world's first newspaper in ebook format

[dMores]

the belgian "de tijd" newspaper is launching an electronic version of it's content in march 2006.

http://www.networld.at/articles/0551/img/129156_i.jpg

the interesting bit here is that when you buy a subscription, you get a dedicated ebook reader. and the cool thing about this is, it's using the eInk technology we've heard of before.
you know, with little ink-bubbles that turn according to the electronic current it's receiving.

i read about it here:
http://www.networld.at/index.html?/articles/0551/547/129156.shtml

sorry it's in german, and i don't know how to get it translated.
no english info found so far.

you get new content onto that thing using wifi hotspots, or so it seems. they call it an "iliad platform", not sure if this means dedicated hotpots, or a conduit to donwload new content using any kind of wireless lan.

i'd love to get my hands on on that reader. i'm sure it could be "hacked" to display txt/lit/prc/pdf content as well.

[Guest979]

Well, I'm not sure how you strictly define "eBook" or "newspaper," but this actually looks fairly similar to what Zinio already does, although Zinio doesn't support any PDAs yet.

[Steve Jordan]

the interesting bit here is that when you buy a subscription, you get a dedicated ebook reader.

Hey... that's not just interesting, it may be the model for other newspapers to follow, to allow more people to download their papers to readers in the morning, instead of buying reams of paper and throwing it away.

Those of us who think e-newspapers are a great idea, have always wondered how you get such a venture started, how you get people to buy and use the readers in the first place. Honestly, a subscription give-away is something that never occurred to me! And just like iPods, the early adopters could end up driving the wave of second-adopters behind them. Brilliant! (Especially, if it works.)

[dMores]

guest979, if i'd be able to get one edition of a newspaper in PDF or LIT or PRC format, i'd consider this document an ebook.

what makes de tijd different from zinio, is that it's not just about getting digital content, it's the way they're launching it.
not just "download our paper as a pdf", but they give you a reader that sports the newest technological advance in the ebook sector.
eINK !!!
then there's the wireless update thing, which i don't yet know how it works.

steve ... give-aways are pretty expensive, though.
you'd need a lot of financial power behind you.

[Steve Jordan]

... give-aways are pretty expensive, though.
you'd need a lot of financial power behind you.

True. You're much better off if you can come up with compelling content designed for the device, that makes people go out and get their own. (Like iPods.) For an e-newspaper, maybe content like: constantly-updating sports scores; the ability to respond to ads and classifieds (and personals!) through the device; additional news content, maybe even audio or AV clips; etc.

Of course, just like web ads, if the user's page views could be recorded and relayed back to the paper (like when they download the latest copy), advertisers could use the info to target ads, and they could all but subsidize the device themselves. Although that model's getting pretty shaken up these days, it could still be viable.