HARRY TO GO DIGITAL
Harry Potter and his wizarding chums may be about to make a digital publishing leap. Online bookseller Amazon has plans to unveil a wireless electronic book reader, a kind of literary iPod, which already has UK publishers scrambling to digitise their entire range of titles.
The device, which sources claim could be launched as early as next month, would follow the recent US launch of the Sony eBook Reader, a machine the size of a hardback that stores digital copies of up to 80 books and lasts 7,500 pages on a single charge.
Jeremy Ettinghausen, digital director of Penguin, said: "With Amazon and Sony both reported to be planning electronic book reader launches in the UK, we are highly positive about the market for digital books."
A source close to Bloomsbury, the publisher of the Harry Potter novels, said the company was also keen to adapt literary works to the new technology.
Mr Ettinghausen said the public's appetite for digital content, coupled with a wireless electronic book, will allow booksellers to offer instant digital downloads of all types of literature in cafés, airports and, of course, in bookshops. Penguin has begun the process of digitising all its books and already offers a limited selection of digital downloads from its website.
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