| The newsprint paradigm is dying on its feet (or | | | | better and more sustained screen read than a mobile |
| should that be 'on the presses'), and traditional news | | | | phone. Also, from the business model perspective, |
| publishers are trying to find ways of managing the | | | | the ability to feed user-specific advertising content |
| decline. The younger generations rarely buy | | | | down the news pipe is attractive. |
| newspapers and get most of their news online. And | | | | Storage is typically from 512Mb upward, some |
| for many of the younger ones, it's that old Simon | | | | offering memory expansion with SD or other format |
| and Garfunkel lyric - 'gather all the news I need from | | | | memory cards, and MP3 player features are often |
| the weather report'. | | | | included (but there goes your memory!). |
| Rupert Murdoch (News Corp) is talking about | | | | Content is the nub of it and one of the big challenges |
| strategic partnership with Microsoft so that the | | | | to be faced. Catalogues of e-book material are often |
| provision of news can continue to be pay-per-read, | | | | specific to the e-reader model, so it's a bit like going |
| one way or another. Many news channels are looking | | | | to a public library and being told you can only read |
| at paywalls around their product, but the basic | | | | books published by, say, Simon and Schuster. Many |
| problem is 'why should people pay for something | | | | catalogues are digitally protected by copy-protection |
| they can get for free'. Value-add punditry and | | | | mechanisms, though there is a lot of free material |
| household-name columnists are not thought to | | | | available. And, what does it imply for authors? From |
| provide enough perceived value to deliver the | | | | the perspective of newspaper groups though, |
| customers to the news corps. News consumers can | | | | content is not a problem. |
| easily get the punditry real-time via blogs, Twitter | | | | Some e-readers might come with an inbuilt |
| and other channel products. | | | | subscription to media (such as newspaper publishing |
| Could it be that the e-reader is the way to go? | | | | groups). I do wonder why newspaper groups are not |
| What's an e-reader? Simply, a paperback sized | | | | offering free e-readers with a newsfeed subscription. |
| electronic tablet (maybe with an opening cover) | | | | This for me is how the news corporations could get |
| which accesses, stores and makes available for | | | | a new handle on retaining their market. It seems to |
| reading a range of 'printed' material, typically but not | | | | me that the economics are in their favour. |
| exclusively 'books' - fiction and non fiction, news | | | | At current (late 2009) pricing levels, typically $250+ |
| articles and so on. Lighter, smaller and simpler than | | | | street price for an e-reader with wireless |
| netbooks or laptops. | | | | connectivity, you'd have to buy about 15-20 |
| Of course, 'printed' is an old term. As we move | | | | hardbacks a year for an e-reader to be economic |
| forward, there will be little in the way of hard-copy | | | | (even if they were royalty free books, and they are |
| materialization of news, information and other | | | | not). When you add in the cost of a quality |
| formerly 'printed' material. E-readers will come into | | | | broadsheet, say just $5 a week, then the economic |
| their own. Newspaper groups are already in trouble. | | | | equation tips rapdily towards e-readers. And again, |
| E-readers are on the cusp of an explosion. | | | | the ability to pipe dynamic user-relevant ads down |
| In terms of format, they are a little smaller and | | | | the newsfeed strengthens that profitability prospect. |
| lighter than a netbook, but optimised for reading, and | | | | So much about these gadgets revolves around style |
| of course saleable to consumers who are not | | | | and being an early-adopter. Therein lies the rub - early |
| interested in carrying a laptop or netbook (for some | | | | adoption of e-readers is currently perceived as risky. |
| a matter of faith). I believe we will eventually see the | | | | Whilst Sony have a range of models out, there is talk |
| convergence of the e-reader and the netbook, but it | | | | about Apple producing a larger format iPhone/ touch |
| will be a subtle convergence from the e-reader side | | | | screen tablet PC convergence product. So, the |
| as more applications are built in. Navigation is by touch | | | | technology platform has not yet stabilised or |
| screen using your finger or a stylus or both - this is a | | | | standardised in market terms. However, the smart |
| point to satisfy yourself about before you buy. | | | | city-based early adopters are exactly the people who |
| Presentation is usually black text on white. Images | | | | buy the quality broadsheets. |
| are black and white. Screen resolution is typically | | | | Who knows what it means for the lower level higher |
| 800x600 pixels. So, its' not quite your broadsheet | | | | volume newprint market. I'm not sure that it offers |
| newspaper size! Connectivity may be through a USB | | | | them a solution. |
| hard wired internet connection (or via your PC) or | | | | So, are you really an early adopter, ready to bet |
| through a wireless link, enabling download of novels | | | | your money on a particular technology, with echoes |
| and the like, or digital newspaper material. Of course, | | | | of Betamax video recorders? Well, maybe not, but |
| the potential here is for live news feeds, but people | | | | e-readers could be the saviour of the more |
| can get those on their mobile phones now. | | | | fleet-of-foot news corporations. |
| Undoubtedly the larger format does make for a | | | | |