Volume 16, Number 6 • June 1999

NuvoMedia Adds Self-Publishing Features to Its Rocket eBook

By creating the RocketWriter, NuvoMedia has given Rocket eBook owners a new way to take their documents with them wherever they go, according to the company. The new software feature lets users download and read personal and corporate documents on the electronic reader. With Rocket-Library.com, NuvoMedia has also made it possible for all Rocket eBook users to have their works “published” and displayed on the Internet, where they can be shared with the growing community of Rocket eBook owners. Further, since NuvoMedia’s RocketWriter is included in its RocketLibrarian, a proprietary software package used to download and manage RocketEditions, and is available for free (http://www.Rocket-eBook.com), writers who do not own a Rocket eBook also may create RocketEditions and contribute them to the community Web site.

“Rocket eBook owners, who share a passion for the printed word, can continue to enjoy their favorite published works electronically, while gaining the flexibility of reading and sharing the many types of documents that make up their personal and professional lives,” said Martin F. Eberhard, co-founder and CEO of NuvoMedia. “With the addition of the RocketWriter and Rocket-Library.com, we’ve added features that provide a professional use, as well as a community base from which their written works and ideas can be exchanged.”

“With the addition of RocketWriter, NuvoMedia has successfully addressed an important need of the mobile professional, whose personal and business-related reading often is intertwined,” said Chris Shipley, editor and publisher of DemoLetter. “By adding community-building features to the Rocket eBook, NuvoMedia is also continuing to expand the boundaries of the eBook category.”

RocketWriter allows Rocket eBook owners to easily create their own RocketEditions, letting them take their corporate documents, personal documents, and selected Web pages with them anywhere they would take their Rocket eBook. Users simply save documents as an HTML file and then “drag” it into the RocketLibrarian. Within seconds, the document is ready to be downloaded into the Rocket eBook or shared on the Rocket-Library.com Web site. According to the company, importing Web pages is as simple as copying and pasting a selected URL into the RocketLibrarian. As the Web page is being imported, the RocketWriter will also maintain internal links and images.

According to the company, the Rocket eBook and future Rocket eBook-enabled readers will allow users to easily carry a small library with them wherever they go. The 22-ounce, handheld electronic reader can hold at least 4,000 pages (about 10 novels) of text and graphics at a time. According to the company, its user interface is designed for reading with optimized screen technology that is easy to read in all lighting situations. A battery life of up to 40 hours will provide users uninterrupted reading whether in the office, at home, or on the go. Books read on the Rocket eBook can be browsed, searched, annotated, underlined, linked, and referenced in ways impossible with a paper book, the company claims. In addition, readers have immediate access to their RocketEditions without having to wait or pay for shipping.

As we went to press, the company was also showing demos of RocketPress, a turnkey solution that provides a full spectrum of publishing services for RocketEdition content. Housed and maintained via the Rocket eBook System, the easy-to-use RocketPress works as a free Web-based interface that allows publishers and individuals to control and monitor the publishing process of RocketEditions from end to end. Users can upload manuscripts into RocketEdition format for distribution over the Web; set the price of a publication; determine the timing of a RocketEdition release; list, preview, edit, and withdraw titles; and view and change title information and status. The service also lets users view or download a record of all transactions associated with a RocketEdition title, while affording state-of-the-Web security protection. As with all aspects of the Rocket eBook System, the RocketPress fits into the existing publishing business model, including full support of such necessary details such as territorial rights.

Source: NuvoMedia, Inc., Mountain View, CA, 650/314-1200; http://www.rocket-ebook.com or http://www.nuvomedia.com.

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