 Welcome back to another exciting edition of the Good e-Reader Radio Show! Today we talk about why 2019 was the best year ever for e-readers, more devices were released this year than any other year, ever. Color E-paper is going to be a thing in 2020, vendors are lining up to release next generation devices that will show cover art, display comics in their full glory. Digital note taking devices will have more color options for drawing, highlighting or annotating PDF files. Also on the show, we talk about a few of the newer e-readers that are coming out in November. Michael KozlowskiMichael Kozlowski is the Editor in Chief of Good e-Reader. He has been writing about audiobooks and e-readers for the past ten years. His articles have been picked up by major and local news sources and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times. goodereader.com/blog/

Good e-Reader Radio Show

2019 was an excellent year for e-readers

 The Good e-Reader Radio Show returns with a focus on all of the new e-readers that have come out lately and what the big selling points are. SuperNote is finally shipping out the A6, the Boyue Likebook Alita is now available, the Oasis came out recently and Pocketbook just announced the InkPad Pro! Tons of new things happening in the e-reader industry. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Michael KozlowskiMichael Kozlowski is the Editor in Chief of Good e-Reader. He has been writing about audiobooks and e-readers for the past ten years. His articles have been picked up by major and local news sources and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times. goodereader.com/blog/

E-Readers Galore

 Welcome back to another compelling edition of the Good e-Reader Radio Show! Today Michael runs down all of the new e-readers that will be released this Fall and what you can expect. Kobo has a new e-reader in the works and I am told this is a second generation Aura One. This model will have a dual core processor and Bluetooth, so you can listen to audiobooks. The Paperwhite 4 is the most eagerly anticipated e-reader of the year. Amazon wants to keep the price the same, so don’t expect major features. Instead it will  have Bluetooth and Audible functionality and the big rumor is that it will have a color temperature system. Pocketbook, Arta Tech, and other companies are also releasing a series of new e-readers in the next few weeks. The feature story on the show today is Kobo at Walmart and how it will all play out. This is the first time Kobo has major retail visibility. It will likely bring them thousands of new customers, who will make regular ebook purchases. Amazon will likely not feel the string, since they enjoy a veritable monopoly.  Barnes and Noble on the other hand might see some diminished revenue. Michael KozlowskiMichael Kozlowski is the Editor in Chief of Good e-Reader. He has been writing about audiobooks and e-readers for the past ten years. His articles have been picked up by major and local news sources and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times. goodereader.com/blog/

Good e-Reader Radio – New Kobo Aura One and Kindle Paperwhite 4

 Welcome back to another exciting edition of the Good e-Reader Radio Show! A few times a year Good e-Reader conducts many interviews with the leaders of the industry. This includes the CEO of Kobo, executives from Amazon and E-ink. What goes into preparing for an interview and what is the entire journalist process like? Today, Michael breaks it all down, including an upcoming interview with the president of E-Ink. I was told by my sources that Progress Technologies out of Japan are making a second generation dual screen eonebook. They will include an SD card on this model and sell SD cards with 5 full manga series and it is only available in Japan. I am trying to figure out if you can sideload in your own content and what are the supported formats. I am also trying to get them to sell their hardware in North America and Europe, since digital manga is becoming popular. Android P is receiving its 4th beta and is available soon for prime time, you can read a full breakdown of all of the new features HERE. Android 9.1 will have wellness features and a dashboard to keep track of usage. Google also plans on releasing a second generation Chromebook Pixel, first gen smartwatch and new Nexus phones this fall. Amazon also has plans for a 4th gen Paperwhite and new Kindle Basic this fall too. Michael KozlowskiMichael Kozlowski is the Editor in Chief of Good e-Reader. He has been writing about audiobooks and e-readers for the past ten years. His articles have been picked up by major and local news sources and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times. goodereader.com/blog/

