What is Read&Go? A new terminal combining the reading comfort of paper with the easy access and response of electronic media. With this new e-paper terminal, users can read and refresh five major French newspapers throughout the day: Le Monde, Le Parisien, Les Echos, L’Equipe and Télérama

Today, in partnership with five major French newspapers, Orange has launched the trial of Read&Go – the first 3G-connected mobile newspaper kiosk: a new digital terminal with e-paper technology, combining ease of use with a mobile terminal offering the read comfort of paper. Every morning, testers will be able to read news from Le Monde, Le Parisien, Les Echos, L’Equipe and Télérama, refreshed every hour with the latest information from their electronic editions.

For this innovation, Orange has specifically developed Wifi/3G coupled connectivity with a dedicated distribution platform, user interface and browsing capability. Read&Go has a storage capacity of 1 Gb – more than 200 newspapers – and also contains a e-library of thirty or so books (literature, strip cartoons, children's and practical publications, etc.) provided by Feedbooks, Médiatoon (Dargaud, Dupuis, Lombard et Kana) and Mango editions.

Orange and its partners will be running Read&Go trials with around 150 testers recruited from their audiences for a period of two months providing free, unlimited access. In particular, the trials will enable this new screen to be studied as regards use when reading information in mobile situations as well as the ergonomics of the offering and associated terminal...

Full press release: http://www.orange.com/en_EN/press/press_releases/att00004674/PR_ReadGo_ENG.pdf
Video (French): http://orange-innovation.tv/webtv/mode/detail/236/orange-lance-l-experimentation-de-read-go-le-premier-kiosque-a-journaux-mobile-connecte-en-3g/lang/fr/play/1/

Disclaimer: I'm the co-founder of Feedbooks which is involved in this trial.

Is this just a standard iLiad rebranded, or does it have extra hardware? Anyway, if Orange decide to follow up the trials, it could be a Good Thing for us iLiad users.

Ah, April in Paris with free newspapers. *sigh* If only I spoke French... :laugh3:

thank you Hadrien for this info !! it looks great ! i have applied to be a beta-tester... so Hadrian, do you decide who is selected ? maybe i can i buy you a drink and we can talk about it ? ;) only disappointment is my favorite newspaper (Libé) is not represented... but they say that if the experimentation is successful, they will expand the offer to other newspapers.

Ah, April in Paris with free newspapers. *sigh* If only I spoke French... :laugh3:

:rofl:

I just want a silver iLiad :D

it's a great new, hadrien! :thumbsup:

i'm just signing to beta-testing this! i hope to be one of the lucky selected for the test.

zelda is right, it is possible to corrupt you for being selected? :)

thats really cool, hope this catches on all over the place. I didn't know the iLiad came with 3G. Thanks for the info

thats really cool, hope this catches on all over the place. I didn't know the iLiad came with 3G. Thanks for the info

It's not built in. You'll need an external 3G USB Modem for it to work.

it's a great new, hadrien! :thumbsup:

i'm just signing to beta-testing this! i hope to be one of the lucky selected for the test.

zelda is right, it is possible to corrupt you for being selected? :)

Well, I'd love a beer but I don't think that corrupting me will be helpful: I'm not in charge of the selection process at all.

But a trial is only successful if you select people with different profiles. There's very few "power-users" for e-paper devices in France: I'm sure that your opinion will be very useful in such a test. Unlike the rest of the population, you can compare the trial with another device.

Well, I'd love a beer but I don't think that corrupting me will be helpful: I'm not in charge of the selection process at all.

