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hedro · 11-20-2007, 10:34 AM

OK, I am not looking to buy a reader but I do work for a publishing company and want advice.

Part of what I need help with is format and part is hardware?

Lets take hardware first, from my point of view the Iliad is the ultimate and the Bookeen CyBook is at the lower end of functionality in terms of potential education uses, and of course there is a rather large price differential.

Question 1
Am I missing something or are there only really the extremes when it comes to functionality. Is there nothing in the middle that uses e-paper displays with some form of note taking capability?

In terms of format there will need to be some form of DRM but I dont want to open that can of worms right now so I will come back to it later. I am leaning towards Mobi as a format simply because it has a broad install base and is available for many different platforms, though I really dont want to have to deal with Amazon that much. Adobe have locked up access to their content server for creating "Digital Editions" so I would have to deal with an Adobe Partner for that, so thats that for the short term.

Question 2
What format would everybody recommend for me to investigate further? please bear in mind that some form of DRM has to be supported and please try not to turn this into a discussion on DRM

Question 3
Would I be better going for a proprietry format for our educational titles and developing a reader for that format for the Iliad and selling e-books and reader into the educational sector as a package and then going with a more generic format for our trade list?

I figure thats enough questions for now, I figure that if you can help me with some information, I can bring you insight from the publishing end of things into the reasoning behind any decieasons that we make.

If this should be in another section of the forums please let me know.

Thanks,

Tony

11-20-2007, 10:34 AM	#1
hedro Gill & Macmillan Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Dublin Ireland Device: Iliad 2nd Edition/CyBook Gen3/iPhone	What to opt for? OK, I am not looking to buy a reader but I do work for a publishing company and want advice. Part of what I need help with is format and part is hardware? Lets take hardware first, from my point of view the Iliad is the ultimate and the Bookeen CyBook is at the lower end of functionality in terms of potential education uses, and of course there is a rather large price differential. Question 1 Am I missing something or are there only really the extremes when it comes to functionality. Is there nothing in the middle that uses e-paper displays with some form of note taking capability? In terms of format there will need to be some form of DRM but I dont want to open that can of worms right now so I will come back to it later. I am leaning towards Mobi as a format simply because it has a broad install base and is available for many different platforms, though I really dont want to have to deal with Amazon that much. Adobe have locked up access to their content server for creating "Digital Editions" so I would have to deal with an Adobe Partner for that, so thats that for the short term. Question 2 What format would everybody recommend for me to investigate further? please bear in mind that some form of DRM has to be supported and please try not to turn this into a discussion on DRM Question 3 Would I be better going for a proprietry format for our educational titles and developing a reader for that format for the Iliad and selling e-books and reader into the educational sector as a package and then going with a more generic format for our trade list? I figure thats enough questions for now, I figure that if you can help me with some information, I can bring you insight from the publishing end of things into the reasoning behind any decieasons that we make. If this should be in another section of the forums please let me know. Thanks, Tony Last edited by hedro; 11-30-2007 at 05:32 AM.