Good e-Reader Radio – Android P, new e-readers and upcoming interviews

 Welcome back to another utterly compelling edition of the Good e-Reader Radio Show! Today we are talking about 3G on e-readers and if it is time for more companies to start offering another option to buy ebooks on the go. It is summertime and that means it’s time to relax at the beach or at the lake. What ebook readers are waterproof and dustproof? We give you our top recommendations. Finally, do you use RSS on your e-reader or Pocket? When e-readers first started to come out there were a few companies that experimented with 3G and WIFi in order to buy ebooks on the go. The world is a big place and from 2007 to 2013 data 4G and LTE weren’t really a thing yet and WIFI wasn’t the easiest thing to find. Amazon started doing 3G right away on their early Kindle e-readers and offered the service for free. In 2011 they started to implement a 50MB restriction because people were using a ton of data and eventually they only allow you to access the Kindle bookstore, the Kindle Cloud and select websites like Wikipedia. The first Barnes and Noble Nook had 3G internet access when it first came out, but the bookseller discontinued the model a year later and shut the entire thing down the year after that. Sony was the last company to dabble in 3G with the Sony Reader Daily edition, the first seven inch e-reader. They ran the network for a number of years until they discontinued everything and sold their assets to Kobo. We live in a world where 4G and LTE are the norm and carriers are working on a next generation 5G network. This means that older 2G and 3G bands are not as popular as they used to be, which means that companies like Barnes and Noble and Kobo are in a good position to roll out a new model with free internet access. They could have two models of each e-reader in their portfolio, one that has 3G and one that does not. I believe that charging a little more upfront would allow them to sell more ebooks. There are a bunch of e-readers that have RSS readers out there, but hardly any from big companies. Kobo has Pocket integration, which allows you to send articles to your e-ink device. Kindle has a bunch of 3rd party companies that offer a similar service, like Instapaper and Pocketbook has their own RSS solution. Would you like to see more companies offer an RSS reader so you can read your favorite websites and the performance is good? I believe they should because the average website has gotten really bloated over the years. Each article has a 1MB to 10MB lead in image and there is tons of CSS and responsive elements. This is why e-readers normally do not do a good job with a built in internet browser. Over the course of the Radio Show I also explain why RSS is not as popular as it once was, primarily due to AMP and Facebook Insta articles. Michael KozlowskiMichael Kozlowski is the Editor in Chief of Good e-Reader. He has been writing about audiobooks and e-readers for the past ten years. His articles have been picked up by major and local news sources and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times. goodereader.com/blog/

Good e-Reader Radio – is there a future in 3G ebook readers?

 There has been a ton of innovation in the e-reader arena in 2017. The second generation Kindle Oasis came out and was the first e-reader that had the Audible bookstore and Bluetooth to listen with wireless speakers.  The Remarkable came out and defined digital note taking and the startup was so successful that it spawned a very competitive space where many people were vying for your wallets and attention. The Aura One Limited Edition was released and since no Kobo has an SD card anymore, a 32GB model that featured a new rapid page turn system was very compelling. This year, we have taken a step back. This year we have seen a number of e-readers that have already debut or that will be released later on. The Onyx Boox Note S is now available and instead of using a 10.3 inch screen they decided to use a 9.7 one and halve the battery life, RAM and internal storage, it is not selling well. Sony released their 10.3 inch version of the Digital Paper, but so far it has been really underwhelming in terms of performance. I had high hopes for the Clara HD, I thought it might have a five inch screen and be cheap enough to be an impulse buy at Walmart, but it was simply another six inch e-reader with a Comfortlight and cost over $100. I thought Kobo at the very least should leverage the audiobook store they opened last year and allow people to buy and listen to audiobooks on a Kobo e-reader, but they did not do it. I guess it’s easier to just do the same thing year after year and not innovate. The only interesting thing that will occur this year is the new Kindle Paperwhite 4 that will have a color temperature lighting system and Bluetooth for audiobooks. Storytel is going to release their first e-reader that is tied to their unlimited audiobook and ebook subscription service, you need to be subscribed to even use the e-reader, not innovative, but interesting enough. During the early years of the e-reader revolution E Ink was announcing new screen tech every year. There were so many companies involved in the space and everyone was making a lot of money. Ebooks suddenly became a big thing and publishers were seeing double digit growth every single quarter. Around 2013-2014 almost every epaper competitor was out of business or just making prototype displays, such as the Japan Display 500 PPI screen. E-Reader companies like iRex, Cooler Reader, Entourage, Hanvon, Kyobo, Energy Sistem and dozens of others either went bankrupt or exited the space completely. There is only less than ten companies in the world making e-readers and making a living from it. There has been no new E Ink display in five years and the only new processor to make e-readers faster is the IMX7 dual core, but there is one single e-reader using it since it first was announced in 2015, the Oasis. Nobody else wants to take the risk of using it and paying high development fees to incorporate all the new features into their operating system, its easier just to do the same thing every year. Today on the show Michael talks about all of the above and how the smartphone and tablet space are not exactly moving forward, but they are not taking a step back in design and innovation. Michael KozlowskiMichael Kozlowski is the Editor in Chief of Good e-Reader. He has been writing about audiobooks and e-readers for the past ten years. His articles have been picked up by major and local news sources and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times. goodereader.com/blog/

