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With papers in crisis, there are now proposals that e-books might offer journalism a new cartable platform and subscription model. One French firm already utilising the electronic subscription model is  Ave! Comics which provides cartoon strips to paying e-book users.

“Our idea is to get cartoons more widely distributed to another public and in the final analysis a global public,” claimed Allison Reber from Ave. Struggling papers may be offered a lifeline by the new format – particularly as the devices’ tech is developing to incorporate color and flexible displays.

The publishing industry has given a nod to e-books by showcasing them in Paris’s yearly book fair, Salon du Livre, as a future digital platform. Marie Lichtle from 4D Idea , iRex’s distributor in France, related that e-books don’t tire eyes like PC screens. “It is truly like reading standard paper, but you may enjoy all of the interactivity of an electronic device,” she explained.

The third-generation Cybook from Bookeen, for example, can look up words in its on-board compendium.

For visually diminished folk it is terribly helpful. “Actually, it’s the only way they can read sometimes,” declared Laurent Picard from Bookeen. “You can add your own fonts and just change the way the layout is done,” he added.

Bookworms can store around 1,500 titles in Amazon’s US-released Kindle 2, and one thousand in Bookeen Cybook – but most devices come with expandable memory too. The batteries are also long-lasting, because devices are not measured in hours, but in turns of the page.

Sony’s Movable Reader System, for instance, is meant to last 7,500 page turns after one charge. The main obstacle boils down to price, because e-books are still not inexpensive. But a more cost-effective way now into this evolving tech is through a smartphone.