Software : Kindle Unlimited looks a lot like Netflix subscription for ebooks |
- Kindle Unlimited looks a lot like Netflix subscription for ebooks
- Analysis: Why Apple is using IBM as a Trojan Horse to crack the enterprise market
- Google search isn't a default option on some Lumia phones
| Kindle Unlimited looks a lot like Netflix subscription for ebooks Posted:  Read a lot of ebooks? Amazon customers may soon have access to more than 600,000 such titles for one low monthly subscription fee, judging from several test web pages spotted on the e-tailer's site. GigaOM today reported that Amazon may be planning to become the Netflix of ebooks, judging from mistakenly leaked product pages advertising a new subscription service called Kindle Unlimited. The pages in question were first spotted by publishers and readers on the Kindle Boards early Wednesday, although most of that evidence vanished from Amazon's website as quickly as it first appeared. Thankfully, Google Cache has come to the rescue, allowing those cached pages to be called up from the great beyond for further scrutiny ahead of Amazon officially launching the all-you-can-eat ebook subscription service. Freedom to exploreOne such screenshot touts "unlimited access to over 600,000 titles and thousands of audiobooks on any device for just $9.99 (about UK£6, AU$11) a month," which sounds a lot like what competing ebook subscription services Scribd and Oyster already offer. For the moment, available Kindle Unlimited content appears to be flush with titles already available through the Kindle Owners' Lending Library, which allows Amazon Prime subscribers who also own one of the e-tailer's hardware tablets to "borrow" one ebook free each month. Conspicuously absent from the test pages, however, are major publishers like Simon & Schuster or HarperCollins, both of whom already offer titles to Amazon's subscription-based competitors. One web page entitled "KU Test" which is still live at this writing displays a total of 638,416 available ebook titles, plus another 7,351 Whispersync for Voice-enabled audiobooks, which could offer Amazon a competitive edge over rivals.
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| Analysis: Why Apple is using IBM as a Trojan Horse to crack the enterprise market Posted:  Apple and IBM have announced that they will team up in what they call an "exclusive partnership" that marries the best of Apple's hardware with IBM's software and services expertise. The move was welcomed by the stock markets with IBM's shares up by nearly 2% and Apple's gaining 1.72%. It also bears some similarities with a deal struck 33 years ago that saw Microsoft piggyback on IBM's PC platform to become the giant it is today. Clearly, though, the two companies complement rather than compete with each other with very little, if any overlap. Broadly, Apple will use IBM as a medium to crack the elusive enterprise market while Big Blue will get privileged (but not exclusive) access to the iOS ecosystem. Apple, for all its consumer clout, is still a minor player in the enterprise market where BlackBerry's domination is already ebbing away. With slowing growth, growing pressures on margins and increasing competition, it was only a matter of time before it looked elsewhere. Add the slew of announcements by Google and Samsung for the enterprise stack and it is clear that something had to be done to prevent Android from owning that lucrative segment. Good move for IBMAs for IBM, having shed its less profitable business units (like its entry-level server range sold to Lenovo), it has embarked on a number of bold moves, with a clear focus on big data, business analytics, cloud computing and mobility. Its current CEO, Virginia Rometty, is tied to the financial roadmap set out by her predecessor, Sam Palmisano. He said that by 2015, IBM would deliver at least $20 a share with $70 billion returned to shareholders - and not reaching these expectations could have dire consequences. The company will commit human and financial resources to deliver iOS-specific cloud services as well as create more than 100 industry-specific enterprise solutions exclusively for Apple's iOS devices (Big Blue usually supports Nokia Symbian, BlackBerry, Android and Windows Phone as well). This will be done via its MobileFirst platform, one of what IBM calls one of a quarter of building bricks of enterprise mobile solutions, the other three being the apps themselves. They're made up of mobile service and support and are handled jointly by IBM and Apple as part of a packaged service offerings offered by IBM. That said, Apple is unlikely to prevent IBM rivals, such as Oracle, Microsoft or SAP from developing similar solutions on iOS for the enterprise market. In fact, it is likely to encourage them to come up with their own versions of MobileFirst as soon as possible to profit from the rise in interest in mobile enterprise solution generated by the announcement. The winner? Apple.Apple, it seems, will be the one benefitting the most from the partnership, with IBM doing the lion's share of the heavy-lifting. The deal gives it access to an enterprise expertise that's second to none, and 100,000 IBM-backed industry and domain consultants and software developers will act as salespersons for its iPhones and iPads. Setting up something similar would have cost Apple billions in terms of investment and taken years, not to mention the risks involved and a potential shareholder revolt. A partnership with IBM is therefore safer, cheaper, faster and will allow Apple to learn more about businesses. Who knows, both may even merge to create the world's first trillion dollar company. We wouldn't be surprised if, despite recently published comments, BlackBerry decided to side with the lesser of two evils and embrace Android, something it has already been doing by supporting native Android apps (or Oracle could buy it). Apple and IBM will be holding their respective earnings calls over the next few days and it is likely that they will elaborate more on yesterday's announcement. Rometty also said that the alliance wants to bring the same level of transformation to the way people work as Apple did in the consumer market. For all the excitement that the partnership has generated, one would struggle to fathom the disappointment it would cause if both do not deliver on their promises. |
| Google search isn't a default option on some Lumia phones Posted:  Microsoft is preventing some Windows Phone users from accessing Google as the default search engine in Internet Explorer. Owners of new, unlocked Nokia Lumia 930 and Lumia 630 handsets shipping with Windows Phone 8.1 are apparently unable to switch from Bing to Google within the Internet Explorer app. Previously, The Verge reports, WP users were able to choose default search engines in IE, but the Lumia 930 and 630 are the first to ship since the Microsoft-acquisition was finalised. That would give credence to the suggestion it's a deliberate move from Microsoft rather than an oversight. ClarityAccording to the report, other devices that have been updated to Windows Phone 8.1 this week are not experiencing the same issues and can still select Google as a search client within Internet Explorer. Some European unlocked Lumia 930 and Lumia 630 handsets still have the option enabled, adding an extra layer of mystery to the proceedings. Until Microsoft clarifies, no-one can be sure. TechRadar asked the folks in Redmond what gives and will update this article should we hear back. |
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