Simon & Schuster, the publisher behind Angels & Demons and He’s Just Not That Into You, has agreed to add its 5,000 e-book offerings to social publishing site Scribd. The books will be sold in the Scribd Store, which began beta tests last month. Unlike Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) in the case of the Kindle, Scribd lets the content owners keep 80 percent of the revenues from e-books sold through its store, which was one of the main attractions for Simon & Schuster, said Ellie Hirschhorn, EVP and chief digital officer for the book publisher, in an interview with paidContent. In addition to the 5,000 e-book titles, she noted, users will be able to browse through 7,000 Simon & Schuster books not currently available electronically. Consumers will be able to buy those physical books directly through Simon & Schuster’s own commerce site. More after the jump “The benefits of the deal with Scribd is two-fold,” Hirschhorn said. “We get to expand our distribution to Scribd’s 60 million users, plus we expect incremental revenue. As for the revenue split, we don’t talk about that specifically, but we always look at the margins as well as the marketing opportunity.” Although some titles in the Scribd store can be bought piecemeal—for example, the Lonely Planet community and travel guide site is selling single chapters starting at $2.50—Simon & Schuster will only be selling complete works. Prices will mirror that of the most recent print edition, but with Scribd’s 20 percent discount. At some point, the publisher may decide to sell smaller parts of books, such as single chapters. “One of the things we like is that Scribd offers us lots of flexibility to experiment with different pricing models,” the rep said. Overall, Simon & Schuster views its involvement with Scribd as still in the experimental stages. While it has deals with most of the major e-book distributors, such as Amazon’s Scrollmotions Iceberg Reader (app for the iTunes store), Sony (NYSE: SNE), Fictionwise (bn.com), eBooks.com and others, the company wants to ensure that that it establishes now as products like the Kindle have finally helped e-books gain some acceptance among general consumers. “The Kindle has done a great job of creating awareness, but we’re not betting on one single distribution point,” Hirschhorn said. “We want to be everywhere readers are, and being on Scribd helps us achieve that to a greater degree.”

Updated below to correct misinformation about the cover. I now have three Kindles in the house—K1, K2 and the brand-new DX. The first two are my own, nifty little money-making machines for Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) as I load them with newspapers, magazines, blogs and books, all paid for via the credit card linked to my account. I didn’t feel a compelling urge to own a DX; the device that arrived today is a 10-day loaner from Amazon with a promotional $30 added to my account for review purposes. Do I feel compelled to buy one now that I’ve been using it for a few hours? Far too soon to tell but it’s safe to say it’s a very different experience from its older, but smaller siblings. First take: people who want larger type and a Kindle will want to spend the extra money. Are there enough people like that out there to make a market? Probably not, but if Amazon and publishers learn how to capitalize on the size and expand the appeal, the market will grow. In order to be a hit, though, it will have to work for academia (a target market) and business. I’m still trying to get a feel for how it compares to the Plastic Logic e-reader I used briefly a few weeks ago but I’m quite certain this isn’t for the crowd that thinks an iPhone or some other smartphone is the ideal e-reader. —Packaging: Less elaborate than K1 but with the same cutesy “Once upon a time” on the pull tab. I initially thought it came with the cover, but it turns out this was just for reviewers. The cover actually costs $50, which means I probably would gerry-rig something much the way I did with K2 to avoid the extra expense. Unlike the second-gen Kindle, the DX comes with a cover. (Black, with a little Amazon Kindle name plate in case someone isn’t sure what they’re stealing.) Including it or at least a discount for one would be a smart move, especially with a list price of $489 for this super-sized Kindle compared with $359 for the K2. The DX clicks into the cover, which appears to close magnetically. —The device: It’s got the same sleek off-white-and-chrome look as the K2, which debuted in February. It’s just a little thicker but that bigger screen needs a bigger chassis and the weight might be too much for people who don’t like to hold a book with two hands. I wouldn’t toss this one into my bag for daily use the way I do the K2 and it definitely wouldn’t fit into my purse. (Well, most of them.) It’s roughly the size of my Sony (NYSE: SNE) Vaio TT sub-notebook, although much lighter. For a different sense of scale, the two earlier Kindles turned on their sides match the length and are only slightly longer than the width. —The screen: Big—9.7 inches of electric paper. It’s crisp and the images in 16 shades of gray are as elegant as etchings. Publishers will have to learn how to take advantage. I opened the current Kindle edition of The New Yorker on the DX expecting to see a full-screen version of the cover. What I saw was only a half-inch wider and longer than the K2 version, with nearly three inches of white space below and nearly 1.5 inches of empty space on either side. If the text can fill the whole screen, why can’t the cover? Some of the cartoons looked better in landscape. —Set up: Plug it in, turn it on if you’re a current Kindle user or you ordered it yourself, and start. If it’s a gift, you’ll need a computer, but I was able to see my archived books, get what I now expect is the usual personalized “Welcome Staci” message.  —Auto-rotate: When it works, the ability to turn the Kindle and have the text move with it is a great addition. It offers portrait, lnadscape or it can flip to be read from either hand, I’d imagine it especially will come in handy with textbooks.  But it took me a while to figure out that when text-to-read is enabled, the rotation doesn’t work. At least, that’s the way it’s working for me. I also ran into significant lag time. —Keyboard: The QWERTY domed keys are narrow, very small (the smallest of the three) and the font on the keys appears smaller. No more separate number keys. I found it very difficult to “thumb” type; maybe it will be easier for someone with bigger hands but then they’ll have a harder time using the keys. More after I use it for a bit. —Connectivity: On several occasions it took more than a minute for activity. Downloading an archived book went into a loop until I got so bored waiting for it to open I tried another task and went back to the home page to open the book. I’ve had some connectivity issues with the K2, something that rarely was an issue with the first-gen device.

