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While the debate about the future of ebooks rages on, with authors and book publishers alike concerned about how a well-worn business model is rapidly changing, a new academic study claims that giving away free electronic versions of your books can boost sales of the printed version. The study has been conducted by John Hilton , a doctoral candidate in Instructional Psychology and Technology at Brigham Young University who is researching issues around open education and open access. Free ebooks for all Hilton coauthored a study published in The Journal of Electronic Publishing titled ” The Short-Term Influence of Free Digital Versions of Books on Print Sales ,” where he and his colleagues examined Bookscan sales for dozens of print titles before and after they were released online for free.

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Penguin has been demo’ing its latest range of Apple iPad friendly electronic books this week, with rumours flying around about the planned release of Apple’s latest uber-toy in the US later this month. Kid’s favourite Spot the Dog makes an appearance in the iPad books demo video which shows a mini-game where you can colour in Spot and another one where you shake up the iPad to mess up a room and then have to tidy it up. Which of course begs the question: “Are you seriously going to let your children play with your new expensive Apple toy?” Dogs, bodies, pads Dorling Kindersley is planning an iPad version of The Human Body whereby Apple fans can zoom in on different parts of the anatomy, for varying reasons of education, titillation and delight. Dorling Kindersley’s Starfinder lets you use the iPad’s built-in compass and GPS to let you point the device at the sky to identify stars. Which is clearly Very Cool.

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When the iPad was announced, cynics scoffed: “It’s just a big iPod touch!” It turns out that a big iPod Touch is exactly what a lot of people are waiting for, and not just so they can admire their achingly trendy reflections in its smudge-resistant glass. Here are 10 industries that the iPad would be ideal for. 1. Medicine With a wipe-clean surface and few nooks or crannies for brain matter or bodily fluids to get stuck in, the iPad’s form factor is ideal for medical applications.

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It’s a brave new frontier in reading. Gone are the days when people hauled around bits of dead trees with words written on them in ink. Okay, maybe those days aren’t over quite yet, but more people than ever are using e-readers of some sort. The question is can your eyes take it ? The consensus overall is that whatever you’re reading on, real damage to your vision is unlikely

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Google has launched a defence of its revamped plan to digitise out of print books, after criticism from a number of parties. The US Justice Department is recommending that an agreement reached by Google with the Authors Guild be rejected, as it may break antitrust and copyright laws. However, Google has stated this is not the case, arguing it has sought a new deal that satisfies nearly all the Justice Department’s recommendations from last year in a new amended settlement agreement (ASA).

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The world has been waiting impatiently for the day when Apple would finally spill all the details on its tablet – and it has finally arrived: the iPad . But is it all hype and no substance, or has Apple managed to once again release a game changing device onto the world? We give you all the information you need on Apple’s latest toy. 1. Coming to the UK

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Apple gave the publishing world the kick-start it needed today by announcing the iBooks app store for its brand-new Apple iPad. Already there are five publishers who have signed up to offer content to the iBooks store – including Penguin, Macmillion and Simon & Shuster. The books will be available in ePub form – a free and open e-book standard, by the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF). iTunes-like store As it did with the iPod and iTunes, Apple has blown apart a burgeoning sector of the market – ebooks and created something which is accessible to all. With the iPad, you will be able to change the font on ebooks, The store is very similar in the way iTunes looks.

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Is it time to burn your books? Hyped by the tech press, the ebook reader is yet to become a ‘must have’ gadget, but dropping prices, web browsing and the genre’s eco-friendly credentials could be about to spark genuine literary interest. Presenting a six to ten-inch screen, the eook reader’s primary skill is capacity. They’re able to hold around 1,000 books, and most are expandable using SD cards, though it’s important to understand how the market is divided. There’s basically two choices.

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There’s an untold bounty of awesome available on the Internet, and it’s all free, free, FREE! From applications and games to movie tickets and mattresses, we’ll show you what’s safe and steer you away from the unsavory As inhabitants of the Internet, we’ve become so inured to the hyperbolic advertising and questionable offers that we miss the incredible values that are ripe for the taking. If you know where to look, you can find all sorts of awesome stuff available for the low, low cost of $0. Whether you’re looking for a great image management app, free AAA games, or the proverbial free lunch, we can tell you where to find it. But wait, there’s more! We’ll also show you three things that seem free, but really aren’t

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We took a look at photo book service Blurb about a year ago, but now that there’s a version 2.5 of its BookSmart software out that’s fully Snow Leopard compatible, it’s worth revisiting. On the surface, not much looks to have changed. BookSmart is a photo book creation program that you download to your Mac and use to access the photos in your iPhoto Library. Drag and drop them into pre-designed page templates and when you’re ready, order your finished book from Blurb. You can even upload your book to the Blurb shop where you can sell it at a profit.

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