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2nd December 2008

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Germany's Telekom develops e-reader

05.08.08

One of Europe’s biggest telecommunications companies, Deutsche Telekom, is developing a portable e-reader, apparently a competitor for Amazon’s Kindle, reports German magazine Der Spiegel.

The company plans a test run with a few dozen prototypes of electronic newspaper readers in Berlin this autumn, under the project name "News4Me". Peter Möckel, head of Deutsche Telekom’s R&D department, says his company sees a market in the gap between mobile phones and laptops.

One of the engineers involved in the project is quoted as saying that the Kindle generally points in the right direction but Deutsche Telekom will end up developing a device with a larger (and possibly bendable) display. It’s also supposed to be easier to operate.

France Telecom’s Orange is currently working on a similar product called “Read&Go” [FR]. The Kindle is currently neither available in France nor in Germany.

Der Spiegel

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