Five Top Publishers Plan Rival to Kindle Format 123
eldavojohn writes "Time Inc., News Corp., Conde Nast, Hearst Corp., and Meredith Corp. are teaming up to create a digital newsstand and somewhat open format that 'can render our content beautifully on those devices that come to market' instead of the gray inked Kindle's energy conscious display. Devices are being made for the new format with the launch coming next year. The format will also target smart phones and tablet computers. Will this pose a threat at all to the Kindle?"
Oh? NewsCorp? (Score:4, Informative)
Is Murdoch's News Corp actually going to enter the news business?
Re:Where have I heard this before... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Kindle's energy conscious display (Score:3, Informative)
Sure they can, if they want to. They could add native PDF support in an update for us Gen 1 owners too, but haven't, so don't hold your breath :(
Re:Yet Another Format (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Yet Another Format (Score:4, Informative)
Depends, the author could give them the rights to distribute. In which case it's there content.
It's never your content. It's your book, but that's different.
Re:Kindle's energy conscious display (Score:3, Informative)
If only I could leave a recipe open for more than 10 minutes w/o the stupid screen saver like image coming on.
This has been fixed in the 2.3 update - the screen timeout is now set to 20 minutes.
Re:Tough call... (Score:2, Informative)
without the desire of paying umpteen dollars extra per month just to download books
I'm 99% sure there is no montly data fee to use a kindle / nook / etc. --> That cost is built into the unit and/or the [proprietary] media
Otherwise I agree with your post in that ebooks are in a nascent state at the moment and are still years away from being popular primarily due to the limitations you listed.
Re:Yet Another Format (Score:3, Informative)
They believe it is theirs because of the Divine Right of Publishing Conglomerates and Corporate Power. They are invested with the power to claim something belongs to them and it must be ever so.
Personally, I'm getting a big kick out of the fact that Conde Nast and their ilk are hurting, bad. I've come to believe that anytime a rich and powerful corporation suffers, an angel gets its wings.
Re:Tough call... (Score:3, Informative)
Looks like I spoke too soon. The 3G actually is free. [cnet.com.au] However, my remaining points are still valid.
Re:People keep missing the point (Score:3, Informative)
The nice thing about such reflective displays is that, like most other objects that we look at, contrast improves as ambient illumination increases, and because good contrast is of paramount importance for tasks such as reading, it feels much more natural than a display that operates by hurling photons at you, and is therefore generally far easier to read for prolonged periods.
Re:Where have I heard this before... (Score:4, Informative)
That's because PDF should only be used for printing. If you are reading PDFs on your computer monitor, somebody screwed up [useit.com].