Hearst, publisher of magazines like Cosmopolitan and Esquire and also owner of the newspaper San Francisco Chronicle plans to release an eBook reader in 2009.
Apparently Hearst hopes to battle the Amazon Kindle in the periodicals market. Fortune reports that Hearst already developed a large format eBook reader that would also satisfy advertisers.
There are no real details yet on what Hearst is cooking up here. Which technology are they licensing? Or does it even matter as eBook reader for magazines are just not really ready for the mass market?
For starters Hearst would have to give away the eBook reader for free to even get some sizable traction. Also, if the Hearst eBook reader is really supposed to replace the print version of Cosmo, then you need a full color eBook reader. A colorful magazine you can touch and roll up is different than the web.