Updated below to correct misinformation about the cover. I now have three Kindles in the house—K1, K2 and the brand-new DX. The first two are my own, nifty little money-making machines for Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) as I load them with newspapers, magazines, blogs and books, all paid for via the credit card linked to my account. I didn’t feel a compelling urge to own a DX; the device that arrived today is a 10-day loaner from Amazon with a promotional $30 added to my account for review purposes. Do I feel compelled to buy one now that I’ve been using it for a few hours? Far too soon to tell but it’s safe to say it’s a very different experience from its older, but smaller siblings. First take: people who want larger type and a Kindle will want to spend the extra money. Are there enough people like that out there to make a market? Probably not, but if Amazon and publishers learn how to capitalize on the size and expand the appeal, the market will grow. In order to be a hit, though, it will have to work for academia (a target market) and business. I’m still trying to get a feel for how it compares to the Plastic Logic e-reader I used briefly a few weeks ago but I’m quite certain this isn’t for the crowd that thinks an iPhone or some other smartphone is the ideal e-reader. —Packaging: Less elaborate than K1 but with the same cutesy “Once upon a time” on the pull tab. I initially thought it came with the cover, but it turns out this was just for reviewers. The cover actually costs $50, which means I probably would gerry-rig something much the way I did with K2 to avoid the extra expense. Unlike the second-gen Kindle, the DX comes with a cover. (Black, with a little Amazon Kindle name plate in case someone isn’t sure what they’re stealing.) Including it or at least a discount for one would be a smart move, especially with a list price of $489 for this super-sized Kindle compared with $359 for the K2. The DX clicks into the cover, which appears to close magnetically. —The device: It’s got the same sleek off-white-and-chrome look as the K2, which debuted in February. It’s just a little thicker but that bigger screen needs a bigger chassis and the weight might be too much for people who don’t like to hold a book with two hands. I wouldn’t toss this one into my bag for daily use the way I do the K2 and it definitely wouldn’t fit into my purse. (Well, most of them.) It’s roughly the size of my Sony (NYSE: SNE) Vaio TT sub-notebook, although much lighter. For a different sense of scale, the two earlier Kindles turned on their sides match the length and are only slightly longer than the width. —The screen: Big—9.7 inches of electric paper. It’s crisp and the images in 16 shades of gray are as elegant as etchings. Publishers will have to learn how to take advantage. I opened the current Kindle edition of The New Yorker on the DX expecting to see a full-screen version of the cover. What I saw was only a half-inch wider and longer than the K2 version, with nearly three inches of white space below and nearly 1.5 inches of empty space on either side. If the text can fill the whole screen, why can’t the cover? Some of the cartoons looked better in landscape. —Set up: Plug it in, turn it on if you’re a current Kindle user or you ordered it yourself, and start. If it’s a gift, you’ll need a computer, but I was able to see my archived books, get what I now expect is the usual personalized “Welcome Staci” message.  —Auto-rotate: When it works, the ability to turn the Kindle and have the text move with it is a great addition. It offers portrait, lnadscape or it can flip to be read from either hand, I’d imagine it especially will come in handy with textbooks.  But it took me a while to figure out that when text-to-read is enabled, the rotation doesn’t work. At least, that’s the way it’s working for me. I also ran into significant lag time. —Keyboard: The QWERTY domed keys are narrow, very small (the smallest of the three) and the font on the keys appears smaller. No more separate number keys. I found it very difficult to “thumb” type; maybe it will be easier for someone with bigger hands but then they’ll have a harder time using the keys. More after I use it for a bit. —Connectivity: On several occasions it took more than a minute for activity. Downloading an archived book went into a loop until I got so bored waiting for it to open I tried another task and went back to the home page to open the book. I’ve had some connectivity issues with the K2, something that rarely was an issue with the first-gen device.

