulu's free ebooks in Scribd's iPaper format. iPaper is designed to be a versatile cross-platform means of displaying different document types online. Key draws include the ability to embed docs in any webpage, including your manuscript in Scribd's library, and adding ads to your document.

Lulu is a popular self-publishing site, handling print versions and ebook versions of manuscripts, so getting them to start rolling out iPaper is a big win for Scribd. It's not going to be available for all Lulu books at first, just the most popular free ones. If this catches on, though, the two companies will have all the publishing bases covered, from printed books to iPaper ebooks.

[via ReadWriteWeb]

Filed under: Internet, Google

Amazon and Google both want you to want e-books

Google Book Search
The New York Times reports that there are two major developments coming on the e-book front. And by major developments, we mean big name companies plan to launch products or services that will make the world shrug and then move on with their business.

Amazon is expected to launch its Kindle e-Book reader in October. According to the New York Times, the device will cost between $400 and $500 and include the ability to download content over a Wi-Fi connection. No computer needed. While that does set the device apart from previous e-book readers, the price tag is still a bit high considering you can buy a lot of books for $400.

The Kindle will reportedly come with some freebies like reference books and the ability to read RSS feeds. We can barely contain our enthusiasm while we flip through the same content on our PDAs.

Google, on the other hand plans to monetize its Book Search service with more than paid links. An upcoming upgrade will allow you to access full versions of some books for a fee. Currently you only get snippets of most books available on Google Book Search. No word on whether Google plans to offer downloadable versions of the books or if you'll need to plop down in front of your computer for a good read.

These two approaches raise a good question. Is the reason that e-books haven't taken off because of the hardware or the software? Do we need better e-book reading devices that mimic or improve the experience or reading a paper book? Or are there enough devices out there for people who want them, but a lack of content (particularly DRM-free content)?

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