Amazon launched its Android app store in China over the weekend, becoming the first Western technology company to offer paid-for Android apps in China. (Google’s Chinese store offers only free apps.) The update effectively launches a new version of Amazon's app store built in Chinese in the form of an Android app, along with a Chinese-language site for developers.

It’s a promising alternative to Google Play for Chinese developers like Tencent and Sina. TechCrunch notes that Amazon's app store provides easier access for developers, who previously had to sell through third-party stores, a global customer base and an "attractive revenue sharing model."  

Currently, there are home-grown services that offer paid apps to the Chinese market, the worlds largest in mobile, but many local versions are pirated or have malicious software issues. The Amazon store promises "quality and safety testing" and may very well be the prelude to the launch of its Kindle e-readers in China.Continue reading...

Scholastic is going digital. The world's largest children's book publisher is digitizing the bulk of its titles and releasing its first e-reading app, called Storia. While many trade publishers are reaching 20% in digital revenue, the kids’ e-book market is stuck at about 5%, and Scholastic is eager to change all that.

The Storia app, free to download with a beta version available today, offers about 1,300 e-books and multimedia e-books with popular series including “Clifford the Big Red Dog” and “Ready, Freddy!” available in digital format for the first time. It's designed for children ages 3-14 and currently available for PC tablets, with versions for iPad and iPhone and Android devices coming soon.

According to PaidContent, Storia's titles can be sorted by grade level, reading level, age and character/series, and enriched e-books “use word games, story interactions, and animation to deeply draw your young reader in, further developing confidence and critical thinking skills.”Continue reading...

Spyker makes another bid for Saab. [NY Times]

BMW, Coke, Sony-Ericsson may take advantage of UK product placements. [BusinessWeek]

Tide's new ad campaign focuses on frugality, cleanliness. [NY Times]

Virgin moves into retail banking. [WSJ]

Jay Leno may get his old time slot back in NBC late-night shuffle. [NPR]

Best Buy's December sales top analyst expectations. [WSJ]Continue reading...

If the brands behind the Kindle, Nook, and Sony's Reader can agree on one thing, it’s that Prime View International makes the best screens for displaying e-reader text. Unfortunately for Prime View, that may soon change.

Though one rarely notices the paper a book is printed on, the market for “e-paper” is shaping up to be as competitive as the market for the e-readers that use it. Back in June, Taiwan-based Prime View announced its acquisition of E-Ink, whose technology displays that text, in order to corner the nascent e-reader universe.

“Taiwan Firm Positioned for E-Reader Takeoff” headlined the New York Times in a November article that suggested the company would “strengthen its leadership in the next year or two, before anyone else can catch up.”

Yet in a recent Wall Street Journal article, the president of Sony's digital reading division noted (ominously, if you work for Prime View) that “many different companies are approaching us to use their screen technology going forward.” So much for that leadership position.Continue reading...

Just what the confused e-reader consumer needs: yet another option.

But this one, the result of a partnership between Borders and Kobo, could be a game-changer. Unlike Amazon’s Kindle, Barnes & Noble’s Nook, and Sony’s e-Reader, the Borders/Kobo collaboration offers a way to read your favorite digital-format books without shelling out a few hundred bucks for another device to tote around and potentially lose or break.Continue reading...

Another holiday season, another supply-and-demand problem for Sony. The beleaguered brand is revamping its marketing strategy, but a multimillion-dollar ad campaign can’t solve a product shortage that turns away customers who are dying to give you their money.

In 2000, it was the PlayStation 2. In 2005, the PlayStation Portable. In 2006, the PlayStation 3. This year, it’s the Sony e-Reader that many people want, but few will be able to get in time for the holidays. Once again, the Wall Street Journal notes, Sony failed to navigate “the difficulties of forecasting orders and coordinating a supply chain that includes component makers, manufacturing services and others.”

These shortages fuel conspiracy theories that Sony and Nintendo, whose Wii supplies seem to run short every year, simply pull back on production to create hype. But while having a product so in-demand that people will (literally) fight for it might boost the brand’s cachet, does it help the bottom line when said product – whether it’s Wiis or waffles – is out of stock? The risk is that disappointed and mall-weary shoppers mayget angry at the brand – and sometimes go with a competitor.Continue reading...

Baseball's World Series won by New York Yankees in six games. [NY Post]

Chrysler unveils five-year plan, aspires to be "a great public company once again." [LA Times]

Mickey Mouse undergoes some tweaking in Epic Mickey video game. [NY Times]

Vaseline attempts to toughen up body lotion for men. [NY Times]

Scripps close to procuring majority stake in Travel Channel. [NY Times]

Dodge will create a sub-brand for Ram automobiles, marketed separately. [MediaPost]

(More headlines: Wal-Mart, De Beers, Beatles, B&N Nook.)Continue reading...