Skiff has signed a multi-year agreement with Sprint (NYSE:S) to provide
3G connectivity for Skiff's dedicated e-reading devices in the United
States. Plans are underway to have Skiff readers available for purchase
in more than 1,000 Sprint retail locations across the U.S., as well as
online.
Skiff, LLC announced plans to launch a new consumer e-reading
service platform in 2010 that will deliver enhanced content experiences
to dedicated e-readers, as well as to multipurpose devices such as
smartphones and netbooks. The Skiff service and digital store will
feature a comprehensive selection of newspapers, magazines, books and
other content from multiple publishers, uniquely optimized for wireless
delivery to devices and delivery via the Web.
Skiff, formerly known as FirstPaper, specializes in the delivery and
presentation of newspaper and magazine content, as opposed to other
platforms that focus primarily on e-books and plain text. Newspaper and
magazine content delivered by Skiff will feature visually appealing
layouts, high-resolution graphics, rich typography and dynamic updates.
These capabilities will allow more newspaper and magazine publishers to
successfully migrate their premium content to the fast-growing e-reading
channel, while preserving the key design qualities that help
publications differentiate themselves and attract subscribers and
advertisers.
"Skiff's goal is to connect publishers and marketers with consumers,"
said Gilbert Fuchsberg, president of Skiff, which has offices in both
New York City and Palo Alto, Calif. "We will accomplish this by
delivering engaging reading experiences that consumers will value and a
business model that respects publishers' needs."
"Navigating new digital technologies is extremely challenging for
publishers, which is why Skiff exists--it will give publishers a strong
partner that can help them succeed in e-reading," said Kenneth A.
Bronfin, president of Hearst Interactive Media. "Skiff will offer
publishers a way to participate across the full value chain, from
shaping publication design to selling advertising to maintaining
subscriber relationships, so that they can better control their destiny
as e-reading expands."
Skiff has been incubated as a separate company by Hearst Corporation,
which has a long and successful track record of identifying, investing
in and supporting promising new technologies and platforms for content
and advertising. Examples of Hearst early-stage investments include
Netscape; XM Satellite Radio; Sling Media; and E Ink Corporation, the
company behind the novel "electronic paper" display technology used in
most e-book devices today.
Skiff is engaged with newspaper, magazine, book and other publishers in
the U.S. and around the world and has completed successful trials among
consumers to demonstrate the technical execution of its end-to-end
service platform.
Skiff Ecosystem
To enable the Skiff service platform and ecosystem, Skiff has assembled
a set of world-class device, connectivity, retail distribution, and
advertising partners:
Devices
Skiff is working with major consumer electronics manufacturers to
integrate Skiff's service, digital store and specialized client software
into a range of innovative devices, the first of which will be unveiled
soon. As part of this initiative, Skiff has partnered with Marvell
(NASDAQ: MRVL), one of the world's leading semiconductor companies, to
help create the world's first "system on a chip" for e-reading. This
innovative component will enable manufacturers to accelerate the
development of high-performance e-reading devices.
"Skiff signifies a new era in live content distribution--anywhere,
anytime, even any size delivery of high-quality text, images and
graphics, all tailored to the always-on demands of today's consumers,"
said Weili Dai, Marvell's co-founder and vice president and general
manager of the company's Consumer and Computing Business Unit. "Marvell
is proud to be a key silicon partner behind this new paperless
publishing revolution."
By supporting a variety of device makers, and through the development of
complementary applications for major smartphone platforms, Skiff will
make it easier for publishers to distribute content and advertising
broadly across multiple devices from a range of manufacturers, an
increasingly important goal as the e-reading market continues to grow.
"Sprint has more than 10 years of experience in provisioning
non-Sprint-branded devices to operate on its networks," said Dan Dooley,
president of Sprint Wholesale Solutions. "This strategic partnership
with Skiff is an unprecedented collaborative opportunity bringing
together the power of the Sprint 3G network and the expansiveness of
Sprint retail distribution with a dynamic new vision of e-readers."