Updated below to correct misinformation about the cover. I now have three Kindles in the house—K1, K2 and the brand-new DX. The first two are my own, nifty little money-making machines for Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) as I load them with newspapers, magazines, blogs and books, all paid for via the credit card linked to my account. I didn’t feel a compelling urge to own a DX; the device that arrived today is a 10-day loaner from Amazon with a promotional $30 added to my account for review purposes. Do I feel compelled to buy one now that I’ve been using it for a few hours? Far too soon to tell but it’s safe to say it’s a very different experience from its older, but smaller siblings. First take: people who want larger type and a Kindle will want to spend the extra money. Are there enough people like that out there to make a market? Probably not, but if Amazon and publishers learn how to capitalize on the size and expand the appeal, the market will grow. In order to be a hit, though, it will have to work for academia (a target market) and business. I’m still trying to get a feel for how it compares to the Plastic Logic e-reader I used briefly a few weeks ago but I’m quite certain this isn’t for the crowd that thinks an iPhone or some other smartphone is the ideal e-reader. —Packaging: Less elaborate than K1 but with the same cutesy “Once upon a time” on the pull tab. I initially thought it came with the cover, but it turns out this was just for reviewers. The cover actually costs $50, which means I probably would gerry-rig something much the way I did with K2 to avoid the extra expense. Unlike the second-gen Kindle, the DX comes with a cover. (Black, with a little Amazon Kindle name plate in case someone isn’t sure what they’re stealing.) Including it or at least a discount for one would be a smart move, especially with a list price of $489 for this super-sized Kindle compared with $359 for the K2. The DX clicks into the cover, which appears to close magnetically. —The device: It’s got the same sleek off-white-and-chrome look as the K2, which debuted in February. It’s just a little thicker but that bigger screen needs a bigger chassis and the weight might be too much for people who don’t like to hold a book with two hands. I wouldn’t toss this one into my bag for daily use the way I do the K2 and it definitely wouldn’t fit into my purse. (Well, most of them.) It’s roughly the size of my Sony (NYSE: SNE) Vaio TT sub-notebook, although much lighter. For a different sense of scale, the two earlier Kindles turned on their sides match the length and are only slightly longer than the width. —The screen: Big—9.7 inches of electric paper. It’s crisp and the images in 16 shades of gray are as elegant as etchings. Publishers will have to learn how to take advantage. I opened the current Kindle edition of The New Yorker on the DX expecting to see a full-screen version of the cover. What I saw was only a half-inch wider and longer than the K2 version, with nearly three inches of white space below and nearly 1.5 inches of empty space on either side. If the text can fill the whole screen, why can’t the cover? Some of the cartoons looked better in landscape. —Set up: Plug it in, turn it on if you’re a current Kindle user or you ordered it yourself, and start. If it’s a gift, you’ll need a computer, but I was able to see my archived books, get what I now expect is the usual personalized “Welcome Staci” message.  —Auto-rotate: When it works, the ability to turn the Kindle and have the text move with it is a great addition. It offers portrait, lnadscape or it can flip to be read from either hand, I’d imagine it especially will come in handy with textbooks.  But it took me a while to figure out that when text-to-read is enabled, the rotation doesn’t work. At least, that’s the way it’s working for me. I also ran into significant lag time. —Keyboard: The QWERTY domed keys are narrow, very small (the smallest of the three) and the font on the keys appears smaller. No more separate number keys. I found it very difficult to “thumb” type; maybe it will be easier for someone with bigger hands but then they’ll have a harder time using the keys. More after I use it for a bit. —Connectivity: On several occasions it took more than a minute for activity. Downloading an archived book went into a loop until I got so bored waiting for it to open I tried another task and went back to the home page to open the book. I’ve had some connectivity issues with the K2, something that rarely was an issue with the first-gen device.

