There is a story in today's NY Times business section re French newspapers experimenting with using readers for distribution. Unlike the Kindle, they are looking at a model to add ads to the electronic file in order to subsidize the costs. Here is one quote re iRex:
"And then there is the cost of the devices. In the Read & Go test, Orange is using a reader made by iRex Technologies, a spinoff of Royal Philips Electronics that is based in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. The participants have been given the devices free. But a Dutch newspaper, NRC Handelsblad, has been selling iRex readers to existing subscribers of the paper at a cost of about 500 euros ($800).
Mr. Fournier said that in September, at the end of the test, the people who tested the system will be asked how much they would be willing to pay for it. France Télécom, he said, might be willing to subsidize the cost of the devices, in the same way that it offers cut-price mobile phones to customers who sign long-term contracts. He said Orange was also speaking with other manufacturers, and hoped to be able to offer two or three different models if the service is introduced commercially."
You need to create a logon to read the article. Here is the link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/21/bu...er&oref=slogin