VoIP In Detail covers everything related to VOIP, software, hardware, service providers, reviews, configurations, standards, tips & tricks and everything else related to voice over IP networks, IP telephony and Internet Telephony. The e-publishing market may be following the same steps as its relatives in the music industry as Sony announced Wednesday that it will adopt the open ePub format for its Reader e-book readers. The move could signal the beginning of a new phase of e-publishing for consumers and businesses.
e-Books sold on Amazon.com can only be read on that company’s Kindle or on Kindle software for iPhones. Sony’s move toward open formats resembles the industry move toward MP3 audio to counter the lock Apple had on music at the beginning of its online iTunes Store. At that time, music sold by iTunes could only be played on Apple’s iPod. Now those files are playable on other devices.
Not Just ‘One Store’
Sony also said it will drop its anti-copying software and adopt one from Adobe Systems. Steve Haber, head of Sony’s digital reading unit, told The New York Times that people looking for e-books will “want to shop at all the stores, and not just be required to shop at one store.”
Sony’s move comes as the e-book market is heating up. The Association of American Publishers has reported that e-book sales in the U.S. increased 136 percent in June compared to a year ago, although the dollar amount — $14 million — is still small by the standards of other content sales.
Amazon is pushing its newest, recently released Kindle with a new focus on textbooks and the educational market. Sony has released two new e-reader devices, dropped its prices for new book releases, and is expected to offer an e-reader with wireless capabilities by the end of this year, matching that feature of the Kindle.
The potential big rock that could be thrown into this still-small pond is Apple’s. The computer and consumer-devices company has been rumored to be planning the release by…
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Sony Moves To Open E-Book Market with ePub Format
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