Sony

Amazon.com Inc. announced at the end of 2009 that its Kindle 
e-reader had become the most gifted item in Amazon's history. On its peak day of the holiday season (Dec. 14, 2009), Amazon customers ordered more than 9.5 million items worldwide—a record-breaking 110 items per second—according to an Amazon press release.

It seems every week I receive a press release or read a news article about a new e-book exclusivity agreement an author has struck with Amazon. This week, it was best-selling science fiction author F. Paul Wilson.

According to the press release I received from Amazon, Wilson has made five of his books available in the Kindle Store exclusively for one year using Amazon's e-book self-publishing tool, Digital Text Platform.

ComScore Inc. released the results of a survey of 2,176 Internet users regarding their awareness, attitudes and opinions of the Apple iPad and other e-readers/tablet devices. Results of the survey were analyzed across age and gender profiles, as well as the “iOwners” consumer segment, defined as those owning either an iPhone or iPod Touch.

This week, San Francisco-based social publishing company Scribd launched two new products designed to simplify mobile reading. The first of these products, a send-to-device reading feature, is now live on more than 10 million Scribd documents, enabling consumers to send reading material from Scribd.com to their e-reader or smartphone. Also, Scribd launched a series of application programming interfaces (APIs)—the Scribd Open-Content Platform for E-Readers and Mobile Devices (SOPED)—which gives device companies the ability to more deeply integrate Scribd's search, social and other functionality into their devices. Companies that have already signed on for SOPED include Interead and Onyx International.

North American Publishing Company (NAPCO) of Philadelphia announced today that Gadgetell, a division of NAPCO, has acquired TeleRead.org, a Web Site covering global e-book news based in Alexandria, VA.

You may have heard by now about author Stephen Covey's deal with Amazon, selling the exclusive electronic rights (via e-book publisher Rosetta Books and for a one-year period) to two of his titles, "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" and "Principle-Centered Leadership." You also may have heard (or been a voice among) the resounding, collective industry gasp.

Along with 3D televisions and mobile devices and apps, e-readers were among the hottest products at the Consumer Electronics Show, held January 7-10 in Las Vegas. And technophiles internationally have been talking about the new players on the market, the prototypes of those still to be launched and what the future holds for this exploding market.

Borders Group, Inc. (NYSE: BGP) today announced a strategic investment and commercial partnership with Kobo, Inc., a global eReading service that is the newly named spin-off of Toronto-based Indigo Books & Music Inc.'s Shortcovers digital reading initiative.

With nearly 50 educational conference sessions, the 2010 Publishing Business Conference & Expo (PBC) has something for every publishing executive.

Starting Friday, Dec. 11, Sony will make offer its inventory of e-books in EPUB format only.