Vodafone Germany with new eBook-Reader

[mtravellerh]

In something of a surprise move, Vodafone Germany, one of the biggest players in the German mobile market, seems to have decided to take the eBook market seriously.
German magazine Wirtschaftswoche announced today that Vodafone might bring to market a new e-ink eBook-Reader with a big screen (A4) in fall. It seems that the new reader is already being tested. The device will not be produced by Vodafone itself, but will be branded. The screen size will probably be 9.7-inch which puts it in the Kindle DX range. There will also be some kind of mobile connectivity. We don't know who the producer of the device will be - for now.
Vodafone is also thinking of selling its device in combination with newspaper or magazine subscriptions.
It seems that Vodafone will not establish its own e-book store but will try to strike a cooperation with an existing German portal.

Thanks to Johannes from lesen.net for bringing this up!

[Over]

It seems fall 2009/winter 2010 will be interesting times for ereaders, specially the bigger ones.

[grooks]

I'm guessing Sony.

[junkyardwillie]

What? It must be the Kindle DX. Why would Sony release a product solely in Germany? They have done stupider things, like pricing themselves out of the number one spot in videogames so if it is them it'll be another one for their hall of shame. There haven't been any other eReaders announcing that they are going to have mobile support so it has to be the DX. I think if someone had a 10" device that they were planning to release in the fall we would of heard about it, hell Irex is announcing color for 2011 and Plastic Logic has been talking about its product for the past 2 years, eReaders aren't really a product that you are going to spring on people and they are going to clamor for it. Its more likely to get headline coverage on the who gives a sh*t channel.

And with a cell phone company releasing it you can already know that it will be well priced out of any competent market, what will be the monthly plans for an ebook reader? anything above $5 is ridiculous at the current prices for eReaders, how do you discount the price of the device to compensate for the fact that you need to pay for monthly plans? No store to buy books, well good luck finding use for your new mobile support since Amazon is the only one that has an online store for their devices and I doubt they will be opening it up to the competition anytime soon, maybe you can use your high speed data plan to slowly browse the internet on an eink screen. Cell phone companies arent in the business of producing eBook devices they want to get the data plan usage, unless its a deal with Amazon this will be a bust.

Then again, maybe that whole Steve Jobs needs a new kidney was really a big ruse for Apple to put its finally touches on its "iReader" which will be released this year only to the German market so that all the Apple fanboys not only sleep outside of an Apple store to get one but fight to book flights to fly out to Germany to find an Apple store to sleep in front of. Well played Mr Jobs, well played

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by junkyardwillie

There haven't been any other eReaders announcing that they are going to have mobile support so it has to be the DX.

Both Jinke and Netronix have been talking about 9.7" Readers with WiFi/3G for years. When you get to this size and price point there is really very little reason not to add mobile connectivity. What has stopped them delivering is the expected screen breakage rate. So the current hangup is mass production of PVI's 9.7" "flexiscreen". This is supposed to happen this summer or fall, and hence the lack of current competitors to the Kindle DX isn't going to last very long. There have been hints of competitors in the wings, but if I was Vodafone I would go with EInk and most likely with a Netronix design because that is the proven approach. Another "proven" design would be the iRex DR1000SW (with 3G in place of WiFi), but I doubt that iRex could deliver in the volumes required. A major customer, like Vodafone, might explain why the DR1000SW has not made its appearance yet.

[junkyardwillie]

Originally Posted by wallcraft

Another "proven" design would be the iRex DR1000SW (with 3G in place of WiFi), but I doubt that iRex could deliver in the volumes required. A major customer, like Vodafone, might explain why the DR1000SW has not made its appearance yet.

While iRex would make the most sense (they are based in Holland I think), their device is a bit too expensive I think for a cell phone company to bet the farm on. I think if they could get the device down to the US$500 mark then they could have a hit (in the eReader world at least) on their hands because their device is way better than the Kindle. Their ability to deliver would be another issue as well but I think if they had the demand they could figure out how to get the products out, I think their real issue is getting the demand more than supply

[pwalker8]

Vodafone Group is one of the co-owners of Verizon Wireless here in the US, along with Verizon Communications.

[lee1234]

So, will we see alternative ebook reader device with large screen in the states? It would be very nice to have more choice to choose from, beside the Kindle Dx.

By the way, how would the user access the book content if it is offer by Vodafone? Will they support Mobipocket or Fictionwise? It seems that the chances of seeing the device with Mobipocket format will be quite small since Mobipocket is controlled by Amazon. Earlier in the news, the talks between Amazon and Vodafone selling Kindle in Germany was suspended???

[mtravellerh]

Originally Posted by lee1234

So, will we see alternative ebook reader device with large screen in the states? It would be very nice to have more choice to choose from, beside the Kindle Dx.

By the way, how would the user access the book content if it is offer by Vodafone? Will they support Mobipocket or Fictionwise? It seems that the chances of seeing the device with Mobipocket format will be quite small since Mobipocket is controlled by Amazon. Earlier in the news, the talks between Amazon and Vodafone selling Kindle in Germany was suspended???

We do know why those talks were ended now, don't we? And you're probably right, the supported DRM-format will probably not be Mobi.

[CommanderROR]

This is interesting news indeed...sadly Vodafone is even higher up on my hate-list than t-mobile...

The format will most likely be ePub, that seems to be the dominant format in Germany at the moment. I wonder which platform they will be going with though, since there is no real german ebook market yet. Libri seems a likely choice, they are pushing the Sony Reader and might be willing to expand to the new device.

More interesting might be who is going to provide the hardware. I'm placing my bets on Netronix, but who knows...it might be some so-far unknown startup...

[krischik]

Originally Posted by junkyardwillie

What? It must be the Kindle DX.

Amazon had tried to make a deal with T-Online and / or vodaphone for Kindle 2 Kindle DX - both deals failed because T-Online and vodaphone wanted to much money for the OTA .

Martin