5:00 PM, Monday, March 8th, 2010 - Posted by Chuck Moore
Creator's Edge Press has officially signed a contract with the digital content platform company Graphic.ly. Graphic.ly will present all of Creator's Edge properties to the online comic enthusiast as soon as their books are released. "While we as a company are firm believers in producing comics the classic way, we realize it is not a sound strategy to omit digital comics from our gameplan. Instead we are embracing the technology through our partnership with Graphic.ly and will strive to present all of our material online soon after the release of our books" said Chuck Messinger, Marketing Director and founder of Creator's Edge Press. The company will have their first three books available at Emerald City Comicon, and more than 30 other properties scheduled to hit the shelves in 2010.
Graphic.ly is a cutting-edge digital content delivery system and community platform for the publishing world. Graphic.ly's first product focuses on comic publishers, creators and enthusiasts, and provides an immersive social experience and marketplace around digital comics and associated merchandise. The company is looking to expand its community and content platform and become the de facto solution for print media. Graphic.ly recently made headlines by acquiring iFanboy, best known as one of the leading online communities for comic book and graphic novel enthusiasts. With the acquisition, iFanboy becomes a division of Graphic.ly, and will be integrated into the Graphic.ly Web site, as well as into the various platforms and applications Graphic.ly runs on, such as Windows 7, Adobe Air and the iPhone.
12:45 PM, Sunday, March 7th, 2010 - Posted by Chuck Moore
Apple has announced today they will be taking pre-orders for the first round of iPads at the Apple Online Store (along with reservations for pickup at your local Apple Retail Store) starting March 12th with an expected street date of April 3rd.
This will most likely be the basic, non-3G models, but it will represent the first chance for customers to experiment with reading CBR, CBZ or PDF based comics on a handheld reader in a full page format. Start with the iPad, mix it with the host of digital comics currently on sale via sites like ComicsXP and DriveThruComics and marry it up with existing readers within the iTunes store like MyComics (for CBR and CBZ) or GoodReader (PDF) and, if the stars align, we could very well be reading comics (full screen and in color) on the device in a very short time.
2:00 PM, Saturday, March 6th, 2010 - Posted by John Wilson
We've been dying to know more about Microsoft's Courier tablet / e-book device ever since we first caught wind of it last September, and while our entreaties to Mr. Ballmer went unanswered, we just learned some very interesting information from an extremely trusted source. We're told Courier will function as a "digital journal," and it's designed to be seriously portable: it's under an inch thick, weighs a little over a pound, and isn't much bigger than a 5x7 photo when closed. That's a lot smaller than we expected -- this new picture really puts it into perspective -- and the internals apparently reflect that emphasis on mobility: rather than Windows 7, we're told the Courier is built on Tegra 2 and runs on the same OS as the Zune HD, Pink, and Windows Mobile 7 Series, which we're taking to mean Windows CE 6.
As we've heard, the interface appears to be pen-based and centered around drawing and writing, with built-in handwriting recognition and a corresponding web site that allows access to everything entered into the device in a blog-like format complete with comments. We're also hearing that there will be a built-in camera, and there's a headphone jack for media playback. Most interestingly, it looks like the Courier will also serve as Microsoft's e-book device, with a dedicated ecosystem centered around reading. It all sounds spectacular, but all we have for a launch date is "Q3 / Q4", and we have no idea how much it's going to cost, so we're trying to maintain a healthy skepticism until any of this gets official -- call us any time, Microsoft. One more pic showing the interface after the break.
12:00 PM, Friday, March 5th, 2010 - Posted by Brant Fowler
According to Digital Spy, Rob Liefeld has signed with digital comics firm Comixology, giving them exclusive digital rights to his creator-owned works. So this means, through Comixology's iPhone app, fans will be able to read Youngblood and other works from Liefeld on your handhelds.
"I wanted to launch Youngblood with an exclusive relationship with comiXology because I believe that they can provide the extra push that a launch like this requires," Liefeld told Newsarama.
"Everyone at comiXology has been very supportive and enthusiastic about getting Youngblood as well as the rest of the Awesome/Extreme catalog online. Hopes are high that this relationship leads to more online comics."
The remastered Youngblood #1 is available for free, and additional issues of the series can be purchased for $.99.
Liefeld will also be launching a new comic exclusively through Comixology (digital only) in the near future.
10:00 AM, Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010 - Posted by Chuck Moore
ASUS is entering the e-reader game and we here at CR keep our radar up for comic possibilities. Thought this one is monotone a limited in its digital comic viability, it's always good to take a look.