I now have three Kindles in the house—K1, K2 and the brand-new DX. The first two are my own, nifty little money-making machines for Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) as I load them with newspapers, magazines, blogs and books, all paid for via the credit card linked to my account. I didn’t feel a compelling urge to own a DX; the device that arrived today is a 10-day loaner from Amazon with a promotional $30 added to my account for review purposes. Do I feel compelled to buy one now that I’ve been using it for a few hours? Far too soon to tell but it’s safe to say it’s a very different experience from its older, but smaller siblings. First take: people who want larger type and a Kindle will want to spend the extra money. Are there enough people like that out there to make a market? Probably not, but if Amazon and publishers learn how to capitalize on the size and expand the appeal, the market will grow. In order to be a hit, though, it will have to work for academia (a target market) and business. I’m still trying to get a feel for how it compares to the Plastic Logic e-reader I used briefly a few weeks ago but I’m quite certain this isn’t for the crowd that thinks an iPhone or some other smartphone is the ideal e-reader. —Packaging: Less elaborate than K1 but with the same cutesy “Once upon a time” on the pull tab. Unlike the second-gen Kindle, the DX comes with a cover. (Black, with a little Amazon Kindle name plate in case someone isn’t sure what they’re stealing.) Including it is a smart move, especially with a list price of $489 for this super-sized Kindle compared with $359 for the K2. The DX clicks into the cover, which appears to close magnetically. —The device: It’s got the same sleek off-white-and-chrome look as the K2, which debuted in February. It’s just a little thicker but that bigger screen needs a bigger chassis and the weight might be too much for people who don’t like to hold a book with two hands. I wouldn’t toss this one into my bag for daily use the way I do the K2 and it definitely wouldn’t fit into my purse. (Well, most of them.) It’s roughly the size of my Sony (NYSE: SNE) Vaio TT sub-notebook, although much lighter. For a different sense of scale, the two earlier Kindles turned on their sides match the length and are only slightly longer than the width. —The screen: Big—9.7 inches of electric paper. It’s crisp and the images in 16 shades of gray are as elegant as etchings. Publishers will have to learn how to take advantage. I opened the current Kindle edition of The New Yorker on the DX expecting to see a full-screen version of the cover. What I saw was only a half-inch wider and longer than the K2 version, with nearly three inches of white space below and nearly 1.5 inches of empty space on either side. If the text can fill the whole screen, why can’t the cover? Some of the cartoons looked better in landscape. —Set up: Plug it in, turn it on if you’re a current Kindle user or you ordered it yourself, and start. If it’s a gift, you’ll need a computer, but I was able to see my archived books, get what I now expect is the usual personalized “Welcome Staci” message.  —Auto-rotate: When it works, the ability to turn the Kindle and have the text move with it is a great addition. It offers portrait, lnadscape or it can flip to be read from either hand, I’d imagine it especially will come in handy with textbooks.  But it took me a while to figure out that when text-to-read is enabled, the rotation doesn’t work. At least, that’s the way it’s working for me. I also ran into significant lag time. —Keyboard: The QWERTY domed keys are narrow, very small (the smallest of the three) and the font on the keys appears smaller. No more separate number keys. I found it very difficult to “thumb” type; maybe it will be easier for someone with bigger hands but then they’ll have a harder time using the keys. More after I use it for a bit.—Connectivity: On several occasions it took more than a minute for activity. Downloading an archived book went into a loop until I got so bored waiting for it to open I tried another task and went back to the home page to open the book. I’ve had some connectivity issues with the K2, something that rarely was an issue with the first-gen device.

Note to Editor, the Following Is an Investment Opinion Issued by the IO News Wire

New CoWare SPW Library for Xilinx LTE IP Enables Designers to Reduce Costs Through Lower System Integration and Optimization Time

Visit StreetInsider.com at http://www.streetinsider.com/news.php?st=p&id=5325085 for the full story.

While it may have gotten its share of flak over the newly introduced iPad Apple (AAPL) has managed to gain something that could usher in a brighter future for the tablet as it has for the company's existing line of handheld devices: game designers.A recent report by Game Developer Research details Apple's draw on designers who are now turning to the iPhone platform like never before. In fact mobile devices as a whole have seen twice as many game developers tinkering on their OS this year -- based a survey of 800 game developers in North America. Only 12% ...

See the rest of the story here.

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Analysts Daniel Ernst and Scott Tilghman at Hudson Square Research have released an update on the Consumer Technology industry. According to the report, NPD is expected to report US video game industry sales for January on February 11.

Analysts estimate a year-over-year decline of 9.8% in industry revenues. Analysts expect continued sale of top-selling holiday titles, which includes New Super Mario Bros, Wii Fit, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Analysts are also expecting a decent showing from Mass Effect 2 and Darksiders. However, analysts believe that the weakness from catalog sales drove total software sales down by 8.2% year-over-year.

