Google Editions, the search giant's e-bookstore launching this summer, will directly compete with, and may even trump, its e-book competitors: Amazon's Kindle; Barnes and Noble's Nook; Sony's eBook reader; and Apple's digital devices.

Determining its launch date: according to the New York Times, the Google Books team is close to a deal with the American Booksellers Association, which represents more than 1,400 independent bookstores.

The deal would make Google Editions the primary e-book source for ABA members, putting independent booksellers in the e-book game.

It's a significant development in Google's rocky history with the book publishing industry, which resulted in a landmark settlement over copyright concerns.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...

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bankruptcy of Blockbuster, as reported in brandchannel, is a warning to companies whose business models are based on outdated technologies.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

Publishers are wary about Amazon’s $9.99 price point for Kindle e-books, and wonder how the inventive brand plans to profit from such a pricing model – and who stands to benefit in the long run.

Before Kindle, Amazon never belonged in the gadget business. It sold gadgets, but that was distribution. It also sold music – both physical and digital – but it never went up against the iPod (Microsoft’s lamentable Zune being enough already).

Eventually, Amazon launched the Kindle because its brand is synonymous with books and because nobody else was doing it – there was an opportunity to open up an ancillary market. The decision heralded a bold move for Amazon, of course, with no guarantees. Yet innovation is part of Amazon’s brand, and risk-adverse publishers that stand to gain immeasurably from such pioneering should look at their own efforts to do so much as develop a Blackberry app before complaining about Amazon’s tactics.Continue reading...

Dunkin' Donuts aims to increase competition with energy drink brands. [Boston Herald]

Dodge looks for manly men with a beard-growing contest. [BrandFreak]

The Nook is finally available in Barnes & Noble stores. [PC Mag]

Hormel's "Life Better Served" campaign shows brand depth. [Brandweek]

With North American sales down, Coca-Cola hopes to raise appeal overseas. [DailyFinance]

Facebook's Doppelganger Week is a huge success. [Time]Continue reading...

This week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas will highlight the latest contender in the battle for e-reader market share: Hearst Corporation's new Skiff Reader.

"The Skiff Reader's big screen will showcase print media in compelling new ways," said Gilbert Fuchsberg, president of Skiff, LLC. "This is consistent with Skiff's focus on delivering enhanced reading experiences that engage consumers, publishers and advertisers."

The Skiff Reader, however, is joining a very competitive and crowded category, as brands of all denominations seek a foothold in what many believe will be the next great evolutionary step in the relationship between people and information.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...

McDonald's internal branding campaign, Voice of McDonald's, fosters goodwill with employees, consumers. [NY Times]

Lego expands brand "virtue" into videogames, movie tie-ins. [WSJ]

Ford may finally sell Volvo to Geely. [LA Times]

PepsiCo. pushes social responsibility internally, in advertising. [Warc]

Spyker wants to make the Saab "more Saabish." [WSJ]

Hyundai emerges from the recession a winner, sales up 6.2%. [WSJ]Continue reading...