Newspaper Publishing Without the Paper

With further proof that the future is green, the New York Times reports on the latest innovation in newspaper publishing, and it doesn't have anything to do with paper. Several publications have started testing versions of electronic paper, using a device with low-power digital screens embedded with digital ink that could do for newspapers what the iPod did for music. A handful of trials are underway: De Tijd, a Belgian financial newspaper, the newspaper trade group IFRA in Germany, and the New York Times here in the States are all testing both hardware and software that could take newspapers off the printing press and directly into your hands. The devices, which will be able to download books, newspapers and podcasts, are expected to intially cost about $400. For publishers confronting declining newspaper circulation in most parts of the world, they offer promise similar to that of blogs and other internet content: reaching more readers, saving on printing and distribution costs, quickening the pace of news and information and ultimately saving some trees. ::New York Times via ::Engadget