From preorder@NewAndroidBook.com Tue Jan 13 23:31:45 2015
Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2015 23:31:37 -0500 (EST)
From: Android Internals - PreOrder Service <preorder@NewAndroidBook.com>
To: The Confectioners <list hidden>
To my fellow confectioners,
Good news: Volume I is officially out. Some 250 A4 pages (the
equivalent of over 600 in standard pages), chock full of good stuff about
Android. Due to the significant page count, I ended up reshuffling some
material (to be published in Volume II, which is being finalized now).
This also helps me remain true to the "Power User's View", and not involve
any code in the first volume - those of you who will want to get Volume II
won't be so lucky, as it delves into API and programmatic aspects.
The bad news: The major source of the delay - Amazon - has proven a
dead end. I can't get A4 pages into the Kindle file format. Their
converter has again and again failed. Therefore no kindle edition will be
published.
This leaves prospective readers with two options:
- Hardcopy: I'm doing a print-on-demand run for those people who are
interested. This'll be $49.99 (or 0.25 BTC) + shipping. And I'll sign it,
if you want (That's at no extra charge). And it's available NOW. This
price is comparable to most technical books. I wish I could make it
cheaper, but the print cost alone is circa $15-20(!) because of self
publishing. If I had 10,000 pre-orders, that'd drop to $5.. but..
- Wait a *little bit* longer to get PDF version: Due to rampant piracy
I like this the least, but I realize most people would like it the most.
So, in an effort to please as many people as possible, I am considering
giving this as an option. I'd relying on the reader's sense of integrity
to respect the unbelievable amount of work that went into this and *not*
distribute the PDF, which I'm trying to see if I can still somehow
watermark for good measure. Price will be $29.99, Or 0.15BTC. Still way
cheaper than comparable prices for ebooks. The PDF is full color, btw. Available as of 1/20.
Edit: If you buy the hardcopy, you will be entitled to a PDF copy for only $10
when it comes out (and I'm expecting that this upcoming week). Registered preorders
who get the hardcopy will get the PDF for free, as a bonus of their support!
Oh - and - Now's a great time to get rid of BTC.. Only two days ago it was $270, now it's $210...err.. 180!
Maybe by the time you buy you'll end up paying $10 for the book :-P)
Edit: To buy with BTC, drop a line to confectioners@. Otherwise, to buy either
hardcopy or PDF over paypal, simply credit the amount to confectioners@(this domain),
and include (for the hardcopy) your shipping address. Please don't forget to
account for shipping charges: $10 USD in US, $15 Europe, $25 elsewhere
So that's actually good news, in that PDF is superior to Kindle, ePUB
and Mobi (and believe me, after struggling with converters, I know). As
for the PDF, even with a watermark, I obviously can't sue anyone, but
understand that unlike other PDFs that people gleefully share (which don't
*really* hurt the author much, since authors make usually $2/eBook, with
the rest going to the publisher), sharing this PDF hurts one person alone
- me. A watermark at least makes it clear to people that sharing == theft
- and contempt for the insane amount of work put into researching (which I
hope will be evident when you read the book). I say this as I see now the
Nikolay Elenkov (@kapitanpetko)'s excellent security reference (Android
Security Internals) has been copied and pirated earlier this week. Support
a great researcher - buy his book! What I merely touch on in Chapter 8, he
further extends and expands.
As for the book itself, the pagination/styling quality is the
same quality you saw in the (many) previews I have put out already. Not as
snazzy as my Wiley Book, but definitely well produced. So you know what
you'll be getting. I strongly recommend looking over the previews via the
site (some are actually from Vol II), to see if you like it.
--- Promotional Content: ---
My company - @Technologeeks (Technologeeks.com) - is "partnering" with
this to offer an instant discount on Android related consulting for anyone
buying the book. Up to 1 hour of picking our brains, for $100, before
standard rates apply. When you make contact, simply say you bought the
book. That discount alone will get you the price of the book back, and
then some, even if you bought the book as an individual and get consulting
as a company. They're also extending this to remote consulting via phone
or Skype (userid: technologeeks, surprisingly enough), so you can get a
chance to voice with me, in person! Also, please consider our formal
Android Internals training (http://technologeeks.com/courses.jl). That'll
likely get you a rendez-vous in the flesh with me, and I'm sure an
attractive price for the training can be had if you mention the book.
--- End promotional content --
... err.. that's it. Please address replies to confectioners@, rather than
preorder@, just so we can keep track of things here (and see how many
people read to the end of an email ;-). Btw - Preorder isn't actively
monitored). When you send a request, please indicate if you would like
further email regarding updates, or you're fine with reading the RSS.
Thanks for your patience, and thanks more for your interest. When you get
the book, the best thing you can do is
A) Share feedback for me, so I can improve ahead of Volume II and
B) Spread the word to others! Tweet, or facebook, or whatever does
these days :-)
J