iBooks

Apple now adding 1 million new iBooks users per week and other new stats

In spite of accusations that it conspired with major U.S. publishers to raise prices of electronic books on its iBooks Store, resulting in a $450 million settlement, the iPhone maker is now adding new iBooks customers at a clip of about one million per week.

This data point, along with many other interesting tidbits related to the state of Apple's e-publishing efforts, was publicized Thursday on Twitter by Keith Moerer, Apple's Director of iBooks Store.

Apple puts into effect 14-day return policy on digital purchases in Europe

Apple typically handles refunds of digital purchases on a case-by-case basis and with an “All Sales Final” provision. But now, Apple's reportedly switched to a 14-day return policy for movies, TV shows, music, books and apps in most European markets, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and France, German blog iFun.de [Google Translate] reported Monday.

Apple's updated policy in these countries states that customers can now cancel their digital purchase within fourteen days from when they received their receipt “without giving any reason,” with the exception of iTunes Match, Season Pass, Multi-Pass and iTunes Gift Cards and Allowances that can't be refunded once you have redeemed the code or activated the service.

Court gives Apple final approval for e-book settlement with consumers

During a hearing Friday in Manhattan, a United States judge gave Apple final approval to pay $450 million to settle claims that it conspired with five publishers to raise e-book prices on the iBooks Store.

Reuters reports that Judge Cote approved what she called an “unusual” accord. The ruling came after Apple in July agreed to pay big bucks to settle price fixing allegations that the government and class action lawyers leveled against the Cupertino firm.

OS X Yosemite Interactive Starter Guide

Looking for a a quick way to get up to speed on all of OS X Yosemite's most outstanding features? Our OS X Yosemite Interactive Starter Guide is a visual tool to help you become quickly acclimated with some of Yosemite’s most notable new additions, improvements, and changes.

Each item showcased includes a hand-crafted video walkthrough with guided voice over. More importantly, it’s designed to be easily digestible.

You may have noticed that over the past few weeks, we've posted excerpts from the guide right here on iDB. In fact, you can read all of its excerpts by visiting the guide's tag page. Of course, you also have the option to buy the OS X Yosemite Interactive Starter Guide directly from the iBooks store for only $0.99. Not only do you get a guide that you can take with you and reference while offline, but you also get to support iDB in the process. It's a win-win scenario. Check inside for more details.

Apple acquires book recommendation startup BookLamp

During Apple's quarterly earnings conference call on Tuesday, Tim Cook said that the company has acquired 5 companies in the last 4 months, not including Beats electronics. We've known about two of the purchases, Spotsetter and LuxVue, and today we add a third.

TechCrunch is reporting that Apple recently acquired BookLamp, a startup based out of Boise, Idaho, that developed big data-style book analytics services. Described as "Pandora for books," the service recommends books through digital analysis of author writing styles...

Apple reaches settlement in $840 million e-books antitrust lawsuit

Apple has settled with U.S. states and consumers that were seeking damages for alleged price fixing on e-books, protecting itself from a trial where it could have faced up to $840 million in claims. Bloomberg was first to report on the news, claiming that a trial had been set for July after Apple was found to be conspiring with book publishers to raise e-book prices as part of an illegal scheme… 

App Store, iTunes and iBooks are down for some users [update: it’s back to normal]

There are multiple reports on Twitter and elsewhere indicating that the App Store, iTunes and iBooks services are either down or functioning erratically. The downtime appears to be affecting users in the United States, Sweden and possibly other regions. On top of that, the App Store appears to be loading incorrectly for some users as well. Hit the break for the latest updates… 

Apple releases iBooks version of its ‘iOS Human Interface Guidelines’

Last night, Apple published an iBooks version of its 'iOS Human Interface Guidelines.' The move is notable because until now you could only access the user interface guidelines for iOS 7 via the developer portal, which required a $99-per-year membership.

For those unfamiliar with the document, the guidelines are essentially Apple's suggestions to developers for designing their iOS applications. The goal is to ensure that all 3rd party apps share similar UI principles, so that they're both cohesive and intuitive...

Judge grants class action status to e-book suit against Apple

Reuters is reporting that a federal judge has granted 'class action' status to plaintiffs suing Apple over its collusion with book publishers to increase the price of e-books. The ruling allows the involved individuals to sue the company and collect damages as a group.

The decision came from U.S. District Judge Denise Cote, who also presided over the antitrust case against Apple by the DOJ last summer. Cote says the plaintiffs had "more than met their burden" to file as a group, and has green-lighted their $800 million lawsuit...

Eddy Cue calls out inaccuracy in new post-Jobs Apple book

Early reviews are out for former WSJ writer Yukari Kane’s new book on post-Jobs Apple: 'Haunted Empire' ($14.99 in the iBooks Store), and they aren't good. Many readers believe that Kane fails to make her obvious preconceived point that Apple is doomed, and doesn't even appear to try.

Even Tim Cook had something to say about the book, telling CNBC yesterday that "this nonsense belongs with some of the other books I’ve read about Apple." And today, another executive has spoken out. SVP Eddy Cue says that the epic 'pen' story Kane tells in her book never happened...

Apple files for appeal in e-book antitrust case

Apple filed the necessary papers yesterday afternoon to appeal the the 'guilty' verdict from its e-book antitrust case last summer. The company told a federal appeals court in New York that the decision was a "radical departure" from modern antitrust law.

For those that missed it, U.S. District Court Judge Denise Cote found Apple guilty of colluding with major book publishers to manipulate the prices of e-books. As a result, the iPad-maker faces 100s of millions of dollars and fines and other repercussions...