ASUS first e-reader will be the DR-900. It's reported to be a 9-inch slab that boasts Wi-Fi with a 3G option, a battery that will carry you through 10,000 pages and should support PDF, TXT, MP3 and ePUB files right out of the gate.
1:00 PM, Saturday, February 27th, 2010 - Posted by Chuck Moore
Following the global success of the Wallace & Gromit iPhone comic app, Titan Publishing is proud to announce the arrival of its first TRANSFORMERS iPhone comic. Launching yesterday, 26 February, and based on Hasbro's TRANSFORMERS brand, each TRANSFORMERS comic download includes an awesome action packed story and is bursting with fun facts and trivia about the characters, movies and comics!
The digital comic is free and can be downloaded for iPhone by visiting www.titanpublishing.com/digital or the app store (comics are available in the UK and EIRE only.) The first download includes OPTIMUS PRIME, a story written by TRANSFORMERS legend Simon Furman and featuring artwork by fan favourite Geoff Senior (Judge Dredd, 2000AD, Dr Who and Dragons Claws).
TRANSFORMERS Comic writer, Simon Furman said "TRANSFORMERS on your iPhone - wow! It's a simply incredible chance for fans of the warring ROBOTS IN DISGUSE to experience incredible stories that expand upon and underpin the incredible movie universe. The stories, written by me and drawn by a host of old and new TRANSFORMERS artists, bring the movie characters to life as never before, and now they can be seen as never before! So get ready for tales of CYBERTRON and Earth that spotlight your favourite characters... and probably a few you know only by name... beamed direct to your iPhone."
TRANSFORMERS Comic #1 is available to download for FREE on iPhone via www.titanpublishing.com/digital. There'll be more TRANSFORMERS comic stories released over the coming weeks so check back soon!
12:00 PM, Sunday, February 21st, 2010 - Posted by John Wilson
Over the last few days we've been tracking Apple's recent decision to remove all sexual content from the App Store. It's an alarming move on Apple's part, if only because it shows that the company is willing to throw developers (and their livelihoods) under the bus without any notice at all. Now developers are left wondering: just what exactly is allowed on the App Store? As it turns out, the new policy may be even more restrictive than it first appeared.
Earlier this week, when Apple notified developers that their applications were being removed, it said that it was removing applications with "overtly sexual content". That sounds like the ban only extends to apps that are little more than soft core porn. But we're hearing from multiple developers that it actually means anything that could be even the slightest bit titillating in any way — including swimsuits and fitness outfits. In short, if your app has skin, it will probably be rejected.
One developer, who wished to remain anonymous, spoke to multiple App Store reviewers about the new policy. He was told, "there will be no more applications that are for any purpose of excitement or titillation". He was told this included swimsuits — both bikinis and one-piece suits. Along with having dozens of his "sexy" apps removed, Apple also removed one that featured a popular fitness model in her workout clothes (the app was a marketing vehicle for the athlete's line of protein powder). When he asked if the ban would also affect apps like Sports Illustrated's swimsuit application, the Apple employee wouldn't give a clear answer, but it was implied that the SI app would probably be removed as well.
Developer Jon Atherton, who is behind the popular application Wobble (which doesn't actually include any sexual photos), also spoke to an Apple employee, and posted this list of rules to his blog based on what he learned:
1. No images of women in bikinis (Ice skating tights are not OK either)
2. No images of men in bikinis! (I didn't ask about Ice Skating tights for men)
3. No skin (he seriously said this) (I asked if a Burqa was OK, and the Apple guy got angry)
4. No silhouettes that indicate that Wobble can be used for wobbling boobs (yes - I am serious, we have to remove the silhouette in this pic)
5. No sexual connotations or innuendo: boobs, babes, booty, sex - all banned
6. Nothing that can be sexually arousing!! (I doubt many people could get aroused with the pic above but those puritanical guys at Apple must get off on pretty mundane things to find Wobble "overtly sexual!)
7. No apps will be approved that in any way imply sexual content (not sure how Playboy is still in the store, but ...)
4:00 PM, Saturday, February 20th, 2010 - Posted by John Wilson
Will Hulu come to the iPad? Probably. One day. But you had better get ready to pay for it.
Hulu and its owners, three of the big broadcast TV networks, want to bring some version of the Web video service to Apple's device.
But the most likely scenario is one in which access to Hulu on the iPad comes as part of a subscription package, multiple people familiar with the company tell me.
Hulu has been free for Web users since it launched in 2008. But its broadcast owners-GE's (GE) NBC Universal, News Corp.'s (NWS) Fox and Disney's (DIS) ABC-have repeatedly said they want to introduce some sort of premium version.
