When Nomad Editions announced their upcoming mobile emagazine on August 10, 2010, the excitement about the new venture wasn't because of the potential new content. Nomad Magazines represents the transition from print media to digital media for one of the hardest areas to move into e-ink: magazines. People like to flip through print magazines, and it is hard to flip through a magazine on an ebook reader. Nomad Editions is promising something new.
What is Nomad Editions?
To understand how Nomad Editions will work when it is launched in October, 2010, it is best to look at one of the oldest books in the world. Lifechurch.tv managed to adapt the Bible to a mobile edition because Youversion was born to be an app; it is flexible, works on many devices, and adjusts to what the user wants. Nomad Editions is built on the same sort of reasoning.
Tanzina Vega explains how Nomad Editons will be somewhat personalized for each user in her August 11, 2010 New York Times article, "A Magazine Meant for Mobile Readers (and Freelancers)." Vega writes that every week, "subscribers will receive through a mobile application what amounts to a mini-magazine, focused on their area of interest. Each edition is expected to each take 20 to 30 minutes to read."
Rather than the typical news app that is a digital edition of an already existing publication, emagazines on Nomad Editions' apps will have have a buffet of content for subscribers that can only be found digitally. The content will be especially easy to access because it will feel native to whatever device is being used.
What is Treesaver?
The technology behind Nomad Editions is called Treesaver, and according to " News from Nomad Editions," the company's August 10, 2010 press release, Treesaver was developed by " a former engineer at Microsoft who was involved in that company’s early efforts to transform traditional print to web based products. Treesaver permits Nomad Editions to appear on any mobile device that has a browser, automatically formatted to the actual size and shape of each screen." Treesaver isn't going to impress someone who only has one device, but it will be great for people who take advantage of Kindle's syncing.
A person can start a book on a Kindle, read it on the iPhone app, continue it on the desktop app, and sync the book so that whatever ereader device is being used, the book is always on the same page. Treesaver is going to go one additional step. According to Treesaver, the technology "divides content into pages, automatically adjusting the layout to the size of the screen. It works on any device that has a web browser: Desktop PC or Mac, notebook, netbook, iPad and iPhone." This means that the content in Nomad Editions will always look and feel the same, no matter what device is being used.
Of course, Nomad Editions is exciting right now because no one has successfully tried it yet, and when the app is released in October, it might feel like just another competitor in the land of iPhone news apps. The idea that the company is starting with mobile users in mind, is planning to have smooth transitions with multimedia, and isn't locked into a demanding print sibling has promise. Treesaver sounds like it can make emagazines work; people can flip around, watch video, and have everything feel the same, no matter what device they are using. Amazon has shown that content matters more than format; in 2010, ebooks outsold hardbacks. Nomad Editions might do the same thing for magazines.
Sources:
- "A Magazine Meant for Mobile Readers (and Freelancers)" by Tanzina Vega was published in the New York Times on August 11, 2010.
- "Amazon: E-Books Outsell Hardcovers" was written by Charlie Sorrell. The article was published on Wired on July 20, 2010.
- "News from Nomad Editions" was released as a press release from Nomad Editions on August 10, 2010.
- "Treesaver: A New Design for the Web" was accessed on Treesaver.net on August 12, 2010.
Alex Sharp - Alex Sharp is a teacher who has been keeping Suite101 readers up to date with the latest in audio- and e-book gadgetry since 2008.
