Like many households (but not Laura’s), 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) [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 [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 [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 [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:
- Klose, Stephanie and Jason Puckett. “Audio in Audio Spotlight.” Library Journal, vol. 142, no. 18, 11/1/2017, p. 28.
- Breeding, Marshall. “The Complicated Story of Ebooks in Libraries.” 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?” Investors Business Daily, 14 Sept. 2017, p. 4.
- Packer, George. “Cheap Words.” New Yorker, vol. 90, no. 1, 17 Feb. 2014, p. 66.
