Thursday 16 October 2008

Electronic Newspaper Unveiled in Germany

A company in Germany, helped by researchers from Cambridge University, has unveiled a new electronic e-reader for newspapers, the BBC has reported. It uses plastic chips instead of silicon, making it tough and flexible, and it's about the size and weight of a magazine. The report didn't mention, but I presume there's Wi-Fi installed in order to download newspapers the reader has subscribed to.

This is a great idea for reducing paper usage, which takes up almost half of the landfill space in the developed world. The question is, will it catch on? As a newspaper publisher says in the piece, people are accustomed to paper and losing a newspaper is no big deal, while losing the e-reader would be expensive.

If it's promoted properly, and comes at the right price, it may do well, but we have to remember that ebooks have been around for years and haven't yet made a serious challenge to traditional publishing.

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