[OPLIN 4cast] OPLIN 4Cast #580: Big companies now fighting over the ebook market

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OPLIN 4Cast #580: Big companies now fighting over the ebook market
February 7th, 2018

[image: Books coming out of an electronic device] Like many households (but
not Laura's <https://4cast.oplin.org/?p=6770>), mine got a surveillance
device smart speaker over the holidays. I like using it to play my
audiobooks, which takes a little finagling since library services like
OverDrive and Hoopla aren't integrated into my device. With digital content
wars heating up between Apple, Amazon, Google, and now Walmart, I hope that
prices come down for libraries, and our offerings can compete with the big
players.

   -
   - Walmart, Apple and Google go up against Amazon in a fight for readers
   (and listeners)
   <https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2018/01/25/walmart-apple-and-google-going-up-against-amazon-fight-readers-and-listeners-most-reading-options-co/1066359001/>
[USA
   Today | Elizabeth Weise and Charisse Jones] "Some of the world's biggest
   companies are rolling out new electronic and audiobook offerings that will
   compete with giant Amazon for your eyes and ears, a digital tussle that
   could result in lower prices."
   - Apple’s Getting Back Into the E-Books Fight Against Amazon
   <https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-25/apple-is-said-to-ready-revamped-e-books-push-against-amazon>
   [Bloomberg | Mark Gurman] "The new app, due to be released in coming
   months, will include a simpler interface that better highlights books
   currently being read and a redesigned digital book store that looks more
   like the new App Store launched last year, according to people familiar
   with its development. The revamped app in testing includes a new section
   called Reading Now and a dedicated tab for audio books, the people said."
   - Walmart Makes a Late Entry Into the E-Book Market
   <https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/25/business/walmart-ebooks-kobo-japan.html>
   [New York Times | Michael Corkery] "But by many measures, Walmart is
   arriving late to the digital book party. Amazon, which built its business
   around book sales in its early days, has a huge head start. Beyond that,
   the e-book market has shown signs of fizzling, as screen-weary readers turn
   back to print copies."
   - Audiobooks are now available in Google Play for Android, iOS, and
   Google Home speakers
   <https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/23/16921176/audiobooks-google-play-android-ios-home-speakers>
   [The Verge | Dieter Bohn] "Google is following Apple’s iBook’s model of
   allowing customers to purchase audiobooks without a subscription. You can
   do that with Audible books as well, though Audible is pretty aggressive at
   pushing customers to sign up for a full subscription."

*From the Ohio Web Library <http://ohioweblibrary.org>:*

   - Klose, Stephanie and Jason Puckett. "Audio in Audio Spotlight
   <http://proxy.oplin.org:2054/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=125998764&site=ehost-live>
   ." *Library Journal*, vol. 142, no. 18, 11/1/2017, p. 28.
   - Breeding, Marshall. "The Complicated Story of Ebooks in Libraries
   <http://proxy.oplin.org:2054/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=123647439&site=ehost-live>
   ." *Computers in Libraries*, vol. 37, no. 5, June 2017, p. 16.
   - Graham, Jed. "The Amazon Monopoly Problem: Prime Time for Antitrust
   Action Vs. Internet Giants
   <http://proxy.oplin.org:2054/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=125159747&site=ehost-live>
   ?" *Investors Business Daily*, 14 Sept. 2017, p. 4.
   - Packer, George. "Cheap Words
   <http://proxy.oplin.org:2054/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=94689662&site=ehost-live>
   ." *New Yorker*, vol. 90, no. 1, 17 Feb. 2014, p. 66.

------------------------------
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