But a trial is only successful if you select people with different profiles. There's very few "power-users" for e-paper devices in France: I'm sure that your opinion will be very useful in such a test. Unlike the rest of the population, you can compare the trial with another device.
i hope you are right, although they did not ask us in the questions if we already use an e-ink device...

i am not a "power-user" of e-ink (yet !!!), but i could compare with an eb-1150... :rolleyes: and i am a "power-reader" and i'm already used to reading (the presse at least) on my computer, and books on my eb1150 and also i've tried on my telephone (it's ok for the métro). so i could be a novice *and* make informed comparison at the same time ! i'm sure not many people have such a versatile profile ! ;)

It's not built in. You'll need an external 3G USB Modem for it to work.

oh, well that is not as handy as i had though if one has to bring around a second gadget and plug it in. Still, glad to see it being released and i hope i does well

Ah, April in Paris with free newspapers. *sigh* If only I spoke French... :laugh3:
April in Niort (in the deep, very deep France...) with an Iliad could be fine too (with a protection against rain...) ! But it isn't a nice jazz standard;)

Read&Go [...] contains a e-library of thirty or so books
Wow! 30! Can you imagine?! Those 30 practical children's cartoons would keep me busy for years and years! ;)

Wow! 30! Can you imagine?! Those 30 practical children's cartoons would keep me busy for years and years! ;)

heh... well if i understand correctly it's only a trial of about 2 months or so... i really doubt they're going to give out Iliades to 150 people for free to keep *forever* (wouldn't it be nice though...). plus, of course, i think the main focus is the press. not to mention, i imagine there's probably some way to get your own books on there as well (but only if you read every single one of the 30 children's cartoons first !!). :rolleyes:

heh... well if i understand correctly it's only a trial of about 2 months or so... i really doubt they're going to give out Iliades to 150 people for free to keep *forever* (wouldn't it be nice though...). plus, of course, i think the main focus is the press. not to mention, i imagine there's probably some way to get your own books on there as well (but only if you read every single one of the 30 children's cartoons first !!). :rolleyes:

Ok, I must have missed it. Where does it say this will be an iLiad?

BOb

I don't know if it says it anywhere, but it seems pretty clear from the picture that these are silver iLiads. :D
http://www.mobileread.com/upload/news/2008-04/logo-readandgo.jpg.pnghttp://tweakers.net/ext/i/1189675356.jpg
The flip bar, the upswept top right edge, the characteristic button labels ... and doesn't it look dapper in silver?

Actually, now that I look at it closely, that upsweep is a bit more aggressive than the stock iLiad ... could they have crammed 3G into the thing? Adam, you seemed pretty sure on that point, can you clarify?

It's not built in. You'll need an external 3G USB Modem for it to work.that upsweep is a bit more aggressive than the stock iLiad ... could they have crammed 3G into the thing? Adam, you seemed pretty sure on that point, can you clarify?
They've probably done like most laptop manufacturers do, i.e. taken a normal (albeit naked) 3G USB device and installed it internally.

That's certainly possible, but there's not a great deal of extra space in the thing to begin with ... that's what has me wondering. :shrug:

Ok, I must have missed it. Where does it say this will be an iLiad?

BOb
See the video (Hadrien : Video (French): http://orange-innovation.tv/webtv/mo...ang/fr/play/1/). Images aren't in french;)
It's an Iliad with 3G USB device

See the video [...] Images aren't in french;)
It's an Iliad with 3G USB device
The device in the video is not the same as the one in the pictures. For all we know the device in the videos is just one used to demonstrate the possibilities or whatever.

And seeing the iliad in action again made me want to cry because it's so incredibly unresponsive, to the point of being unusable. They really MUST enable immediate (i.e., <100ms) visual feedback when a button is pressed. All that "Did it register my click? Should I poke again? I'll wait.. nope, nothing happens.. I'll poke aga..no, now it changes... I hope it didn't register my second poke so that it'll change again in a second or two." is just horrible to watch.

And seeing the iliad in action again made me want to cry because it's so incredibly unresponsive, to the point of being unusable. They really MUST enable immediate (i.e., <100ms) visual feedback when a button is pressed. All that "Did it register my click? Should I poke again? I'll wait.. nope, nothing happens.. I'll poke aga..no, now it changes... I hope it didn't register my second poke so that it'll change again in a second or two." is just horrible to watch.

It's the nature of eInk devices. Look it up, it's been discussed 100,000 times already on this forum ...

About all the things one could wish for the iLiad, I can pretty much life with the current screen refreshes.

