E-Media Tidbits

research.philips.com Philips rollable e-paper: Not quite a newspaper killer.

Will e-paper be what finally kills the paper in "newspaper?"

Well, after the Sept. 21 Knock-Knock media-tech conference in Aarhus, Denmark, I was sadly disappointed. It seems we'll have to wait several years before this technology is consumer-ready.

Two companies presented their latest edition of the technology we've all been dreaming about for the last decade. It seems we'll have to waitat least five more years.

Philips presented a model which has been tested by 200 readers in Belgium. However, the screen is fairly small and not flexible. Also, PlasticLogic presented a flexible but far from "pocket-ready" model. Neither product could display color. Also, video on e-paper is several years into the future.

Fortunately it seemed that both companies would leave the development of content to media partners.

...But this led directly to the next disappointment: Chief analyst Poul Melbye from the JP-Politiken newspaper group announced that his companysees great potential in e-paper -- if it were based on a gatekeeper model with big media at the center.

Melbye compared e-paper to present day phone models which are often sold cheaply when bundled with a specific subscription and start page for mobile content.

As he explained his idea, I became increasingly convinced that it may in fact be possible for big media companies to lock this market down for at least a few years. However, that might depend on the software platform.

Personally I'll root for open platforms. But who's right? Could someone out there please convince me that electronic paper will not be handcuffed by big media?