Robert A. Heinlein repeatedly used the acronym TANSTAAFL (There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch) in “The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress” to ram home the idea to the reader that nothing is free. Someone, somewhere is paying a price even if that’s not you at this particular moment. TANSTAAFL applies to the Internet just like everywhere else. There are major costs involved with creating and maintaining a website and they must be met. Someone has to pay the bills. If not then the website will have to eventually close.

The Times, and The Sunday Times, are seeking to turn their websites into revenue generators. I don’t think they will succeed. The Internet community are too obsessed with “free” content to ever consider paying for information that is “freely” available elsewhere. One day that will change as economic forces drive a move away from “free”. When the Internet matures and embraces the currently unattractive idea of having to pay for content.

The fact that a website story can be edited and changed on the fly does not necessarily make it any less valid or true and the same inverse argument could be made for printed media. What it comes down to is, over time, what source seems to be most accurate and convenient.

I still like the feel of a newspaper in my hand but, I am also easily drawn to the speed and ease of news online. For newer generations this tie to printed media will probably shrink and will become more and more expensive thus sealing its fate.

For online paywalls, the genie was out of the lamp for too long to go back, but for mobile apps, perhaps the moment is now.

Is old media is really so scared of Google that they want to abandon the web totally at whatever costs and try to hide content in one hundred places ?

At the first sign of trouble, the priority is streamlining and cutbacks. However, as the corporate news industry started to dwindle, perhaps it was investment and expansion into new ideas and technologies which was/is required.

To keep a product going you need to keep it fresh and regularly updated, not just strip it away until you’re left with sweet FA.

I guess the improving rather than changing all the time helps Apple to perfect their products.

The point of these e-newsreaders is to replace the whole print industry in let’s say 5 to 10 years.

The first black-and white edition of the device would get the first wave of techies and young people while the second generation (with color screen) would be more mature and more prone to adoption by the masses. If the e-newsreader would be very accessible and would offer a great deal in terms of both subscriptions and price, of course.

These e-book readers are not that delicate. Not more delicate than a mobile phone. A good case for it (book-like but from leatherette) could do a good job at protecting it.

The Amazon Kindle is a hit and already sold over 1.5 million devices by some estimates. And keep in mind that the Kindle is $299 and not subsidised by any newspaper group.

Are you saying that this would replace the printed newspaper entirely? It’s just some readers still like the printed word (the elderly being the most obvious). But then again, I guess it would be evolutionary. As they die (sorry to sound so pragmatic about the passing of old people) I guess the demand for print news would fall.

Also, are these things delicate? That could be an issue. If they’re prone to breaking after a bit of rough and tumble in a suitcase then I could see it being quite unpopular.

However, in theory it’s got great potential. Drastic cutting of printing costs, distribution etc would be hugely beneficial to the newspapers.

I just wonder if everyone would take to technology like this?

What were the newspapers who were interested in using them?

The pros and cons of the iPhone 3G S and Palm Pre’s are both listed in the chart I’ve put together (see above). This puts the two phones head-to-head in over 30 categories and many can draw their conclusions from there. The text merely accompanies the complexities of the the two devices, so that is why I would recommend you the chart.