Microsoft eBook Refunds Are Coming in July - The Digital Reader

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when he heard clapping and cheering outside the Panzermobile. Following all the noise, our inquisitive kitty found himself at The Digital Reader site. With a little digging he found a post about the Microsoft ebookstore and the ebook rebates. Panzer told you about the Microsoft ebookstore's closing back in April.

It's about time.

According to The Digital Reader site owner Nate Hoffelder, an email sent out by Microsoft says the official closing of the Microsoft ebookstore will be in July. Users won't be able to access their ebooks after the beginning of July. The email also says users will receive refunds in July for the ebooks they purchased and can no longer access. There's a link in the post to the Microsoft FAQ for information about the closing and refunds.

Panzer says, "It took long enough for them to start the refund process. Human's just don't understand cats have no patience. We want it now."

Note: This is a short post. Bring a cup of tea for today's reading. If you plan to follow the link for the FAQ, bring another cup of tea and two muffins.

To read the post tootle over to Microsoft refund

To read the post about the Microsoft ebookstore's closing, tootle over to Microsoft ebookstore

Microsoft is Closing Its eBookstore (Again) -The Digital Reader

Panzer was tootling around just enjoying the quiet, when he decided to stop in at The Digital Reader site. With a little leisurely digging in the posts, our inquisitive kitty found one about Microsoft.

They didn't put much effort into it.

According to The Digital Reader site owner Nate Hoffelder, Microsoft has decided to close down the ebook section of the Microsoft Store. According to the company's customer email notification quoted in the post, the ebook section closed April 2. Ebooks will no longer be accessible in July. There's a link in the post to more information about the closing.

Panzer says, "It's no surprise to this little kitty they closed down."

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Microsoft

Will Walmart's eBook Gift Card Effort Succeed? - Bookworks

Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to the Bookworks site. There our speedy kitty pilot found a post about the new Walmart ebook gift cards. Panzer told you about Walmart and Kobo's recent partnership to sell ebooks and ereaders at Walmart stores and at the new online store.

Maybe it will work this time.

Nate Hoffelder's Bookworks post examines Walmart's newest entry into the ebook gift card arena. The post includes a brief history of the ebook gift card. Turns out according to the history that this isn't Walmart's first time selling ebook gift cards. The company first jumped into the market in 2014 in Canadian Walmart stores and continued selling the gift cards into 2017. The history section includes several links to sites for more information about ebook gift cards. The gift cards available in the new U.S. Walmart stores are carried in a special section of the store. Each ebook gift card can only be used for a specific book. The post also includes photos of the store shelves to show how the cards are displayed.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... This little kitty isn't sure if the ebook gift cards will work except for birthdays and Christmas gifts."

Note: This is a h-u-g-e post. Bring Half a thermos of tea and three muffins for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Walmart

To read the post about the Walmart and Kobo eBookstore partnership tootle over to Walmart eBookstore

Walmart's eBookstore is Launching Today - The Digital Reader

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when he heard clapping and cheering outside. Following all the jocularity took our traveling kitty pilot to The Digital Reader site. With no digging at all he discovered a post about the Walmart and Kobo ebookstore partnership he told you about last month.

Will this one succeed?

According to site owner Nate Hoffelder, Walmart's partnership with Kobo begins today with the opening of the new Walmart eBookstore. The ebookstore will be available from Walmart's website and from Kobo's website. The regular Walmart stores will have a special section to sell Kobo's Aura ereader and gift cards to be used to buy ebooks, audiobooks and subscriptions. Kobo will manage the ebookstore for Walmart. There are several links in the post including two to reports of past failures by others of similar sites.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... This little kitty is wondering who decides which ebooks get sold in the ebookstore."

Note: This is a long post. Bring a cup of tea and two muffins for today's reading selection. If you decide to follow all the links, bring two extra cups of tea and half a dozen muffins.

