Well, now we know that Barnes & Noble has a new Nook on the way as the bookseller has slashed the price for the basic model by $50 and stuck it on eBay. Partaking in the eBay spree won't get you all the fancy features of the newer models, but for $99 you'll still get the Wi-Fi dual-screen unit which isn't anything to scoff at. Shipping is expected to take a week, and for the security conscious, B&N is a Top-Rated Seller. [Engadget]

Splasm Software, the creator of Audiobook Builder has announced that they have released an updated version of their audiobook production software for Mac. The software is designed to allow you to take your audio files or audiobook CDs and turn them into audiobooks that are compatible with your iPod. In addition to placing your audiobooks in the correct place and compiling them into a single file, you are also able to group files into chapters with custom artwork, adjust the quality to your preference, and export completed work directly to the Books section in iTunes. The application is Universal but requires Mac OS X 10.4 or later. You ...

Barnes & Noble, the book selling giant behind the Android-based Nook Color e-reader has sent out a special invitation to an event for a big announcement on Tuesday, May 24th. The event will take place at Barnes & Noble in Union Square in New York City and is only accessible by non-transferrable invitation. Speculation is going wild as always, and whether it is a new Nook tablet or something else has yet to be seen. The possibility of an introduction of EV-DO or maybe even HSPA+ wireless would be an interesting addition to the already wildly popular tablet. The event is only one week away, so it is likely we'll find out before the event. ...

Less than a week after bagging several Hearst magazines, Apple has now brought Conde Nast on board for its new iTunes subscription service. The New Yorker will be the first Conde Nast publication starting, well, actually it's already available. An updated version of the app is now available for download and will let iTunes subscribers receive four magazines a month for $5.99 or an annual deal that costs $60. Getting just the old-fashioned print version costs $4.99 per single issue or $69.95 a year so that's a pretty good deal. So how did Apple bring on Conde Nast? Concessions. For example, print New Yorker subscribers get automatic free ...

Whatever reservations Hearst had about agreeing to Apple's strict stipulations for iPad subscriptions have apparently been addressed as the magazine publisher has committed to selling iTunes subscriptions for three of its major mags. Starting July, iPad owners will be able to subscribe to Esquire, Popular Mechanics and O, The Oprah Magazine and receive automatic monthly app updates. Subscriptions for the magazine cost $1.99 per month or $19.99 for an entire year. According to the WSJ, the publisher will eventually make more of its newspaper apps and other content available through iTunes subscriptions. Apple will receive 30 percent of ...

Word is going around that Time Inc., the media conglomerate subsidiary of Time Warner that owns Time Magazine, Sports Illustrated, and Fortune Magazine has struck a deal with Apple to offer print subscribers free access to digital version of their magazines. Set to hit May 2, the plan would begin progression once again towards a much cheaper way for people to have their content in multiple mediums. Apple's desire to have a 30% cut of subscriptions sales as well as their desire to keep subscriber information secure have been the primary holdups. Regardless, this is good news for everyone who wants to only pay once, and I think that ...

Slow sales of iPad magazine apps now has Conde Nast rethinking its plans to bring more of its magazines onto Apple's tablet computer. According to Ad Age, Conde Nast still wants to bring its titles onto the iPad, but it's no longer in the same hurry as when it thought the tablet promised a gold mine of new subscribers. "It's a shift," one Conde publisher said. "The official stance was we're going to get all our magazines on the iPad because this is going to be such an important stream. The new change is maybe we can slow it down. In my opinion it makes Conde look smart because we have the ambition, but we're not rushing." "They're not ...

Well, it took some convincing, but Steve Jobs has finally been convinced to participate in the writing of a book about himself. Simon & Schuster announced that the book, titled "iSteve: The Book of Jobs," written by Walter Isaacson, is going to be released in early 2012. It will be interesting to see how much information the much-respected author will be able to put in this book about Jobs that we don't already know, particularly relating to his recent health concerns. Isaacson was a top executive at CNN and Time Magazine, and has been claimed to be "a perfect match" to Steve Jobs. [via: ABC News]

Following a patent yesterday about illuminated capacitive touch interfaces besides the screen, Apple has now applied for a patent for a hybrid e-Paper/Video iOS display. The screen would essentially allow the screen to be both e-paper and a regular color display. Not only would it be able to switch between the two, but would actually be able to split into 4 quadrants that could each be one of the two types of display. This is interesting because Apple has been given a lot of grief from e-ink e-readers such as the Amazon Kindle for not . However, if they were able to do both, particularly if it still has Retina display, no one is going to ...

