Within the digital publishing industry, there has been a lot of buzz recently about e-readers. Amazon Kindle and the Sony Reader have been in the market for quite some time, and now rumors speak of Apple entering the market as well.

Will this be the beginning of the end to the popular flash publication format that Zmags are delivering?

We don’t believe so, and we welcome the new technologies in our area of business. First of all, despite the buzz, e-readers are still far away from commercial breakthrough. At the Publishing Business Virtual Conference last week, Jane Friedmann, CEO of OpenRoad Integrated Media, reported that Kindles, which is still the most popular e-reader format, are still just penetrating less than .05 % of the book-buying market. Besides, the giants still need their unavoidable clash, which will shape the rules of the marketplace including vital elements such as technical standards and delivery models.
Yes, the market looks promising, but we need to see a commercial breakthrough for e-readers.

Another reason that flash publications will be a part of the digital media mix in the future is that there will be the need for several technologies. Most analysts compare e-readers to a similar story back in 2001, when the iPod got its major breakthrough. But while digital music was superior compared to CDs in terms of technology and ease of distribution, this is not the case with e-readers and Flash publications. Rather, they are two parallel technologies that serve different purposes. With Flash publications, readers get a live reading experience designed to be viewed on a big screen and a lot of possibilities to create cool features that engage readers and make them want to share content. Just look at this great looking eBrochure as an example.

On the contrary, the high screen contrast in e-readers makes it easier to read text-heavy documents such as novels or the daily newspaper. It’s hard to tell fortunes – especially about the future – but if there is no marketplace for e-readers, Flash publications and perhaps even other reading formats and devices at the same time, I would be surprised.

We are keeping an eye on the progress in this area. Foliomag has more on this interesting issue. Feel free to share your thoughts about e-readers and Flash publications.