The newspapers of the future--we've been down this road before--will they simply be news Web sites, or will they be downloadable pdf files sent to our inboxes? Some newspaper publishers are planning
to introduce a form of electronic newspaper that allows users to download entire editions from the Web onto little handheld devices with reflective digital screens that--in theory--will be easier on
users' eyes than laptop and cell displays. Hearst Corp., France-based "Les Echos," and Belgium's "De Tijd" are planning a large-scale rollout of these readers this year. Book publishers once tried to
sell similar digital readers, but these failed due to high prices and a lack of downloadable content. This looks set to fail too; I can't imagine that the future of mobile content is anything but the
cell phone. Consumers don't have to carry around an iPod, a cell phone, a digital reader, and a PSP all at once. These things ultimately have to converge into one device. Publishers are wasting their
time by getting into the technology game--especially because there's a precedent for this, and it didn't work.
Read the whole story at Reuters.com »
