The Mygazines Blog

The e-reader/tablet scene is a little bit crowded. Dozens of manufacturers are scrambling to launch their own digital reading devices while consumers figure out which is the best one and even wonder if they really need a new gadget for their collection (smartphone, ipod, watch, laptop…).

Just to make things easier, here’s a comparison table with the top e-readers, in terms of sales or the buzz they generate:

It’s not an exhaustive comparison of the Kindle DX, iPad, Nook and Sony Reader Daily Edition, but still offers a nice overview of the market. Thoughts? Have you tried any of those? Would you buy one?

Tags: Industry News, The News // Comments Off

Summary: Apple making last minute changes to their publishing apps for the iPad; Reuters sets up social media guidelines

• Forbes goes behind the scenes of the iPad launch… and finds details about its content
• Reuters asks journalists not to break news on Twitter
• Mashable: 85% of iPad fans are under 25 years old… A young audience for digital publishing
• The New York Times and The New Yorker lead US National Magazine award nominations
• Smartphones will shape up paid content

Photo credit: Apple

Tags: Industry News, The News // Add Comment »

A Belgian media group has published Europe’s first 3D newspaper, complete with viewing glasses.

Editor Hubert Leclercq said it took two months to prepare the trial copy, which had a higher than normal print run of 115,000.

“The goal was to make the whole paper 3D (…). This is a trial, there’s no further plans for the time being,” said Leclercq. “We hear about 3D cinema, television and video games, so we took up the challenge.”

Tags: Industry News, The News // Add Comment »

Summary: Google’s Chief Economist defends web in newspaper demise; No Canadian publishers working on a version of their magazines tailored to the iPad.

• Google’s Chief Economist: “Newspapers have never made much money from news”
• Columbia Journalism Review: More than half of the big consumer magazines are profitable
• The iPad doesn’t light Canadian publishing industry
• Folio: Print ads to grow almost 2% in 2010
• HP-Microsoft tablet to support Flash content
• The United Kingdom’s Newspaper Society called off its regional awards

Photo Credit: Google

Tags: Industry News, The News // Add Comment »

Now that we know the tech specs, prices (starting at $499) and launching date (April 3), how does your wallet feel about the new iPad? Is it so different from a laptop or your old friend the iPhone? Is it better to wait until a new (and improved) second generation comes out? Are you excited to get a new device to store thousands of digital publications?

 Loading ...

Tags: Industry News, The News // Add Comment »

Summary: British media conglomerate UBM shuts down 31 mags, cuts down 479 jobs; Torstar Corp. reports strong fourth quarter profits; First Alice in Wonderland film (107 years old) restored in the UK

• Nepalese newspaper publisher gunned down
• Olympics: Russian newspaper blames “cowardly” Canada
• Torstar reports strong forth quarter profits: $57.4M… Canwest benefits from it
• UK-based United Business Media shut down 31 magazines and cut 479 jobs in 2009
• There’s a huge hype for Tim Burton’s version of Alice in Wonderland… It hit a record on its first weekend ($116.3M), the biggest opening weekend for a 3D movie. Take a look at the first film version of Lewis Carroll’s classic book:

Photo credit: CBC.ca

Tags: Industry News, The News // Add Comment »

Here’s the first iPad ad ever. It was premiered during the Oscars.

We can tell that Apple is trying to exploit all its publishing features. Steve Jobs announced at least six other functions, but the ad showcases basically two: book and news reading.

Thoughts?

Tags: Industry News, The News // Add Comment »

Apple finally made the official announcement: the launch date for the iPad is April 3. The super anticipated tablet/e-reader will be initially available in the US.

Countries like Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK will see it in late April. Pre-orders begin on March 12.

UPDATE: Here are the different final prices for the iPad, all of them in US dollars:

Photo Credit: Brisbane Times

Tags: Industry News, The News // Add Comment »

It doesn’t matter which digital publishing option you choose, Flash flip book or HTML-based, widgets are one of the best options to customize and make your digital editions more interactive and dynamic. There are literally millions of badges, but only a few add real value to your online publication.

First of all, define what you need and then pick the best widget option. Here are some of the best and most popular:

• Facebook fan box. Facebook is by far the most used social network. If your publication or company has a Facebook page, a good way to leverage it by integrating with to your actual digital edition. You can place a small box where readers can become Facebook fans and start to receive your updates. Here’s a small tutorial.
• Twitter feed. Twitter is getting bigger every day. It’s a perfect tool to reach adult audiences and even better if you need to update your publication constantly. Let your readers interact and follow you by adding a Twitter feed to your digital edition. Check out Twitter’s official badges.
• Dynamic media. If you wish to show an independent piece of text, a picture or video, a simple HTML code can be used. It might work well for you. Imagine you want your readers to always see your contact details at one side of your digital edition. Well, just type it in using HTML and embed the code. You could also use it to create a list of links, highlight articles, embed ‘premium’ ads…

Feel free to suggest any other… I’m sure there are more and some of them will adapt to different needs.

Tags: Embracing Digital Publishing, Resources // Add Comment »

Summary: Digital publishers want platforms that target many mobile devices; iPad launch may be delayed due to production issues, analysts say

• Folio: Publishers adopt platforms to post content on multiple devices: iPhone, Android, iPad, PC, Mac…
• iPad launching could be delayed due to a manufacturing bottleneck
• Morris publishing exits bankruptcy protection
• Apple sues HTC over iPhone patents, including parts of its user interface

Photo Credit: Mygazines