Gizmos

Apple, Publishers in Last-Minute Talks

Wants ebook price of $12.99 or $14.99.

Apple may unveil its new tablet on Wednesday, but the business side is still being worked out: The company has been hosting 11th-hour negotiations with book publishers, says The Wall Street Journal, to figure out how to take on rival Amazon. Amazon's cut-rate staple of $9.99 bestsellers, on which it accepts a net loss in order to build its market share, made publishers anxious that the public would come to expect cut-rate ebook prices, while Apple's new system will allow publishers to set their own prices, shifting the balance of power back to publishers, at least partly. Apple has reportedly asked publishers to set ebook price points for hardcover bestsellers at $12.99 or $14.99, with fewer books offered at $9.99. The gamble for publishers is whether Apple's new device will increase ebook sales the way Amazon's Kindle did.