Time Inc. pondering whether to launch its own e-reader

Time Inc. is apparently considering creating its own e-reader, in competition with the Kindle by Amazon and others. According to a story on an NBC website, an internal memorandum suggests that the company has radically shifted its attitude towards the technology. The document is a printout of a slide presentation, complete with handwritten notes.

The Time Inc. presentation, titled "New Platforms & Business Models for Publishers," is dated June 25, 2009, which shows how rapidly Time's internal strategy shifted. The version obtained by NBC shows handwritten notes updating the presentation, which circulated as recently as August, which indicate Time plans to launch something within the next three months.

"We’re speaking with a number of hardware and software companies as well as other content companies about various projects," said Time Inc. spokeswoman Dawn Bridges when asked about the project. "At this point we don’t have anything else to say publicly."

Whether this is simply blue-skying about possibilities, such as providing an e-reader as part of a subscription, there is no question that various larger publishers are exploring similar ideas -- News Corp. and Hearst among them. Hearst unveiled its own plans for an e-reader in March. At that time, but Time Inc. then said they had no plans to enter the field. Clearly it has changed, or is changing, its mind.

"Portable digital reading devices are emerging as a big publishing opportunity," a slide on the presentation reads.

"Whoever defines the interface wins," another slide concludes.

A slide labeled "Key components to the winning model" includes a "commerce engine" -- an online store like Amazon.com; "product design" including "tools for research, design innovation and manufacturing," which suggests plans for a physical gadget; and a "consumer-facing brand" -- a name for the device and service akin to Amazon's Kindle.

The presentation suggest Time Inc. might acquire other companies or merge its Maghound subscription service into the new, separate venture.