3 options for Reading from the Web on an eReader

Today, for the eReader Reference Architecture I modeled 3 options for reading from the web:

1. If your reader has a browser and an Internet connection you can browse the web directly, as advertised for the iPad
2. You could also browse the web, find something interesting and flag it as "Read Later", as Instapaper does. Later you can create and download a document (PDF, ePub, HTML...) gathering all your "read later" pages. Today I modeled that the aggregated document is uploaded to your eReader via a Inbox Service (Service to Push documents to a eReader).
3. An alternative to "Read Later" is the subscription to RSS feeds. I modeled that an RSS Agregator on the Desktop Tier creates a document (an ePub for instance) and uploads the aggregated document to your eReader, also via the Inbox Service.

Option 2 and 3 have the advantage that you can read the web off-line.

Neofonie helps you to make magazines for the WePad/iPad/notebooks/desktops...

In a recent blog post, I told about Woodwing which proposes a solution for making magazines on the iPad.


Here is an other one : the WeMagazine ePublishing Open Platform. 

Here is the google Translation of the product page (Originally in German):

"For publishers who want their print titles to offer digital, neofonie offers WeMagazine ePublishing Open Platform. The WeMagazine is a software system that is an intelligent, interactive and socially networked book in digital form on tablets such as the WePad or the iPad, desktops, notebooks, and the Web brings. The publishers can extend through the user output format and intuitive operation, the reading time compared to the web material and retain full control over the content.

The publishers can compensate for the loss of one page the reader in print through an innovative form of reading on new digital channels. On the other side by a very high quality and innovative presentation of print and online content, the Open Platform WeMagazine can counteract the trend especially in the growing Web-free mentality. This increase and the high recognition factor with a uniform user interface on all channels, customer loyalty especially in comparison to traditional, complex from a user perspective, Web services."

Woodwing vous aide à créer votre Magazine Digital pour l'iPad

Aujourd'hui, j'ai participé au webinar de Woodwing
sur création de magazines pour l'iPad.

Le software de woodwing est notament utilisée pour la
version iPad du Time Magazine.

Pour ce faire, Woodwing propose un serveur (Entreprise 7),
un logiciel (Content Station) et un Plugin pour Adobe InDesign.

En utilisant ces 3 éléments on peut facilement créer
des magazines qui supportent les mises en page portrait/landscape
puis les publier comme une application sur l'AppStore de Apple.

Woodwing permet également d'insérer des
slideshows, des vidéos, des liens (Table des matières...),
des éléments web (HTML). Un index est également créé
pour la recherche dans le magazine.

La solution sera disponible mi-mai. Une version
Software as a Service pour le Content Server sera possible.

Particulièrement intéressant, le software de Woodwing
pourra également publier le magazine sur un autre
viewer que celui de l'iPad (utilisant Flex et/ou HTML5).
Comme exemple d'autre liseuse, Victor Cardoso a cité le HP Slate.

Amazon does it right with free reading apps for iPad, PC, iPhone, Mac and Blackberry

One of the problems with choosing an eReader for eBooks is that if you change it for another type, you might loose the eBooks.

Google has a solution : keep the book on the web and access it on-line with some synchronization services for reading off-line.

Amazon comes with another solution : write eReading software that works on most of the devices. See here :

Read Anywhere with Amazon's free reading apps.

I find it cool and I will certainly give it a try.

30 ways to use a eReader (like the iPad for instance)

Now that Apple shows off 1000's of iPad applications, here is my humble list of 30 eReader use cases for which I have a demo on my ePaper device. Note that many of those demos are possible because of the large screen of the iRex DR1000 (10 inches) which allows to display A4 documents.

1. Ebooks
2. Magazines
3. Comic Strips
4. Newspapers
5. Notes
6. Documentation
7. Manuals
8. White Papers
9. Financial Data
10. Education : School, University, Learning
11. Work Documents (Project Plan)
12. Images (Photos)
13. E-Tickets
14. Patient Files
15. Maps / Plans
16. Mind maps
17. Marketing Brochures
18. Agenda
19. Emails
20. Internet : RSS (FeedJournal)
21. Internet : Blogs (instapaper)
22. Slide-shows
23. Business Plan
24. Reports
25. Procedures
26. E-Forms
27. Web2.0 – Twitter
28. Web2.0 – Facebook
29. Encyclopedia
30. Music Partitions
31. Knowledge Base
32. (Electronic) Signature
33. Check List/To Do List/Shopping List
34. Travel Guides
35. Advertising

If you want to talk about it, let me know by using this form :
http://www.appepaper.com/discovery-center/epaper-reader-demo

Quel avenir pour l'ePaper ?

Voici le document que j'avais préparé pour mon intervention pour SparklingPoint ce 30 mars 2010 : Quel Avenir pour l'ePaper ?



Dans ce document, il ne manque que la conclusion.
Conclusion

• Ne pensez plus ePaper (papier électronique) mais eReading (lecture électronique)
• Le marché explose au niveau technologique, focalisez-vous sur les appareils (liseuses) qui supportent votre business case.
• Il y a probablement de la place pour un appareil en plus à la maison, entre le téléphone et l'ordinateur portable.

Et finalement, comme quelqu'un a dit au séminaire eReading de Eindhoven ce 23 mars 2010:

"The IPad is like the second coming of the Christ" ! ;-)