To read the post tootle over to Walmart ebookstore

To read Panzer's earlier post tootle over to Walmart and Kobo

Walmart and Kobo Are Launching Their Joint eBookstore on 21 August - The Digital Reader

Panzer didn't even get a chance to get any dinner before he heard clapping and cheering coming from the Catosphere. Jumping into the Panzermobile it didn't take our inquisitive kitty any time at all to find the source of all the noise was The Digital Reader site. With no digging he found a post about Walmart and Kobo.

A cat's work is never done.

According to The Digital Reader site owner Nate Hoffelder, Kobo will begin selling ebooks through Walmart on August 21. There are two links provided for Walmart which appear to place-holder pages. One will be for the ebookstore and the other for Kobo devices. There's a third link which goes to the kboard site where there's a leaked announcement about the Kobo ebooks at Walmart.

Panzer says, "Humans don't seem to understand that unlike cats they can't keep a secret."

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Walmart and Kobo

Microsoft Quietly Rolls Out Its E-Bookstore - Publishers Weekly

That was a fun holiday weekend!

Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to the Publishers Weekly site. There our traveling kitty boy found a post about Microsoft's e-bookstore.

According to the post by Calvin Reid, Windows 10 users have access to Microsoft's new e-bookstore. In April of last year Microsoft and Ingram Content Group launched the e-bookstore. The e-bookstore currently only offers traditional publishers ebooks. Readers can read online or download the ebooks.

Panzer says, "This little kitty wonders when they'll open their doors to indie authors."

Note: This is a short-medium post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Microsoft e-Bookstore

Pearson Closes DRM - Free eBookstore, Will Delete All eBooks From Customers' Account - The Digital Reader

Today, Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when he heard crying and wailing. Flowing all the noise took our brave kitty boy to The Digital Reader site. There he found a post about Pearson's ebookstore closing.

The post by The Digital Reader founder Nate Hoffelder states Pearson intends to close their MyPearsonStore.com DRM-free ebookstore on April 30, 2018, Customers need to download their ebook purchases before then as all customer accounts and purchases will be deleted on that date. There's a copy of Pearson's announcement included in The Digital Reader post.

One less online bookstore.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Another online ebookstore closes their doors."

Note: This is a short post. Bring a cup of tea and half a muffin for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to Pearson eBookstore

Co-Branded Kindle X Migu Launches in China, Has Two eBookstores - The Digital Reader

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when he heard cheering and clapping coming from ahead of the Panzermobile. Following all the noise, took our kitty explorer to The Digital Reader site. With just a little digging he discovered news about Amazon's new endeavor in China.

That was a long trip and I am so tired.

According to the post by site owner Nate Hoffelder, on July 10 the new Kindle X Migu will be available in China. The Kindle X Migu is a product of the Amazon and China Mobile partnership. The Kindle X Migu is a basic Kindle with a comparable 658 yuan ($96.21 USD) price to the basic U.S. Kindle. One of the differences between the two is that the Kindle X Migu gives users access to two ebookstores. The Kindle X Migu users can shop the half million ebooks in the Chinese Kindle ebookstore or the 40 million serial ebooks in the MiGu ebookstore.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... If it happened once ... Maybe it will happen again."

Note: This is a medium post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin and a chocolate chip cookie (biscuit) for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to Kindle X Migu

Yahoo Japan Outsources its eBookstore - The Digital Reader

Today, Panzer made a quick trip to The Digital Reader site. There our speedy kitty found a post about Yahoo.

An ebookstore? I didn't know about that.

According to the post by site owner Nate Hoffelder, Yahoo Japan is outsourcing the management and marketing of its ebook store to Ebook Initiative Japan. In the post Mr. Hoffelder states the outsourcing makes sense based on Yahoo's pending sale to Verizon. The post includes a link to Yahoo Japan's press release; however,  it's in Japanese.

Panzer says, "This little kitty is wondering what will happen to Yahoo after the sale to Verizon goes through."

Note: This is a short post. Bring half a cup of tea for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to Yahoo Japan Outsources its eBookstore