SoftBook Launches Electronic Book System

Posted on June 15, 1998

SoftBook Press Inc. announced its new SoftBook® electronic book and the SoftBook Network®. The SoftBook holds up to 100,000 pages of text, pictures and graphics that readers download directly from the SoftBook Network. Material on the SoftBook is read one page at a time and includes a back-lit display. The SoftBook includes a lithium ion battery pack that provides up to five hours of viewing with a one-hour recharge. The SoftBook system enables corporations, publishers, and educational institutions to make corporate documents, books, and periodicals available over a phone line at a rate of 100 pages per minute.

"Imagine a single, lightweight book that holds dozens of documents, periodicals, and novels that you can read on planes, at home or take along with you anywhere you want to go," said Jim Sachs, founder, chairman and CEO of SoftBook Press. "Electronic books have been long awaited and our SoftBook is truly revolutionary as the first complete, content-rich electronic book to hit the market."

The SoftBook becomes "ready to read" by opening the protective cover. Readers can search for words and phrases, view text in a choice of font sizes, make annotations directly on the screen, erase them, highlight text, bookmark pages and link to related information. Users can save and store their materials with all annotations intact on their online personal bookshelf.

Refreshing the SoftBook with new reading material requires connecting to the SoftBook Network. Once readers are online, they can browse for proprietary content in their corporate InfoCenter or purchase books and periodicals from the SoftBookstore, a virtual bookstore for SoftBook users.

The SoftBook will be available in Fall 1998 starting at $299 plus $9.95 per month. The monthly fee includes access to a variety of free books and periodicals, unlimited online bookshelf space, free software updates, and 24 hour-per-day access to the SoftBook Network including the SoftBookstore and corporate InfoCenters.