Apple will launch an ebook service in Japan fueled with content from top local publishers, according to Japanese financial publication Nikkei (via The Digital Reader ). Apple will begin selling Japanese language ebooks later this month for reading on iPhones and iPads. iPads currently hold about a 60% share of that country’s tablet market in terms of units shipped in April to September. The Cupertino-based company reportedly has already prepared a selection of 80,000 titles from Japanese publishers, including Kodansha, Shogakukan and Kadokawa. The popularity of iPads in Japan will give Apple’s ebook business an advantage when it launches this month, but this is not the first time that Apple has tried to enter Japan’s ebook market. When the iPad was released in 2010, Apple opened a Japanese ebook store for the launch, but the plan hit a wall when negotiations with Japanese publishers stalled. According to Nikkei, Apple’s upcoming entry is expected to boost Japan’s ebook market, which some analysts predict will grow from about 70 billion yen to 200 billion yen in fiscal 2016. Though the Japanese publishing industry generated $22.5 billion in revenue in 2011, bookworms there have had to wait a long time for ereaders to finally arrive. Read more »
$140,000 Kickstarter Project Learns: Don’t Mess With Apple
How would you like a portable battery that could charge any kind of phone -- including the latest iPhones -- without any kind of adapter. That was the whole thrust of Pop , a rechargeable battery that would have built-in cables for almost every kind of port, the Lightning connector included. If it sounds too good to be true, that's because it was. Pop is dead before it even went into production, even though it had a very successful Kickstarter campaign that raised almost $140,000, more than double its original goal. Why is it dead? It's because Apple has the final say on which devices use its connectors, and it had issues with the Pop Read more »
Spin Magazine Halts Print Publication
Spin became the latest magazine to pull out of print, halting production after 27 years. The publication, which is owned by Buzzmedia, broke the news to subscribers on Friday: " Spin has halted publication of our print edition to invest more deeply in our digital properties, including Spin.com, Spin Play for iPad, and Spin mobile," the company wrote on its site . "Special arrangements have been made with alternative publishers to fulfill your Spin print subscription for the remaining term: you will automatically receive your new magazine in the mail, with the option to ask for a full refund. We appreciate your patience during the transition of your subscription." Two weeks after the onl… Continue reading... More About: magazines , spin magazine Read more »
10 Adorable YouTube Videos of Baby’s First Christmas
1. Wrapping Paper, Y U So Hilarious? Who needs presents? The wrapping paper is entertainment enough. Click here to view this gallery. Fah la la la d'awwwww. 'Tis the season for adorable videos. "Baby's First Christmas" is a landmark event in every parent's life, and we've put together some of the cutest videos on YouTube , which show little kids getting their first taste of holiday cheer Read more »
The Trash We’ve Left on the Moon
The image above shows the remains of the Apollo 17 site in the moon's Taurus-Littrow Valley -- an image, released in 2011 , sharp enough to show the tracks of the astronauts and their lunar rover in unprecedented detail. At top left you can see the mission's ALSEP , or its package of scientific instruments. In the center is the lunar module's descent stage ("Challenger"), as well as the module's experimental pallet, the ladder leading down to the lunar surface, and the life-support backpacks (PLSS) that crew members Gene Cernan and Jack Schmitt tossed out of their ascent module just before leaving the moon. You can also see paths left by walking astronauts and tracks left by lunar bugg… Continue reading... More About: moon , NASA , space Read more »
Google XPhone: Long on Mystery, Short on Details
Google's newly-acquired Motorola division is working on a next-generation iPhone competitor known internally as the XPhone, according to one report. But details are scant when it comes to what the device is, and what exactly makes it next generation. The report, in the Wall Street Journal , suggests the previously undisclosed device is due for launch "sometime next year" and has already gone through a number of iterations. A flexible screen has apparently been considered and abandoned on the XPhone, as have ceramic molds that would allow for unusual shapes and a panoramic camera with better color saturation. Some of the potential features were nixed as a drain on battery life. What… Continue reading... More About: Google , motorola mobility Read more »
Facebook Introduces Snapchat Competitor, Poke
Facebook on Friday announced its rumored Snapchat competitor, which it is calling Poke. Like Snapchat's app, Poke (named after the famous, much-derided Facebook feature), lets you send a message, photo or video to Facebook friends. The messages expire after 1, 3, 5 or 10 seconds, though. The utility of such an app has prompted some debate. Snapchat's name has been widely linked to sexting, though the company denies it was designed for such use. What do you think? Will you use Poke? Read more »
NASA Captures Solstice Solar Portrait
At 11:12 UT (6:12 a.m. EST), the world didn't end (as far as I can tell), but it was a significant time none-the-less. That was the exact minute of the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere (or the Summer Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere) -- when the daylight hours are shortest and the sun reaches its most southern position in the sky at noon. This is all due to the Earth's tilt relative to the sun ( read more on the Earth's axial tilt and how it affects the seasons ). The ever-watchful NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured the time of solstice from orbit. Although the SDO is always imaging the sun through a multitude of filters, this is a great excuse to showcase the fanta… Continue reading... More About: NASA , space , sun Read more »
Scientists Explain Why Rudolph’s Nose Is Red
Scientists in the Netherlands published a report about just why Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer's nose is, in fact, red. Results may surprise. More About: Christmas , Newsy , report , study , videos Read more »
Report: Apple Maps Most Popular iPhone App in 2012
iPhone owners may not have loved Apple's Maps, but they used that app more than any other on the platform in 2012, according to Nielsen. Maps was used by an average of 32.4 million iPhone owners a month, besting Facebook, which ranked second with 28.6 million users. Here's the full list: Apple's Maps was a pr disaster for Apple. After users complained, Apple CEO Tim Cook issued an apology. Earlier this month, Google Maps became available on iOS 6, netting 10 million downloads within its first 48 hours of release. The Nielsen study only looked at data from January through October, so information on usage for Google Maps was not included. It's also worth noting that the data for… Continue reading... More About: Google , Nielsen , android , apple , iOS , maps Read more »