Good e-Reader Radio – ebook readers take a step back in 2018

 The Good e-Reader Radio show is back with the top e-readers that are coming out in 2018 and give you our thoughts on the Onyx Boox Note S and Sony Digital Paper DPT-CP1 that just hit our review labs. We take a look at some upcoming smartwatches such as the new Samsung Galaxy Watch that will use Android Wear instead of Tizen. The lead story of the show is Barnes and Noble and what happened to the former CEO and why the bookstore chain is in dire need of having someone new come aboard with actual bookselling experience. They need someone who wants the company do well and not get stuck in the bubble of corporate headquarters in New York. Michael KozlowskiMichael Kozlowski is the Editor in Chief of Good e-Reader. He has been writing about audiobooks and e-readers for the past ten years. His articles have been picked up by major and local news sources and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times. goodereader.com/blog/

Good e-Reader Radio – New Sony Digital Paper and Onyx Boox Note S

 Good e-Reader is back with a weekend edition of the Good e-Reader Radio Show! Today, Michael gives you a complete rundown of our latest research that says most people pirate ebooks, instead of purchase them. Onyx has announced a flurry of new e-readers and some of them are worth a look. Good e-Reader released a new Audio Reader app and News App this week, find what went into the development cycle. Finally, Apple released a new Red iPhone and you will soon be able to borrow digital magazines from the library. Michael KozlowskiMichael Kozlowski is the Editor in Chief of Good e-Reader. He has been writing about audiobooks and e-readers for the past ten years. His articles have been picked up by major and local news sources and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times. goodereader.com/blog/

Good E-Reader Radio – eBook Piracy, Red iPhone, and New e-Readers

 Welcome back to another compelling edition of the Good e-Reader Radio Show! Today Michael discusses the news about Apple developing their own processors and how the Intel stock has taken a nosedive. Kobo is going to be releasing a new e-reader soon called the Clara HD, find out all about it. Additionally B&N released a new social media app and part of Amazon’s success is their retail presence. Michael KozlowskiMichael Kozlowski is the Editor in Chief of Good e-Reader. He has been writing about audiobooks and e-readers for the past ten years. His articles have been picked up by major and local news sources and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times. goodereader.com/blog/

Good e-Reader Radio – Apple Processors, B&N, Kindle and e-reader news

 The Good e-Reader Radio show has been chronicling the e-reader and ebook industry since 2010 and today Michael talks about the new Onyx Boox Note and what it brings to the table. Inkbook is working on a new 8.6 and 10.3 inch e-reader, not much is know about it yet. There is a new Audible scam right now on Ebay, which promises to save hundreds of dollars for consumers. Overdrive has loaned out 1 billion ebooks and Michael talks about Libby and how you can get a digital library card right on the app. Michael KozlowskiMichael Kozlowski is the Editor in Chief of Good e-Reader. He has been writing about audiobooks and e-readers for the past ten years. His articles have been picked up by major and local news sources and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times. goodereader.com/blog/

