[print version] A library and cinema in your pocket | CNET News.com: “In Japan, major publishers like Shinchosha and Kadokawa Shoten have created Web sites to offer telephone reading material. Japan is also home to probably the most successful telephone venture. Earlier this year, a mobile novel jumped from phone screens to the silver screen, evolving into a feature film, ‘Deep Love.’
In the book industry in the United States, the initial reaction to mobile-lit is: ‘Are you kidding?’ as one veteran put it.
Still, some major New York publishing houses are pondering the future. ‘We are paying attention, but we haven’t entered the market yet,’ said Kate Tentler, vice president and publisher for Simon & Schuster Online. ‘It would be crazy not to look at this. Smart phones are everywhere, and it’s the fastest-growing device.’
In Europe, even some old-guard publishers have jumped into the mobile format. The Munich-based Langenscheidt Publishing Group is a traditional, family-run company that would seem an unlikely player in this market. It has been publishing dictionaries, travel guides and map books since 1856 and is run by the fourth generation of the Langenscheidt family.”
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