The Rocket eBook was one of the first commercial handheld e-readers that was produced by NuvoMedia in late 1998; it used a LCD screen and could store up to ten e-books.[1] E-books were loaded on the device by connecting it to a computer and the device had two page turn buttons. Rocket-compatible e-books were sold online at Barnes & Noble and Powell's Bookstore.[2]
The Rocket eBook was manufactured by NuvoMedia until 2000, when it was purchased by Gemstar-TV Guide International for $187 million.[3] After purchasing NuvoMedia and merging it with SoftBook, Gemstar released an e-reader called the RCA eBook Reader.[3]
NuvoMedia[edit]
On April 15, 1997, Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning founded NuvoMedia to make a product that could benefit from improving battery size and settled on the electronic book; its e-book reader shipped 20,000 units in 1999.[4]
References[edit]
- ^ eBooks: 1998 – The first ebook readers. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
- ^ David Strom. "E-Books: Still an Unfinished Work". Computerworld, Jul 19, 1999. p. 76.
- ^ a b Hossein Bidgoli. The Internet Encyclopedia. John Wiley and Sons, 2004. p. 790. ISBN 978-0-471-22202-6
- ^ Baer, Drake. "The Making Of Tesla: Invention, Betrayal, And The Birth Of The Roadster". Business Insider. Business Insider. Retrieved 7 June 2016.