Good e-Reader Radio – Onyx Boox Note, InkBook and Audible News

 Welcome to another exciting edition of the Good e-Reader Radio Show! Today Michael talks about the new Sony Digital Paper that just hit the FCC and thoughts about the Pocketbook InkPad 3. Onyx is releasing their new Note e-reader next week and Good e-Reader will be conducting a review/unboxing video in a few days. Good e-Reader will be visiting the revised Digital Book World event later this year, find out all of the details on this show! Also, what is the future of reading? Will it be AR/VR or like Ready Player One? (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Michael KozlowskiMichael Kozlowski is the Editor in Chief of Good e-Reader. He has been writing about audiobooks and e-readers for the past ten years. His articles have been picked up by major and local news sources and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times. goodereader.com/blog/

Good e-Reader Radio Show – March 19 2018

 There are a copious number of online self-publishing companies that promise aspiring authors the opportunity to distribute their ebook all over the world. Millions of authors publish with Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing, Draft2Digital, Kobo Writing Life, Nook Press and Smashwords. Most “authors” who self-publish an ebook never sell more than a handful and over 75% of all authors never earn a living through their writing. We live in a world full of terrible e-book titles that ruin ebook discovery and make it difficult to find a good book. It is no small wonder why e-book sales have plummeted in recent years. YouGov conducted a recent poll that said the most desirable job in is an author  – with 60% of people saying they’d like to do it for a living. This is a 24% higher than those who want to be a TV presenter and a remarkable 29% higher than those who want to be a movie star. I can see why being an author would be sexy, you only have to look at the success of J.K. Rowling. Sadly, being an author does not earn significant revenue. A survey of 1,007 self-published writers – one of the most comprehensive insights into the growing market to date – found that while a small percentage of authors were bringing in sums of $100,000-plus,  average earnings were just $10,000 a year. This amount, however, is significantly skewed by the top earners, with less than 10% of self-publishing authors earning about 75% of the reported revenue and half of writers earning less than $500. Meanwhile in the United States the median household income in the US is $52k per year and the average indie author from the USA earns less than $100 over the lifetime of their book. Self-published indie authors are verifiably capturing at least 24% – 34% of all ebook sales in each of the five English-language markets; it’s not just a US-only phenomenon. When you also include the uncategorized authors, the vast majority of whom are also self-published, the true indie share in each market lies somewhere between 30% – 40%. Sadly the lionshare of the revenue that indie authors generate are by the  quintessential 1% who are generating a few hundred thousand dollars a month and everyone else is fighting over the scraps. Many authors do not derive their primary living from their literary works and are considered chiefly hobbyists. They are simply amateurs who submit books just because they can. There is no quality control mechanism for companies that offer self-publishing solutions, they are just really happy to have as many users as possible. They play the numbers game, the more authors that publish, the more money they will generate from commissions, even if it just a few sales per title, it all adds up. Smashwords CEO Mark Coker will lambast authors who exclusively publish with Amazon, because the more writers that do that, the less money Smashwords will generate. For all of his soapbox proclamations on how it is bad for authors, it is all about money with him. The vast majority of self-published authors will statistically not earn very much from their titles and will be alone and marginalized. They will not join any respectable writing organization, because they are not professionals. Major writing organizations such as the Romance Writers of America, Canadian Writing Union and Published Authors Network all accept indie published authors In order to join these organizations you have to earn ‘x’ amount of money over a single calendar year, where the specified amount for indie publishers is a *multiple* of the requirement for traditionally-published