Mike, let's speculate some more.
My idea of cool functionality with eBooks -- one that might exploit both Gem's IPR and Steve's point on first-mover advantage -- is to view the IPG not only as a Yahoo-type portal for video, but as an Amazon-type gateway for eBook sales.
I can see the GuidePlus screen as being a very interesting interface for book or magazine browsing, whether on the device itself or on TV. For instance, I was stuck in an airport for 4 hours yesterday. Nothing would have eased the wait more than to be able to browse a built-in book stack of titles and reviews, either current best-sellers or some customized library suited to my own tastes, and then download a new title wirelessly.
Or conversely, I could have stocked up on reading matter from a far richer catalog -- essentially, everything in print (or out of print, for that matter) in any language on earth, through the IPG on my television -- and I could have downloaded my choices over the cable. Either way, the Guide could make browsing by subject, genre, title, author, review, whatever, as easy as it makes choosing a TV show
Why not just order my eBook from Amazon or B&N rather than through the Gem IPG? Well, I could do that, or I could perhaps get the same title from a Gemstar partner / provider who might offer the title for a couple bucks less because an advertiser is subsidizing it. So my copy of Reinhold Messner's latest true-adventure saga might come with IPG-enabled ads from Mountain Hardwear, including a new climbing jacket I've been thinking about. I could view and order wirelessly right from my eBook, or i could use the IPG on my TV to click into a short infomercial featuring Ed Viesturs on K2 using the same jacket.
It might not matter that the eBook format is open and non-proprietary. It'll be the first movers, like Nuvomedia/ Softbook, with value-added IPR, e.g. Gemstar, who stand to make the most of it. Thoughts? Where are the holes in this idea?
(beware that this is a carpetologist mouthing off about something he knows nothing about)
I've come to realize that that's the signal for me to listen up. <g>
Climber |
