writenews.com Index Advertising Classifieds Feedback Feeds Homepage Linking to Us Our Blog Network Sitemap Subscribe Other Resources Bloggers BlogTM Gamers GameTM HowToWeb® The Internet Writing Journal® Media Books MediaCynic.com ReadersRead.com Shoppers ShopTM Shopping BlogTM Traders TradeTM Watchers Watch WriteJobs.com Writers Write® WWForums.com

News, features and resources for media and publishing professionals. Wednesday, March 21, 2001 Blogs | Subscribe | Interviews | Events | Films | Book Blog Media Cynic | Forum | Advertising | Classifieds | Jobs Palm Acquires Peanutpress.com Palm, Inc., a provider of handheld computers, announced that it has acquired peanutpress.com, Inc., an ebook publisher and distributor of ebooks for handheld computers. Peanutpress offers titles from many of the major commercial publishing houses and, prior to the acquisition, was a wholly owned subsidiary of Boulder, Colo.-based netLibrary, Inc. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. This union makes Palm a leading ebook distributor for handheld computers in the emerging ebook space. The deal includes a web-based storefront containing a growing list of 2,000 titles from most of the major U.S. publishing houses. It also includes the Peanut Reader, an ebook reader application, which runs on Palm OS handhelds using Palm OS 3.0 and higher, as well as on Pocket PC handhelds. Peanut Reader and peanutpress.com will be called Palm Reader software and Palm Digital Media, respectively. Palm Digital Media, which will become a group within Palm, will retain the 17 peanutpress.com employees and remain in Maynard, Mass., where it is currently based. ``This is an empowering opportunity, one that will allow us to help people make the most of their on-the-go-time,'' said Mike Lorion, vice president of Vertical Markets for Palm, Inc. ``Leisure readers, business professionals honing job skills, commuters catching up on the Wall Street Journal, or students backpacking 20-plus pounds of books can benefit from being able to carry reading materials in a device that weighs only ounces and also manages the rest of their information. Additionally, this is exciting because it reflects the commitment of two leaders, Palm and netLibrary, responding to customer demands and working to move the ebook space forward.'' The company also announced that Stephen King's latest novel, Dreamcatcher, will be introduced simultaneously as a Palm ebook and as a hardcover book. The introduction is slated for March 20 at 12:01 a.m. EST. Until March 23, Palm will offer Dreamcatcher for a special introductory price of $14.95 (U.S.). Related Links: · Peanutpress.com · Palm.com · Netlibrary Click here to return to the homepage of The Write NewsTM Click here to subscribe to our free weekly email newsletter. www.writenews.com Copyright © 1997-2010 by Writers Write, Inc. All Rights Reserved.