authors minimum income, because it is easier to make money by going indie. The Published Authors Network has strict requirements on who can join their organization. You have to earn $1,000 in the form of an advance on a single Eligible Novel. Or you have to earn $1,000 in the form of royalties or a combination of advance plus royalties on a single published Eligible Novel. Finally, you have to pull in $5,000 in the form of earnings for a Self-Published novel. I seriously doubt less than 100 indie authors have joined these organizations. All major digital bookstores have indie titles listed side by side with traditionally published books. Normally, traditionally published books have an expectation of quality. This includes great editing, cover art, formatting, and foreign translations. I am not saying all traditionally published books are good, but the average indie title is utter trash. This is because indie titles have no quality and control and authors are merely uploading a Word document to Amazon and clicking publish. Having indie books listed alongside trade books is causing massive issues. There are over 400,000 terrible indie titles polluting the Amazon ecosystem and it ruins the discovery process for average readers who are simply looking for a book they might like. I have recommended segregating indie titles from traditional bestsellers, and thousands of people agree with me. “If you’re not an author with a slavish fan following, you’re in a lot of trouble,” self-published author Bob Mayer told the NYT’s David Streitfeld. “Everyone already has a ton of things on their Kindle they haven’t opened.” Chuck Wendig mentioned in a recent blog post “The sheer number of releases is an issue all its own. It becomes increasingly hard to stand out merely by publishing a book in either form. It’s like trying to get a droplet of water to stand out in an entire goddamn ocean.” Many indie authors will read this article and think, Kozlowski is off-base, I am a great author! Charles Darwin begs to differ.He correctly summed up the current state of affairs in the Dunning-Kruger Effect. Indie authors are “unskilled individuals that suffer from illusory superiority, mistakenly rating their ability much higher than is accurate. This bias is attributed to a metacognitive inability of the unskilled to recognize their ineptitude.” I think most indie authors have an inflated sense of self-importance and suffer from the American Idol factor. You see it on TV all the time – deluded individuals who are utterly convinced the judges have failed to recognize their genius. “I’ll be back next year and they’ll be sorry then!” Yes, they will. Indie authors are directly contributing to the worldwide decline in digital book sales. Sales of consumer ebooks plunged 17% to £204m last year, the lowest level since 2011 in the United Kingdom. In the United States e-books declined by 15.6% for all of 2016. For the first time in years, publisher revenue for all print formats saw growth: hardback books grew 2.2%, children’s board books grew 7.7% and paperback/mass market grew 4.1% compared to 2015 revenues. Why are users abandoning e-books?  “I wouldn’t say that the ebook dream is over but people are clearly making decisions on when they want to spend time with their screens,” says Stephen Lotinga, chief executive of the Publishers Association.  Traditionally published e-books have also become more expensive due to agency pricing and consumers are spending less money on digital and buying more print.  A bookstore is a thing of beauty, there are hardly any indie titles to be found. It is a lush paradise of books written by established authors or breakout superstars. Browsing a bookstore is great, it is organized to draw attention to a series of titles and it is a utter and complete pleasure to simply spend hours browsing. You cannot say the same thing about any digital bookstore, it is full of crappy e-book covers that look like they were made in MS paint or downloaded from Google and use Comic Sans Font on the title.  Why do you think people browse a physical store and then buy something online? Online discovery on its own is fundamentally broken, thanks to indie authors. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Michael KozlowskiMichael Kozlowski is the Editor in Chief of Good e-Reader. He has been writing about audiobooks and e-readers for the past ten years. His articles have been picked up by major and local news sources and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times. goodereader.com/blog/

