March 27, 2000

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First Generation Of E-Book Readers Are A Work In Progress

By Barbara DePompa Reimers

or much of human history, the most common ways of conveying information has been by placing black smudges on dead trees. That probably won't change soon. But the publishing industry is exploring a range of technologies that promise to someday eliminate the need to cut down forests in order to provide reading material.

Several vendors are producing devices known generically as E-book readers that can be used to download and read a wide variety of material. The two leading device makers, SoftBook Press Inc., which makes a reader called SoftBook, and NuveMedia Inc., with its Rocker eBook, were recently bought by GemStar International Group, publisher of TV Guide. The handheld electronic readers range from the size of a paperback book to magazine size, weigh less than three pounds, and can hold 50,000 to 80,000 pages. They range in price from $400 to $700, and electronic-book content can sometimes cost more than a hard-copy version.

However, these first-generation devices are still considered a work in progress. "They're still too expensive and kludgy for most readers to consider," says Victor Votsch, research director for Gartner Group's E-business and Internet technologies unit. That's one reason why only a few tens of thousands of units were sold last year, according to Gartner.

While most of the devices are used to read books and articles, there are some surprising applications. SoftBook executives say the world's largest implementation of their technology is a newspaper, which uses them to keep delivery information up to date.

The Arizona Republic, which serves 500,000 subscribers in the Phoenix area, has provided more than 2,000 SoftBook Readers with built-in modems to delivery personnel, who use them to download information about route and subscription changes from the paper's CIRC 2000 circulation system every night.

"Over a five-month test period, missed or erroneous deliveries were reduced in some districts by 50%," says Joe Coleman, product manager for CNT Corp., the IT services subsidiary of Central Newspapers Inc., which publishes the Republic. "It's easy to use, doesn't require a lot of training, and doesn't require a PC. "

Thanks to an increase in sales attributed to the improved service, "a return on CNT's under $2 million investment is expected within a year," Coleman says.

CNT developed the circulation software itself, and other companies have expressed interest in licensing the application. Says Coleman, "It could really be used by any company involved in deliveries or transportation."

Return to main story, "New Technologies Transform Publishing Industry."

Photo of Coleman by Reed Rahn

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