One has to consider it much more as "active paper" and move away from the "computer desktop" paradigm we are all so much used at.

If I'd be iRex I'd try to get an iLiad version with a built in 3G instead, as this looks cumbersome for customers (speaking of cumbersome: travelhub :)) IMHO they generally should offer more device variants a customers could chose from, ranging from minimal outfit (even without stylus, but a more useable arrow key navigation instead) to super-deluxe-everything-doer.

However gratulations for keeping up the good fight, and try to get some "normal" users to it :) and also some serious content offerings...

And seeing the iliad in action again made me want to cry because it's so incredibly unresponsive, to the point of being unusable.

Did I see the same video? Except for one of the screen 'updates', the responsiveness of the iLiad looked perfectly acceptable......

-Jeff

it looks great !??

my heart jumped when i saw a mail from "contact.beta-testeurs" with subject line "Expérimentation Read and go", but sadly i have not been chosen. *snif.*

as a consolation prize they have signed me up for the newsletter though. :rolleyes:

did anyone else get some news (possibly better than mine) ?

my heart jumped when i saw a mail from "contact.beta-testeurs" with subject line "Expérimentation Read and go", but sadly i have not been chosen. *snif.*

as a consolation prize they have signed me up for the newsletter though. :rolleyes:

did anyone else get some news (possibly better than mine) ?
I received the same mail today...

Yep i also received the same negative email :( But where are the lucky beta testers not here it seems. If a lucky guy come by please arrange a party with your device around, it could be fun !!! for us for sure, you already have it :-)

So because it's the end of this dream (orange) for us, what should we dream about now ?

sniff... i hope one of my friend to who i have send the link for this dream have more luck than me...

The Independent writes today:

Orange to pilot world's first e-news paper next week

The world's first entirely electronic newspapers will go on trial in France next week, offering not only morning headlines but automatic updates every hour throughout the day.

The touch-screen, A5-sized, device uses "ePaper" and "eInk" technology to make it as much like reading normal newsprint as possible. It includes both WiFi and a 3G mobile chip so news can be refreshed every hour during the day, even on the move.

There are already electronic books on the market, notably Amazon's Kindle, which was launched last year but is yet to make it to non-US markets. But Orange's Read&Go is specifically designed to give the same impression as reading a traditional newspaper, including using display technology that paralyses bubbles of ink and is not, like a laptop screen, unreadable in bright sunlight.

The pilot scheme, in partnership with five French newspapers including Le Monde and Les Echos, will run until mid-summer, and could pave the way for a commercial service within a few years.

A key testing ground is the technology itself - including how it stands up to rolling updates from five major content providers and how easy the device is to use.

Orange has also already launched a worldwide call for next-generation flexible electronic paper technology with a view to replacing the rigid tablet being used in the pilot scheme with a more user-friendly format that could potentially be rolled up when not in use.

There are also major questions for the newspapers to answer about how the content is organised compared with a printed paper, and how stories are best laid out or divided according to what works in a smaller, digital format. But Orange insists the device will replicate the printed paper, rather than simply providing mobile access to the paper's online news website.

The business model for a commercial scheme is also under review - including the possibility of a subscription to one or more specific newspapers, or a pay-on-demand account.

But it is the advertising potential that is likely to grab media groups' attention. Printed newspaper circulations have been hard hit by the rise of internet news sites, with ad revenues falling in parallel. And despite considerable investment in websites allied to the national papers, the business model is yet to show a profit. Not only could a successful electronic newspaper device reinvigorate the sector's revenues but it could also open the door to more innovative advertising including interactive or location-sensitive marketing - some of which will be tested by Orange as part of this summer's trial.

Nicki Lyons, an analyst at PricewaterhouseCoopers, said: "Anything that makes content easier to consume will have a significant impact. Newspapers have been quite innovative with the development of content online - they are streets ahead of television companies. There will be a tipping point where that investment starts to pay off."

"paralyses bubbles of ink" eh? So that's how it works!

"paralyses bubbles of ink" eh? So that's how it works!

hee ! :p