French papers join to sell digital reader

[DonaldL.]

Hope this hasn't been posted yet.

French papers join to sell digital reader

Paul-François Fournier, an executive at France Télécom in Paris, thinks he may have found a way to help revive the ailing newspaper industry. It comes in a black plastic rectangular box with a screen half the size of a sheet of copy paper.

The device displays links to several French newspapers, with black-on-gray type and images that look a lot like ink on newsprint. Fournier clicks on one of the links with a stylus, and up come the day's headlines in Le Monde. Another click and a full article, as it appears in the printed newspaper, fills the screen.

Seven French publications have joined France Télécom to test a so-called electronic paper, a technology that offers what its supporters say is the most convincing electronic facsimile of ordinary paper in existence. In the experiment, called Read & Go, 120 people in France have been given electronic paper devices, allowing them to download the contents of the newspapers over France Télécom's wireless network.

[JSWolf]

Well spotted! That looks like it might be an iLiad.

[xianfox]

That definitely is the iLiad in the photo. How long till we see US newspapers adopting this technology? How long, Gannett, et al?

[nekokami]

Well, we knew iRex was pursuing the newspaper market. Looks like they're starting to make some progress. I guess that's good.... (I'm more interested in reading SF and journal articles on mine, but I think the newspaper market should be a good one for them.)

[LazyScot]

Really glad to see that the US papers have picked up on this one.

This is the Orange trial (Orange is the brand name France Telecom uses), and has been discussed here.

Zelda: did you get to be a beta tester, or was there anyone at the Paris meet who was and can comment?

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by LazyScot

This is the Orange trial (Orange is the brand name France Telecom uses), and has been discussed here.

Zelda: did you get to be a beta tester, or was there anyone at the Paris meet who was and can comment?

sadly, i did not, and i also was rejected for the SFR beta test mere weeks later (snif snif). i feel unloved. there were quite a few MR readers who applied and were rejected (we all feel unloved). there was one person present at the meetup who actually managed to be selected, and had (the holy grail !!) the Orange device ; however, she had been obliged to sign a non-disclusure agreement and so did not bring it with her and could not talk to us about it. she did show me the 3G dongle, which is gigantic, but for obvious reasons i didn't take a photo of it.

however, i do know another person who is *also* is participating in the test, and has offered to show me the device, so at least i will get to see one live. however i may not get to tell you about it until after the test is over (if then) ; i'll ask her what she thinks is possible. perhaps if i don't mention her name or any details i can get away with it... thus my pre-emptive editing of this very post to remove any incriminating details.

[igorsk]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

sadly, i did not, and i also was rejected for the SFR beta test mere weeks later (snif snif). i feel unloved. there were quite a few MR readers who applied and were rejected (we all feel unloved).

If they knew you were a MobileRead user that might have actually played against you; such projects usually seek ordinary people who have little experience.

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by igorsk

If they knew you were a MobileRead user that might have actually played against you; such projects usually seek ordinary people who have little experience.

you are probably right about that, however i don't see any way they could have known that ; i applied using my own name, not my MR pseudo, and no-where did they ask if i had any experience with other reading devices.

they *did* ask about my reading habits, and also how i usually get my news, and i checked all of them except television and via my telephone WAP service (radio, newspapers, and yes, online), so perhaps they thought i was too tech-savvy (she already reads the news online !!!) or not tech-savvy enough (she doesn't read the news on her telephone !!!) (or alternately, as a telephone operator, they are offended that i am not planning to have the phone permanently, surgically attached to my body somewhere, because i use it incessantly in every aspect of my daily life, including to get the news. yeah, i bet that is why they rejected me. )