We Live in a Literary World of Terrible Self-Published Authors

 Kobo has just launched an audiobook bookstore that sells audiobooks individually and also provides them on a subscription level basis. Their entire audiobook catalog is powered by Overdrive and this is the first time they have ever been involved in an audiobook subscription scheme. Kobo Audiobooks will cost $12.99 per month in Canada and comes with a 30-day free trial period. Customers will get one credit a month with their subscription and they can be redeemed for any audiobook title on the platform. You can also purchase Kobo Audiobooks individually and shop with confidence with their Price Match Guarantee.  In addition, readers earn Kobo Super Points on their monthly subscription fees or audiobook purchases. The Kobo audiobooks service is available today in the US for ($9.99/mo), the UK (£6.99/mo), Australia ($12.99/mo), and New Zealand ($13.99/mo). Kobo has updated their app for Android and iOS and have brought over a fully functional audiobook player. You can make purchases and listen to your content on Android, and with iOS you can only listen to titles you have already bought or have used a credit on. You cannot make purchases directly on your iPhone or iPad. “We have more books than time, always. Audiobooks let our readers fit the books they love into more parts of their day,” says Michael Tamblyn, CEO, Rakuten Kobo Inc. “Audio lets you be in two places at once—exploring the galaxy on the daily commute, solving a crime while doing the laundry, or wherever you want your favourite story to take you.” Tamblyn continues: “Last year, we built the Kobo Aura ONE eReader with the help of our best customers, and our new offering is no different. What we unequivocally heard was that they wanted the best deal on audiobooks, and we are pleased to offer the lowest subscription price available.” Over the course of the past three years the highest growing segment of publishing are audiobooks. The global audiobook industry is currently evaluated at $3.5 billion dollars and the United States is currently the largest singular market with $1.8 billion dollars in audio sales in 2016 and this was a 31% increase from 2015. The Audio Publishers of America has stated that every year for the past three years 36,000 audiobooks were issued. When it comes right down to it, the retailers are the ones who benefit from the audiobook revolution. The vast majority of the companies that spoke to Good e-Reader have disclosed that they have seen triple digit growth and expect this trend to continue into 2017. Michele Cobb, executive director of the Audio Publishers Association, pointed to the “significant” increase in units and dollars that audio has seen in the past few years; the tremendous popularity of podcasts; and referenced association surveys. Surprisingly, frequent listeners – of at least four audiobooks a month – skew 56% male. I am really happy that Kobo has leveraged their sister company to provide an audiobook solution for their customers. I predicted last year that Kobo would open up an audiobook store and even cited their relationship with Overdrive as the digital content provider. I feel audiobooks was the missing piece to the Kobo ecosystem and this could provide a lucrative stream of revenue for years to come. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Michael KozlowskiMichael Kozlowski is the Editor in Chief of Good e-Reader. He has been writing about audiobooks and e-readers for the past ten years. His articles have been picked up by major and local news sources and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times. goodereader.com/blog/

Kobo has Launched an Audiobook Subscription Plan and Audio Bookstore

 The Good e-Reader Radio Show is back from a long hiatus with a very special edition, music to read to. Over the course of the next hour you will be introduced to a symphonic serenade of new music, including electronica, jazz and soul. This is the perfect soundtrack to crack open your favorite book and listen to this show in the background. All of the music played on this radio show you will not find on the top 40! This are tunes that you will likely not of heard of before, which makes it a very compelling listen. If you dig what you hear, drop a comment below. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Michael KozlowskiMichael Kozlowski is the Editor in Chief of Good e-Reader. He has been writing about audiobooks and e-readers for the past ten years. His articles have been picked up by major and local news sources and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times. goodereader.com/blog/

Good e-Reader Radio – Music to Read to

 Welcome to another installment of the Good e-Reader Radio Show! Today we are talking about the health benefits of e-books, something normally people do not associate with an entertainment product. Today, we talk about the reasons why e-books are better for you if your recovering from an injury or if you have vision disorders, while citing specific examples. Additionally, we talk about some of the drawbacks when you read on a tablet or smartphone. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Michael KozlowskiMichael Kozlowski is the Editor in Chief of Good e-Reader. He has been writing about audiobooks and e-readers for the past ten years. His articles have been picked up by major and local news sources and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times. goodereader.com/blog/

Radio Show – The Health Benefits of e-books

Good e-Reader is the leading radio program devoted to audiobooks, ebooks and e-readers.