The settlement would resolve claims filed by 33 state attorneys general against Penguin as well as class-action lawsuits filed by consumers that alleged the company's behavior violated unfair competition laws and caused consumers to overpay for e-books.
Along with the $75 million in damages, Penguin also will pay costs and fees related to the claims. And the company has agreed to abide by the same "injunctive relief&… Read more
Mixed in with all of the announcements and releases from Google I/O earlier this week, the Google Play Books service received an important update. Google Play Books users can now upload personal PDFs and e-books they currently own to the service.
To upload a document to the service, you can visit Play.Google.com and click on the My Books section heading, or you can go to the My Books section directly by using this link.
You will see a new "Uploads" option on the left-hand side; when you click on it you'll be prompted to … Read more
Apple violated antitrust laws by colluding with book publishers to raise the price of e-books in an effort "to strip retailers of pricing authority," federal prosecutors said in a court filing released Tuesday, according to Bloomberg.
In an antitrust lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice in April 2012, the government accused Apple and five book publishers of conspiring to illegally fix e-book prices to boost profits and force e-book rival Amazon to abandon its discount pricing. All five of the publishers involved -- Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Simon & Schuster (owned by CBS, which … Read more
CNET Update gives you access:
In this edition of Update:- Learn a new trick to getting access to your Facebook account when locked out.
- Know what it means when someone with Glass winks at you.
- Get tag-happy with your Instagram photos.
- Take control of someone else's computer with a Google+ Hangout.
- Save money on e-books by walking into a brick-and-mortar Barnes & Noble store.
- Compare your slingshot skills on the new Angry Birds Friends app.
CNET Update delivers the tech news you need in under three minutes. Watch Bridget Carey every afternoon for … Read more
Penguin has vowed to change its pricing strategy for digital books, including terminating an e-book pricing pact with Apple, to resolve an antitrust probe by the European Union.
As part of the deal, Penguin has agreed to terminate existing agency agreements -- those pacts that allow a publisher, not a retailer, to set prices -- and will refrain from adopting "most favored nation" pricing clauses for five years. Those had prevented retailers such as Amazon from undercutting Apple's e-book prices.
If Penguin does enter into new agency agreements, retailers would be free to set the retail price … Read more
Every parent knows (or should know) the importance of reading to their kids. And when it comes to stories adults and toddlers alike can enjoy, it's hard to beat Dr. Seuss.
Of course, browse the aisles (real or virtual) of any bookstore and you'll see that your average Dr. Seuss hardcover can run $10-15. Ouch!
That's why I continue to be a big fan of Oceanhouse Media's Dr. Seuss e-book apps, which not only provide the complete Seuss experience (and then some), but also save you considerable coin.… Read more
Apple CEO Tim Cook will testify as part of the U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust case against Apple, a judge ruled today.
Cook, who became Apple's CEO in August 2011, will be required to engage in four hours of testimony per a ruling by U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan today, Reuters reports.
Apple had attempted to prevent Cook's involvement, arguing that the Justice Department already had access to nearly a dozen of its executives as part of the case.
In April 2012, the Justice Department sued Apple, along with five of the six … Read more
Apple CEO Tim Cook may testify in the U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust case against the company over e-book prices, Bloomberg reported today.
In the lawsuit, filed in April, federal prosecutors accused Apple and five book publishers of working together to artificially hike e-book prices.
In a letter earlier this week, the Justice Department asked U.S. District Judge Denise Cote to help settle a "discovery dispute" over Cook's deposition, or testimony taken outside of court, according to Bloomberg. Cote scheduled a March 13 conference call in response.
Apple remains the sole defendant in the … Read more
Amazon has a problem with pornography.
The company created technology to filter smut from its library of video and print offerings and it also pays humans to do the same thing. In spite of that, Kindle users can still download e-books with the same sort of raunchy images and titles normally seen in nudie mags sold at liquor store newsstands.
That's because these salacious e-books are self-published, spawned from sources with names like Camera Erotica Publications and ErotiPics. Some of the milder titles include "The Dirty Blonde 2," which comes with a self-prescribed adults-only warning, a weak … Read more
Read any good books lately? I know, e-book prices can make it tough to indulge your love of the printed word. That's why I'm jazzed to see that the folks at StoryBundle have cobbled together another great batch of books for whatever price you want to pay.
It's true! The Indie Fantasy Bundle includes six full-length novels (actually, eight, as two of the selections include the first two books in their respective series), and you get to decide how much you want to pay.
As you might suspect from the "indie" designation, these aren't … Read more
Reviews - Games and Gear
Technically Incorrect
838Facebook Likes
388Tweets
327Google Plus Shares
The one stop shop for all things iPhone
What's the #1 music streaming-app for iOS? Who wins in an iPhone v. S4 faceoff? We've got it covered with iPhone news, rumors, app recommendations, and more.
Manage updates with the Download App