e-books: players and select deals

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Market Overview

• November 2009 -- Marvell Technology Group Ltd. is collaborating with E Ink Corp., a developer of e-paper displays used in many digital-book readers. The companies are developing a "system on a chip" for e-book readers, combining functions that previously required separate chips onto one piece of silicon. The goal is to drive down component costs, thereby reducing e-book prices and increasing adoption.
• October 2009 -- Spring Design announces Alex, the first e-book based on Google Android featuring full browser capabilities.
• October 2009 – IREX strikes agreements with NewspaperDirect and LibreDigital (distributors of digital content) giving IREX users access to the most comprehensive collection of newspapers and magazines available in the eReader market.
• October 2009 -- Barnes & Noble plans to launch its own e-book reader as this market heats up for the holiday season. The device will feature a 6-inch screen developed by E-Ink Corp and will run on the AT&T network.
• June 2009 -- Prime View International Co. signed a definitive agreement to acquire E Ink Corporation for approximately $215 million in cash. E Ink's digital ink technology is used in applications, such as e-books, watches, and cell phones. E Ink's revenues sales were $18 million in the first quarter of 2009. Prime View has been E Ink's largest customer and uses E Ink technology in making the Amazon Kindle and Sony Reader. Prime View is now in control of more pieces of the e-reader solution stack.
• March 2009 -- Barnes & Noble acquired Fictionwise, a publisher and distributor of e-books using various formats for PCs and handheld devices. The purchase price was $15.7 million in cash. The deals helps position Barnes & Noble in the e-book market as it competes with Amazon.com as a distributor of digital content. The deals helps position Barnes & Noble in the e-book market as it competes with Amazon.com as a distributor of digital content. Fictionwise also has a content-provider relationship with Plastic Logic, which has announced its own plans to release an e-reader later in 2009.