Technology

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One sentiment that I hear quite often these days from book industry folks is that "it's an exciting time to be in publishing." And I have to agree. It's an especially exciting time for me to be taking over as editor-in-chief of Book Business magazine, particularly with technology progressing so quickly that it seems to change the book publishing landscape on a weekly basis.

Global research and advisory firm mediaIDEAS forecasted in a recent study that the U.S. market in 2010 for paid e-reader content will be approximately $460.6 million—consisting primarily of e-books sold to a user base of more than 8 million.

Polymer Vision was hatched in 2003 in an infant-technology incubator developed by Royal Philips Electronics NV and eventually spun off. Four years later, Technology Capital SA of Luxemburg purchased the majority of the stock previously help by Philips and turned Polymer Vision loose to go forward and do great things.

If Hewlett-Packard has delayed the release of an Android-based tablet as reported, then the computer maker has likely decided to direct additional resources to the development of an iPad-competing slate computer powered by HP's recently acquired WebOS.

iBooks may be a newcomer to the digital book marketplace, but don't make the mistake of treating the new app like a kid. According to some numbers released today by Apple CEO Steve Jobs at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference 2010, iBooks is already sporting a very adult profile.

Falls Church, Va.-based digital publishing solutions provider Aptara has partnered with VitalSource, an Ingram Content Company, to make publishers’ content accessible to readers with disabilities. By providing content development and conversion services that now include tagging specifically for Section 508 of the Federal Accessibility Guidelines, Aptara’s publishing customers can utilize VitalSource’s new Bookshelf e-textbook platform.

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world's largest bookseller, today launched its free BN eReader app for iPad(TM), offering the most personalized and easy-to-use eReading experience for Apple iPad owners. The free app offers users access to the company's expansive eBookstore featuring more than one million digital titles in addition to their personal Barnes & Noble Digital Library. It is the only iPad eReading app that allows sharing eBooks with friends.

(Press Release) Santa Fe, New Mexico, May 18, 2010—CyberWolf Inc., an Adobe Content Server Solution Provider, announces offering that enables publishers to sell Adobe DRM secured content directly from their own ecommerce sites.  Adobe Content Server DRM has been adopted by a number of major players within the publishing industry and, via the new CyberWolf Download Service (CDS), is now available to most any publisher.

(Press Release) Austin, Texas, May 20, 2010—LibreDigital Inc. today announced that it has closed an $8.1 million Series C funding round led by new investor S3 Ventures with participation from existing investors Adams Capital Management and Triangle Peak Partners. The company's other key investors include HarperCollins Publishers, The New York Times Company and Noro-Moseley Partners. The new capital infusion will be used by LibreDigital to expand e-book services for publishers looking to capitalize on the unprecedented demand for e-books, which is being driven by the release of new devices like the Apple iPad. In addition to being a top Apple e-book aggregator, LibreDigital also powers the delivery of content to other digital devices and marketplaces, including Barnes & Noble NOOK, Amazon Kindle, Sony Reader, Google Editions and many more.