Depending on who you talk to, the pay service is either supposed to help the money-losing Web site turn a profit or compensate the networks for the eyeballs and dollars Hulu is supposedly siphoning away. Or both.
The problem is figuring out a way to keep the existing site free while adding new bells and whistles that consumers pay for. One idea the company and its backers like: Turning Hulu from a "one screen" service-one you're only supposed to watch on your computer-to a "three screen" offering by adding support for TVs and mobile devices.
"Just three screens alone is pretty enticing," for consumers, says an executive at one of Hulu's parent companies.
If you want, you can hook up your computer to your big-screen TV with a cable and watch Hulu that way. But Hulu hasn't aligned itself with devices and software that make the process easier, as Netflix (NFLX) has. Meanwhile, there's no Hulu for devices like Apple's iPhone, even though rival YouTube, owned by Google's (GOOG), loves smartphones.
And while you could argue that the iPad isn't necessarily a mobile device, since 3G Internet access is an optional feature, Hulu and the broadcasters that own it are likely to classify it as one. Like many other content owners, the video service sees the device as an opportunity to charge for something it has been giving away on the Web.
1:00 PM, Thursday, February 18th, 2010 - Posted by Chuck Moore
Continuing with their popular line of comic book apps on the iPhone, Dark Horse, in partnership with LucasFilm and THQ, announces that Star Wars: Legacy Vol. 3 is now live in the iTunes store! Legacy Vol. 3 is on-sale for only $1.99 for a limited time, before it will go to a $3.99 price-point.
As well, Dark Horse is launching Star Wars: Boba Fett - Agent of Doom on Monday, Feb. 15th, on-sale for only $0.99 for a limited time before going to a $1.99 price-point.
2:00 PM, Saturday, February 13th, 2010 - Posted by John Wilson
Wired Magazine Editor-in-Chief Chris Anderson announced at the Technology,
Entertainment and Design conference on Friday that the publication would be
releasing its content for the iPad by summer.
The first iPads are expected to be available at the end of March. TED
attendees got a demonstration - on a what looked like a supersized iPad - of how
their future reading experience would look with the March issue of Wired
magazine.
"I'm from the media world," Anderson told the audience "and as you may have
heard, we have lots of questions about our future. The good news I think we
found part of the answer.... We think this is a game changer."
Anderson said the iPad allows periodicals for the first time to do digital
content with all of the same values and artistic range that are the hallmark of
print magazines. Wired Creative Director Scott Dadich worked with Jeremy Clark
from Adobe (above) over the last six months to design the Wired iPad Magazine.
Aside from a technical glitch that halted the demo at one point, Clark moved
smoothly through pages, horizontally and vertically. Readers can sift through
the contents horizontally and when they find an article they want to read, touch
and drag their finger on the first page vertically to browse through the pages
up and down. They can also turn the device horizontally to take advantage of the
automatically-rotating display to view two pages side by side like a magazine
and zoom out to see thumbnails of the content all at once.
The device allows for integrated media so readers can read a product review
and touch a photo to jump into a video of the product. Advertisements can also
be interactive. Clark touched a Camaro ad to flip it around 360 degrees.
Among the other advantages: Wired magazine print readers pay $40 in Canada
and a whopping $70 for other international addresses. Anderson said nothing of
pricing, but a digital subscription would likely be considerably less.
We've been dying to know more about Microsoft's Courier tablet / e-book device ever since we first caught wind of it last September, and while our entreaties to Mr. Ballmer went unanswered, we just learned some very interesting information from an extremely trusted source. We're told Courier will function as a "digital journal," and it's designed to be seriously portable: it's under an inch thick, weighs a little over a pound, and isn't much bigger than a 5x7 photo when closed. That's a lot smaller than we expected -- this new picture really puts it into perspective -- and the internals apparently reflect that emphasis on mobility: rather than Windows 7, we're told the Courier is built on Tegra 2 and runs on the same OS as the Zune HD, Pink, and Windows Mobile 7 Series, which we're taking to mean Windows CE 6.
"I wanted to launch Youngblood with an exclusive relationship with comiXology because I believe that they can provide the extra push that a launch like this requires," Liefeld told Newsarama. 
removing applications with "overtly sexual content". That sounds like the ban only extends to apps that are little more than soft core porn. But we're hearing from multiple developers that it actually means anything that could be even the slightest bit titillating in any way — including swimsuits and fitness outfits. In short, if your app has skin, it will probably be rejected.
