The Plastic Logic e-reader: DRM optional, wireless from start, small publishers program

By David Rothman

Here’s a condensed version of an e-mail Q & A that TeleRead conducted with spokespeople for Plastic Logic and LibreDigital. The latter company’s tech platform will serve books, magazines and newspapers for the Plastic Logic e-reader.

Q. What’s meant by "serve"?

A. LibreDigital’s focus has been to give publishers one platform to distribute their content in any format to all of the digital content stores, eReaders, mobile devices, search engines and social networks that connect content to consumers. LibrieDigital is already doing this for hundreds of book, magazine and newspaper publishers like HarperCollins Publishers, Hachette, The New York Times, USA Today and Simon & Schuster, so they can take advantage of these new distribution opportunities. Designed for publishers of all sizes, the LibreDigital platform serves as a one-stop-shop content warehouse that helps content owners easily control and distribute their content to an ever-expanding number of formats.

Q. What will be the price of the machine? I’ve heard it might be anywhere from $300-$700? Possible now to be more precise?

A. Final pricing will not be available until closer to commercial availability at the start of 2010. Plastic Logic plans to be competitive in the category, taking into consideration its unique value proposition.

Q. Which countries will get the PL machine first? All in early 2010? Latest date?

A. We have not announced specifics of distribution, but expect it to be available worldwide between Plastic Logic’s direct distribution and partners.

Q. What e-readers will run on the PL machine? Can anybody build one for it?

A. Details not yet announced. Open platform on many many document types will enable more content than current eReaders on the market.

Q. Operating system used?

A. Based on Windows CE

Q, Kinds of SDKs offered?

A. Stay tuned, more information to come

Q. Wireless from the start?

A. Yes, wired and wireless from the start

Q.Which stores participating? Can any store do so? How open are these arrangements?

Those details will be announced closer to our official launch date in early 2010. [We do know that Fictionwise is among the retail partners. At the distributor level, Ingram Digital is. - D.R.]

Q. Number of book titles offered when the PL machine debuts?

A. Those details will be announced closer to our official launch date in early 2010.

Q. How soon until Plastic Logic–via LibrieDigital and or otherwise–will catch up with Amazon on the number of titles? What techniques will be used to catch up?

We do not view ourselves in in direct competition with Amazon, which is a bookseller. We are focused on content for business users, ranging from books, newspapers, magazines, other periodicals, and most importantly, business documents.

Q, What if a book publisher doesn’t want to do DRM? Will LibrieDigital let him/her?

A. The choice of DRM or not is the publishers. We can do what they want.

Q. Will LibrieDigital be easy for small book publishers to work with? How will it simplify things for them? Will the process be easier technically and bureaucratically than for Mobipocket and the Kindle? In what ways?

A. Plastic Logic will have a program for small to large publishers—more details to come.

Q. Will Librie work with individual authors? How easy will it be?

A. Plastic Logic intends to provide a dynamic marketplace with content ranging from authors small to large.

Q. What will be Librie’s percentages/fees charged for books? Less than Amazon’s. For newspapers? For magazines?

Pricing for Plastic Logic content will be announced at launch.

Q, Will publishers be able to make Web-style links from one book to another? Same for newspapers and magazines? Links possible between media? In what e-book formats will Web-style links be doable?

Details not announced, are in the Publishing Program.

Q. Any time period in which the PL-LD alliance will last?

A. Details of the relationships terms and conditions are not being announced