UndergroundE Beta Tests Interactive Ebooks

Posted on January 3, 2001

UndergroundE, a new interactive epublisher catering largely to library markets, is beta testing its new AddieBook electronic book format. The AddieBook is an ad-sponsored interactive ebook which can include trivia, graphics, anecdotes and Web links.

"I have no doubt that handheld digital readers and their eBooks will one day become both affordable and convenient," says Todd Hayes, publisher of the AddieBook interactive format at UndergroundE. "Until then, why would someone want to pay more for an ebook than a printed version of the same book? I wouldn't. Our answer is to create ebooks right now that are affordable and that add value above and beyond the capability of the printed word. An AddieBook demands your full attention by repeatedly distracting you from a particular line of thought. You have to be quick to keep up with both the story and the distractions. An AddieBook is made especially for the short attention span."

Hayes says that the AddieBook is geared for readers aged 14 and older. Each title will have hundreds of rollover and click links embedded in the text, providing trivia, tangents and humorous anecdotes to intentionally distract the reader. "Storytelling, education and humor is the best combination of entertainment for any age, and always has been," Hayes says.

UndergroundE is now beta testing their new format until March 1st, 2001 with advertisers and readers. The company is offering Internet readers stock incentives in exchange for product feedback. Hayes' second novel, Flash Fortune is the guinea pig for the trial. Flash Fortune is a period mystery about a gang of small-time grifters in Las Vegas who are attempting to con Howard Hughes out of a million dollars.