You remember The Daily, right? The iPad exclusive magazine developed by Rupert Murdoch and trumpeted as the magazine industry's best chance to prove it could survive and thrive beyond a print product. Well, early Twitter figures suggest that not everything is going according to plan. It's difficult to know exactly how many people read The Daily because it doesn't share audience numbers. But Joshua Benton at Nieman Lab has figured out one way to measure at least the social media activity surrounding the iPad app. By using a social media firm's records, Benton could track how many times users tweeted articles –– a feature found on ...

The New York Times has announced that they are launching packages for digital subscriptions to their content, including access through Apple's in-app subscription program. The program starts on March 28th, with one-click in-app iTunes Store subscriptions coming sometime by June 30th. The subscription plan allows for free access to a set amount of content across digital platforms. When the monthly reading limit is reached, users who are not already home delivery subscribers will be asked to become digital subscribers.

For non-home delivery subscribers, the basic package - NYTimes.com plus Smartphone App - will start at $15 ...

Random House, a popular publisher of books such as Game of Thrones or Public Secrets may be joining the iBookstore if rumors from AppleInsider prove to be true. Before, Random House was concerned that selling their books through Apple's iBookstore would end up in a cut of profits because they would be splitting profit instead of selling the books at a discounted rate to be resold. Apparently they have gotten over the fact that Apple splits profit with the publisher, which is good news to those who want their books on their iPads and iPods. [via: TUAW]

All Things Digital has reported that Kno, the maker of the Linux-based, WebKit-powered educational tablet of the same name is considering stopping production of their single- and dual-screen tablets and shifting their focus from hardware to strictly software. They would sell off remaining stock and then focus on development of apps for other platforms such as iOS and Android. The device was originally designed to appeal to students, and the company had struck up deals with many book publishers such as Pierson and McGraw-Hill to name a couple. The device itself was relatively huge, although they cited fitting entire textbook pages on the 14- ...

After months of talk, News Corp.'s daily iPad newspaper is finally out and, despite the 99 cent weekly fee (or $40 annual one), it is not a cheapie. Already $30 million has gone into bringing The Daily online as it were, with another $500,000 needed every week to keep the ship sailing. Mosey back to those subscription fees and it's easy to see that the reader recruitment target must lie well above half a million people. Apple gets dibs on a percentage of every subscription and those annual subscriptions don't bring in as much money as the weekly deals. News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch says he hopes to earn half of the paper's revenue ...

As was previously reported, Apple has banned Sony's eBook app from their App Store. It was believed that Apple was blocking these other apps to form a sort of eBook monopoly on their devices, but it turns out that they are just being more proactive in the enforcement of pre-existing terms and conditions of the App Store. All Things Digital has gotten an official statement from Apple that clears much of this up: "Apple's made no change to its App Store Guidlines, it's simply enforcing a rule that's been in them all along: apps that offer purchases elsewhere must support in-app purchases as well. “We have not changed our developer ...

It has been almost 3 and a half years since Amazon introduced the original Kindle, but since that time, Kindle books and the e-book market in general have been gaining more and more traction in the e-reader market. As of today, Amazon has announced that they are now selling 115 multi-platform Kindle books for every 100 paperback books they sell. They are also now selling 3 Kindle books to every 1 hardback book. While it is true that the Kindle is a great device and a strong competitor in the market, I still have to wonder how many of the books were sold for devices other than the Kindle. While it is unlikely that Amazon will ever release ...

Right in line with that estimated two-week launch window, Apple and News Corp. will announce their digital iPad publication, "The Daily," at a New York event Wednesday, February 2. News Corp. head Rupert Murdoch will be joined by Apple's VP of Internet Services Eddie Cue at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City at 11am EST, where they'll introduce the iPad publication system that we've been hearing about for months. Check out our previous coverage for a primer, but the early report is that the subscription will cost just 99 cents per week. Not bad, right? [Ars]