Hullmurk Corporation publishes greeting card eBooks

[mogui]

Hullmurk Corporation publishes greeting card eBooks

TTN, April 1, 2010, New York, New York
Hullmurk Corporation today announced the intention to install eBook kiosks in all major bookstore chains including, Barnes and Noble, Borders, Chapters and many others. Hullmurk spokeswoman Wilhelmina Moneypenny stated earlier today that the company will make the kiosks available to other businesses as well, such as drug stores and supermarkets.

Each kiosk is equipped with a touchscreen which the customer can use to navigate to the desired book. When selected, the customer is asked for a credit or debit card. Upon purchase the eBook cover is color-printed with the book cover image. The read-only microchip inside the card is programmed with the text and images of the eBook's content, and the eBook is delivered in an envelope suitable for mailing.

The greeting card eBook, when opened shows a flexible EP (eInk) display that is approximately the size and shape of the page in a paperback book. A simple set of controls allows changing pages and setting bookmarks. Font selection is also available in three standard sizes. The display will show images in 4-bit greyscale.

Moneypenny stated that the integral flat flexible battery is capable of powering the eBook for about ten reads. The display requires power only for changing pages. Clever patented circuitry allows the greeting card eBook to remain completely off when unused. Battery shelf life is said to be ten years.

Moneypenny said her company intends to have many kiosks installed in stores before this Christmas shopping season. Selections include several thousand new titles as well as the entire inventory of Gutenberg classics. Prices are expected to be comparable to paperback books.

(c) 2010, Time Travel News

[HarryT]

This doesn't seem life a very viable proposition to me. Who on Earth would pay the same price as a paperback book for something with such a limited life??? Why not just give the person the book in the first place?

[jasonkchapman]

Bah! This is old news. It seems like I read it somewhere two years from now.

To address HarryT's comment about the price vs. limited life: I think a lot of the market thinks of paperbacks as "disposable" reading anyway. It might be a valid model for distributing mid-list TPB releases, or direct-to-MMPD releases, in the "high-churn" categories.

[nekokami]

Er, HarryT, did you notice the date on this "press release"?

That being said, if displays and other tech like this were available, I'd think you could buy the book and have it sent to the user's ebook reader/online account.

[mogui]

The memory chip might be removable to be used later in a portable reader if desired, thus increasing the shelf life to unlimited. This scheme saves trees, and fits in with the habit of gifting consumables such as flowers and candy. What do we pay for a musical greeting card? And yes, Neko, we could have the option of directing a download to a Reader.

I would buy these. How handy for air travel. Would you?

[mogui]

HullMurk releases design change to popular greeting card eBooks

TTN, April 1, 2011, New York, New York
Hullmurk Corporation today announced a dramatic change to the design of the greeting card eBook. Hullmurk spokeswoman Wilhelmina Moneypenny stated at an early morning press conference that the company has changed the design of the greeting card eBooks to enable them to last as long as, or even longer than, paper books.

The new design, Moneypenny stated, incorporates a super-capacitor with an inductive charging circuit. The new "instant" chargers will be available in stores where the vending kiosks are now found. The charger is operated by placing the eBook in proximity to it. The screen of the eBook shows a battery icon filling. The charge takes under a minute and its progress is visible on-screen.

Moneypenny stated that the super-capacitor's operating lifetime is theoretically unlimited, as opposed to chemical batteries which have a limited number of recharge cycles and must be charged slowly.

Moneypenny said Hullmurk plans to have the blister-packed chargers in stores before the Christmas shopping season.

(c) 2011, Time Travel News

[nekokami]

Now Hullmark just needs to think about a way to consolidate multiple greeting card ebooks into one, for the customer who only wants to carry one item, and it wouldn't be a bad idea to provide some kind of backup strategy, either.