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E-readers caught the public eye again when online retailer Amazon released Kindle, with its E Ink digital revolution.
Now media giants such as Rupert Murdoch of News Corp. are eying the e-reader business for the newspaper future.
Among many others, News Corp. oversees successful media outlets such as FOX News, MySpace and The Wall Street Journal.
For those unfamiliar, E Ink is a fresh technology that uses a computer to command and move positively or negatively charged white or black pixels beneath a screen surface. If you don’t own a Kindle or other E Ink e-readers, find a friend and bend over his or her shoulder to watch new technology in action.
But Murdoch, CEO and chairman of News Corp., is far more ambitious than black-and-white: not only is he investing in a Kindle competitor, but this new digital wonder will be specifically designed for newspapers. Enhanced features such as a larger screen and color are among the possibilities.
This three-week-old announcement can be both a shot across Amazon’s bow as well as a boon – as history shows, nothing improves a product more than healthy competition.
But a question to keep in mind for media masters and consumers alike is how e-readers will deliver the news and make money in the process. The old (and current) business model begins with the newsroom and ends with stacks of newspapers delivered by trucks.
A future business model may be simpler: a consumer will subscribe, sleep and pick up an e-reader with the morning newspaper waiting to download.
In other words, an industry move to digital-only can put more than just a few weak competitors out of business – printing and delivery companies may see a drop in revenue. It is not as if print is out of style, it’s simply not as cost-efficient when it lacks the old advertising revenue.
For now, it's a waiting game for masters and consumers alike. Current e-reader owners may be ahead of the curve, but all new technology tends to share one habit: they frequently update and change.
Photo is courtesy of John Blyberg of Flickr.
Read More:
Amazon is Developing Bigger-Screen Kindle - The Wall Street Journal (suscriber-only)
Boston Globe to eliminate 2009 management bonuses - Associated Press
Goodbye, Colorado - The Rocky Mountain News
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