Here’s a report from Bookeen about the next generation Cybook: Basically it will have support for one encrypted format and use reusable batteries.
Derek from the NAEB/BAEN ebook reader project (which will be a Bookeen next-generation device for sale) comments about how Bookeen’s promise to support one DRM format squares with NAEB’s project’s no DRM policy:
“While NAEB does not support the proliferation of DRM’d ebooks—or DRM in general—it is clear that to not support some DRM-encrypted ebook format would exclude many current ebooks from the NAEB device. I cannot say whether a specific DRM-encrypted format will be included, but I believe I can – without breaking any NDA agreements – state that we at NAEB will not insist upon ‘dumbing down’ our version from the standard version. Should Bookeen negotiate deals with the major ebook suppliers to allow for one or more of the encrypted formats to be read by the latest model, our version will be capable of reading same. If I were part of Bookeen, I’d want to negotiate such inclusion.
“Rather, what NAEB is pressing for is the ability of the NAEB reader to support as wide a range of non-DRM ebook formats as possible to allow for people to not have to convert ebooks in their favorite non-DRM format to a ‘limited few’ on the NAEB reader. Will we support them all right now? No. But we are working on it.”
Here are my questions::
- if the Bookeen reader hints at supporting Mobipocket DRM, would there really be any reason for Amazon.com to manufacture its own device?
- how will Mobipocket’s support for images be on this device? Last I heard, mobipocket didn’t have adequate support for jpg images on PDAs.
(Time stamp changed to move this item ahead of the now-obsolete tip on the Nokia sale. Originally posted yesterday. – D.R.)
Robert,
*MY* personal thoughts about the Amazon ‘Kindle’ project are that it makes no sense for Amazon to build its own eInk reader at this time. And that has nothing to do with whether the Bookeen device gains support for eReader, Mobipocket, .epub or MS Reader formats. Amazon is not a manufacturer and coming up with its own design would require a commitment to the whole R&D process that would, in my view, be completely outside Amazon’s mission goals. However, as I’m not, as far as I know, descended from Cassandra, I could have guessed wrong.
As for image support in Mobipocket, well, repeat after me, eInk readers are NOT PDAs. That said, I don’t have enough knowledge of the internals of Mobipocket to know where this ‘problem’ lies. To be quite honest, on my Axim PDA, I use Microsoft Reader and eReader Pro. But Jpeg is a mature image format and there’s no reason for not supporting jpeg images on the Bookeen device – it certainly has the screen real estate for it.
Derek