German media giant Bertelsmann Buch AG of Munich has made an investment in Palo Alto, California-based start-up NuvoMedia Inc, which aims to alter the entire publishing landscape with a secure system for online distribution of books. Bertelsmann, which is remaining tight-lipped about the scale of its investment, joins online bookseller Barnes and Noble Inc – which holds a 20% stake – in backing a company whose portable RocketBook will enable customers to carry around and read a small library. Under the system it is developing, publishers are assured of encrypted delivery to protect their intellectual property while NuvoMedia claims that its RocketBook will give readers an easy-to-use 1.25oz hand-held device with a battery life of 20 hours which can be read in all lighting conditions. In addition, the company says because it is a digital device, books can be searched, annotated, highlighted, linked and referenced in a way that would be impossible with a paper book. RocketBook holds around 4,000 pages at a time – the equivalent of around 10 novels – which can be downloaded from the company’s website. The RocketBook and delivery system is due to be released before the end of this year. The product will go for under $500, the company said. It runs on any desktop or notebook PC with a 486 or higher processor and 16Mb of RAM running Windows 95 or NT.
