Google is planning an app store, the Web giant announced at the kick-off to its 2010 I/O developers conference. Click here and here for more news on its app, video and cloud ambitions. Tomorrow's big news will be Google's Smart TV project.

The FDA, mulling releasing details on rejected drugs and devices, also widens investigation of J&J's McNeil unit after finding excessive dosage in children's Tylenol.

Wal-Mart challenged by AP over unsafe levels of cadmium in Miley Cyrus-branded jewelry aimed at kids [Update: the jewelry has been pulled from its stores]. Separately, Wal-Mart is offering cash perks to "the unbanked."

BP was asked by US Rep. Ed Markey to stream a 24/7 live-cam of the seabed oil leaks in the Gulf instead of posting videos.

MySpace is launching a new look, functionality and logo later this year under new chief marketer David Donegan.Continue reading...

America's second-largest bookstore chain is getting into the e-reader biz. Borders' Kobo device will begin shipping June 17 to coincide with Father’s Day in America. Borders is now accepting pre-orders for the $150 e-reader, vying for share of the virtual book marketplace with Amazon's Kindle and Barnes & Noble's Nook. 

Two factors distinguish Kobo from its competition. On the up side, it boasts an affordable price tag. On the down side: no Wi-Fi or 3G wireless connectivity. There is, however, a Bluetooth connection for remotely syncing with (select) smartphones and updating Kobo-owners' reading lists wirelessly.

Borders is simultaneously entering the digital world with the Kobo device and a virtual ebook store which will feature one million apps for Android, Blackberry, and iPhone/iPads. The Kobo eReader has been touted as “the real Kindle killer” by Wired Magazine.

It’s a no-frills product, to be sure.Continue reading...

Earth Day is a huge draw with brands looking for eco-friendly consumers.

PepsiCo launched an initiative to encourage recycling with nation-wide kiosks.

EBay's creator has designed a subscription online information service for Hawaii.

JC Penney looks to increase sales by focusing on brand collaborations.

CenturyLink is buying Qwest, creating the largest US landline phone company.

Sony's PlayStation will stream Major League Baseball games.

LG Electronics rolls out new campaign in run-up to the FIFA World Cup.Continue reading...

The era of the anonymous reader is upon us.You can’t tell a book by its cover anymore as so many people are replacing old-fashioned books with electronic readers, Kindles, and the much anticipated Apple iPad available this coming Saturday.
 
The advent of the e-book brings a new chapter to powers of observation traditionally embraced by print book readers – at the beach, on the subway, on a plane – and on the proverbial coffee table: It’s no longer possible to see what others are reading, nor to publically display your own literary preferences.

The element of free advertising is gone – and the residual bump publishers achieved from book cover sales is a thing of the past. In bookstores, still the primary place of book sales, covers remain a crucial tool. “If you have already passed that hurdle of having a customer be attracted to the cover, and then they pick up the book, an enormous battle has been won,” according to Patricia Bostelman, VP, Marketing at Barnes & Noble.Continue reading...

Their names start with 'B," and that's not the only thing Borders and Blockbuster have in common. The bookstore chain Borders could be on the brink of bankruptcy, much like Blockbuster, and for some of the same reasons.

Borders, like Blockbuster, has stubbornly held on to its bricks-and-mortar sales model, even as competitors like Amazon and Barnes & Noble have aggressively expanded online and moved into the e-book marketplace. Borders, in fact, never even had its own fully functional e-commerce bookstore until 2008, when it ended a seven-year relationship with Amazon, which was fulfilling online orders for Borders.Continue reading...

A plan by Amazon.com to open a warehouse in Canada has ruffled the feathers of some patriotic Canadians worried about their nation's cultural integrity.

For the last eight years, Canadians have purchased books through Amazon’s Canadian website, Amazon.ca, which employs third-party contractors to ship orders from the United States to Canadian customers. But this month the company decided to create a distribution center in the country, thus setting off independent booksellers.

"If they're allowed to do this, it could open the doors to others. We could see Barnes & Noble and Borders in Canada," said Stephen Cribar, president of the Canadian Booksellers Association.Continue reading...

The impending bankruptcy of Blockbuster, as reported in brandchannel, is a warning to companies whose business models are based on outdated technologies.

Blockbuster did not move quickly enough into digital media with its movie rental business and was out-flanked by such competitors as Netflix, who got into downloadable rentals even as its direct mail rental business boomed.

Barnes & Noble is seeking to avoid a similar fate. The giant retailer, known for its over-sized bookstores, has built a significant online business since opening its web store in 1995. More recently, Barnes & Noble introduced nook, an eBook reader, that generated as much as $20 million in sales last holiday season.Continue reading...

Paperless Post, Evite's most recent competitor, found a way to make money. [NY Times]

British Airways employees continue into the second day of their strike. [WSJ]

Old-school fruit drink Zarex is experiencing a comeback in the Northeast. [Boston Herald]

Since Disney purchased Marvel Entertainment, who truly owns the heroes? [NY Times]

Palm is doing so poorly with sales, it just wants to break even. [CNN Money]

Kmart posts a too-good-to-be-true coupon that is too good to be true. [Consumerist]Continue reading...