German company txtr has just launched the first iPhone ebook reading application to support the ePub open ebook format along with Adobe’s digital rights management.
Sounds like more than a mouthful but this is very good news for ebook development. It potentially opens up the important iPhone channel to content from major commercial publishers who, love it or hate it, won’t release their books without DRM.
The ePub/Adobe Content Server 4 DRM combination is the system we’re planning to use in New Zealand for our 1000 Great New Zealand eBooks promotion and it is the one that is widely viewed as the best shot we have in the short term to create an open standard for ebooks, ‘open’ in the sense that will operate on many devices and can be sold or rented through many retail channels.
Of course, this is bleeding edge technology so nothing is meant to be simple. Txtr is a German company — one to watch, by the way — and right now you can’t install their app in New Zealand or, I imagine, in most other countries, mainly because of various rights issues.
The important news, though, is that they’ve actually ported Adobe’s mobile reader SDK (software developer kit) to the iPhone and built an App with it that’s met Apple’s approval.
Will leading iPhone e-reading app Stanza soon add Adobe’s mobile reader technology?
Ebooks are going to displace their printed counterparts. Ebook readers are diversifying in the market. I wish every one of them a great success. The iPhone platform is a comprehensive one for writers to start at. I recently found an informative site about iPhone ebooks – http://www.publishebook123.com.