Among the companies in Hudson Square Research’s coverage for the Consumer Technology sector, analysts have a Buy rating for Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI), GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME), and Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE: SNE), and a Hold rating for Electronic Art, Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS).

If you've seen the headlines you know that Electronic Arts (ERTS) is in trouble. So bad in fact that I'm waiting for Bruce Springsteen to sing an acoustic ballad about yesterday's addition to the company's endless stream of guidance disappointments.EA's not alone. THQ (THQI) and Take-Two Interactive (TTWO) are also feeling the effects of a crappy economy a lack of hot trends and far too many gaming platforms. The difference comes in that EA has far more room to fall from here.Company-specific issues have taken their toll. I still can't figure out why the number-one name in sports games ...

Electronic Arts Inc. (ERTS) reported third-quarter of 2010 results with a steep fall in net earnings and revenue due to weakness in its EA business, dismal holiday sales for the overall packaged goods sector in Europe and product mix shifts to lower-margin distribution business in North America . Despite higher cost controls, delay in launching new [...]

(ERTS) Electronic Arts’ Net Earnings Report Falls

Electronic Arts Inc. (ERTS) reported third-quarter of 2010 results with a steep fall in net earnings and revenue due to weakness in its EA business, dismal holiday sales for the overall packaged goods sector in Europe and product mix shifts to lower-margin distribution business in North America .[More...]

Electronic Arts Inc. (ERTS) reported third-quarter of 2010 results with a steep fall in net earnings and revenue due to weakness in its EA business, dismal holiday sales for the overall packaged goods sector in Europe and product mix shifts to lower-margin distribution business in North America .  Despite higher cost controls, delay in launching new ...

BloggingStocks: Electronic Arts Inc. (ERTS) was down in the after-hours session by over 9% on the heels of the gaming publisher's Q3 report. Non-GAAP sales were off by over 20%. Adjusted income came in at 33 cents per share. This was two cents higher than ... Read more

BloggingStocks: We all knew News Corp.'s (NWS) Avatar would cede the top spot to some film someday. To be honest, I didn't think Sony's (SNE) Dear John would be the one to do it. According to Box Office Mojo, John grossed roughly $32 million at domestic ... Read more

Companies featured in this segment: Caterpillar Incorporated (NYSE:CAT), Sony Corporation (NYSE:SNE), Panasonic Corporation (NYSE:PC), NEC Corporation (TYO:6701), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Time Warner Incorporated (NYSE:TWX), Drax Group plc's (LSE:DRX), Alstom SA (EPA:ALO), Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE:RDS.A), General Electric (NYSE:GE), Centrica plc (OTC:CPYYY), Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK), Tesoro Corporation (NYSE:TSO), Sunoco Incorporated (NYSE:SUN), Sony Corporation (NYSE:SNE), Panasonic Corporation (NYSE:PC) and NEC Corporation (TYO:6701).

Schaeffer's Equities Analyst Colleen S. King a look at news on the Street before the market open.

Companies featured in this segment: Alcoa (NYSE:AA), AK Steel (NYSE:AKS), U.S. Steel (NYSE:X), Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX), ThyssenKrupp (FRA:TKA), Holcim (VTX:HOLN), Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ), Cytogenix (NASDAQ:CYGX), Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW), 3M (NYSE:MMM), Sony Corporation (NYSE:SNE), Cameco Corporation (NYSE:CCJ), KBR Incorporated (NYSE:KBR), Global Investment House (KUW:GLOBAL), Jordan Phosphate Mines Company (AFM:JOPH), Arab Potash Company (AFM:APOT), Southern Company (NYSE:SO), McDermott International Incorporated (NYSE:MDR), and Toshiba Corporation (OTC:TOSBF).

Schaeffer's Laura Houser takes a look at activity on the Street ahead of the market open

Companies featured in this segment: Electricity Generating Public Company Limited (BAK:EGCO), Sultan Mining, Energy Development Corporation (PSE:SLTN), AES Corporation (NYSE:AES), Korea Electric Power Corporation (SEO:015760), Continental AG (OTC:CTTAY), Pioneer Electronics Incorporated (TYO:6773), Sony Corporation (NYSE:SNE), Avnet Incorporated (NYSE:AVT), Arrow Electronics Incorporated (NYSE:ARW), Scottish & Southern Energy (LON:SSE), General Electric (NYSE:GE), Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO), Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT), Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (NASDAQ:TEVA), Barr Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NYSE: BRL)