Ebooks and Information Retention

A new study from West Chester University suggests that ebooks negatively effect how much information readers actually retain. Out of a small group of middle school students, WCU professors Heather Schugar and Jordan Schugar found that that students who read ebooks retained less information than the students who read the same content in print books.

The Schugars compared reading ebooks to watching a PowerPoint presentation: all flash, distracting from the message. One college student noted that reading ebooks can allow for more distractions due to access to Facebook and other online offerings. However, other students noted that ebooks are far more affordable, and they allow students to search for specific terms when studying.

Read more information on the West Chester study here.

Meanwhile, a new Harris Interactive poll shows that the majority of Americans read ebooks (54%). Two thirds of millenials read ebooks. The most interesting figure for me is that the Americans who read at least some ebooks tend to read more books per year overall, as opposed to people who just read print books.

Divergent by Veronica Routh (HarperCollins) was the top ebook bestseller for the week of April 12.

Amazon and Samsung Tag Team

Amazon and Samsung have teamed up to offer a great service for Samsung device owners: a free Kindle ebook each month. Samsung Book Deals lets Samsung phone or tablet owners choose from a selection of four ebooks each month, for the Kindle for Samsung app. The move is a win/win for both companies: Samsung is distancing itself from Google Play apps with its own Kindle for Samsung app, and Amazon is increasing its range by providing its content through Samsung devices and its full roster of tablets. 

Other interesting services: Whispersync, which allows the reader to quickly synchronize the last page read across multiple devices, and Time to Read, which estimates how quickly the user can finish a chapter or book. Time to Read is really intriguing to me; this is technology that could be applied to educational publishing to help students.

Amazon and B&N Refunds

If you've recently received an email from Barnes & Noble or Amazon about a refund, you're not alone. Consumers who purchased ebooks between April 2010 and May 2012 are receiving store credits based on the number of ebooks purchased. Credits are also higher if any of the ebooks were bestsellers. 

The credits come as part of the fallout from the 2012 ebook price-fixing class action lawsuit involving Apple and the five major publishers. The publishers were accused of conspiring with Apple to raise ebook prices. As part of the settlement, the publishers have allowed the credits to be issued for any ebook purchases during that time period. Apple is appealing the ruling.

The credits were issued at the end of March. Check your inbox to see if you've received any emails from Amazon or B&N about the settlement. The credits can only be used on ebooks or print books, and they won't last forever: B&N's will expire on April 1, 2015, while Amazon's will expire on March 31, 2015.