http://www.apple.com/ipad/

Personally I liked the name Islate better but who am I to quibble with Microsoft.
iBooks
Here’s the books component:

“The iBooks app is a great, new way to read and buy books. Just download the app for free from the App Store, and you’ll be able to buy everything from classics to bestsellers from the built-in iBookstore. Once you’ve bought a book, it’s displayed on your Bookshelf. To read it, all you have to do is tap on it and it opens up. The high-resolution, LED-backlit screen displays everything in sharp, rich, color, so it’s very easy to read, even in low light.”
I’d love to know what people think of it.

With Borders set to declare fourth-quarter results next week, expectations are grim: more multi-million dollar losses, store closures, payroll slashings and, with shares currently trading at 64 cents per share, potential de-listing from the NYSE. Shareholders will hear more about the company’s strategy, including plans for a reverse stock split to satisfy NYSE conditions, next Wednesday when CEO Ron Marshall hosts a conference call with analysts and investors.

One turnaround expert tells the Detroit Free Press that Borders seems to be one of buying time and hoping economic recovery is just around the corner. “They are figuring their brand name is going to carry them,” said Ken Dalto .”Brand names mean less with the inroads of technology. The brand name is Amazon.” Managing partner of Bingham Farms-based McTevia Associations Jim McTevia points to a possible Chapter 11 filing, but says even that wouldn’t solve Borders’ problems. “Depending on their ability to get debtor-in-possession financing, they could easily file for Chapter 11,” he said. “It is much easier to facilitate the sale of a troubled company under bankruptcy protection.”

Detroit Free Press

Borders Group has undergone many changes in the new year that publishers should be aware of. One part is a management changeup, and the other is the sharp decline in their sales. Holiday sales for the nine-week holiday period ending Jan. 3, 2009 was only $868.8 million total consolidated sales. This is a 11.7% decline from to the same period last year. Here we will breakdown for you the changes and what they could mean for your business.

New Management Breakdown:

• Ron Marshall is the new President and Chief Executive Officer and will serve as a Director.
• Mark Bierley has been named Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President, Finance.
• Anne Kubek is now Executive Vice President, Merchandising and Marketing.
• The new position of Chief Administrative Officer has been given to Dan Smith.

Sales Breakdown:

• Borders superstore segment total sales for the holiday period were $652.6 million, which is a 13.6% decrease compared to 2007.
• The book category at Borders, on a same-store basis, declined by 11.0% for the period. Borders.com sales for the nine-week holiday period were $20.3 million.
• The Waldenbooks Specialty Retail segment total sales for the holiday period were $161.7 million, a 16.4% decrease compared to the same period one year ago.
• Comparable store sales for Waldenbooks declined by 8.0% compared to holiday 2007. 
• Borders Group was notified by the NYSE on Dec. 31, 2008 that they did not satisfy one of the standards for continued listing of its common stock when the stock was selling for less than $1.00 per share over a consecutive 30 trading day period. The stock remains listed on the NYSE under the symbol “BGP”, but the NYSE will assign a “.BC” indicator to the symbol to denote that it is below the listing standards.

Borders will be one to watch in 2009 to see if they can turn around these downward trends in their book sales.

Borders announced on June 3rd, that there will be a corporate payroll reduction that will eliminate 156 positions spread across all departments of the Ann Arbor, MI headquarters.