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Disney pushes into e-books with Web-based interactive books
By Peter CohenSeptember 30, 2009, 6:18 am PT
Disney on Tuesday introduced Disney Digital Books, a new effort to capture the attention of tech-savvy early readers and their parents. The e-books are viewable on a Mac or PC running a Web browser with Flash, and the service operates on a subscription model. A free trial is also available.
Disney Digital Books launches with 500 titles already available, including dozens of Disney classics. Kids can read along or click on any word to hear it pronounced, and a built-in dictionary helps readers learn words they don’t already know. Kids gain points with the more books they read, displaying badges and awards in a personalized area on the site. The service also lets kids make their own story books using clip-art and interactive elements. And parents can monitor their kids’ progress using built-in diagnostic tools, sending them encouragement and messages.
In a webcast introducing the service, Disney Publishing Worldwide president Russell Hampton explained the effort is an attempt by Disney to keep bookreading relevant to kids who might otherwise be more inclined to play video games or watch TV. “We have to compete for their time,” he said.
Disney Publishing Worldwide’s main business is still squarely in print. Hampton didn’t discount the possibility that Disney will make further inroads to e-publishing in the future, on mobile devices, e-book readers like the Kindle and so on. But he emphasized that the computer is where his company is making its debut with e-books, since computers provide the closest experience to reading a real book — especially a children’s book, since children’s books tend to emphasize rich artwork as much, if not more, than the story.
The service is available today in English, though Disney has plans to internationalize it, and users can sign up for a trial with access to eight free books.
Disney Digital Books run on Mac OS X 10.4 or later, on G5 or better-equipped Macs running Safari 3 or Firefox 3 or later with Adobe Flash 9 or better installed.
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Disney pushes into e-books with Web-based interactive books
By Peter CohenSeptember 30, 2009, 6:18 am PT
Disney on Tuesday introduced Disney Digital Books, a new effort to capture the attention of tech-savvy early readers and their parents. The e-books are viewable on a Mac or PC running a Web browser with Flash, and the service operates on a subscription model. A free trial is also available.
Disney Digital Books launches with 500 titles already available, including dozens of Disney classics. Kids can read along or click on any word to hear it pronounced, and a built-in dictionary helps readers learn words they don’t already know. Kids gain points with the more books they read, displaying badges and awards in a personalized area on the site. The service also lets kids make their own story books using clip-art and interactive elements. And parents can monitor their kids’ progress using built-in diagnostic tools, sending them encouragement and messages.
In a webcast introducing the service, Disney Publishing Worldwide president Russell Hampton explained the effort is an attempt by Disney to keep bookreading relevant to kids who might otherwise be more inclined to play video games or watch TV. “We have to compete for their time,” he said.
Disney Publishing Worldwide’s main business is still squarely in print. Hampton didn’t discount the possibility that Disney will make further inroads to e-publishing in the future, on mobile devices, e-book readers like the Kindle and so on. But he emphasized that the computer is where his company is making its debut with e-books, since computers provide the closest experience to reading a real book — especially a children’s book, since children’s books tend to emphasize rich artwork as much, if not more, than the story.
The service is available today in English, though Disney has plans to internationalize it, and users can sign up for a trial with access to eight free books.
Disney Digital Books run on Mac OS X 10.4 or later, on G5 or better-equipped Macs running Safari 3 or Firefox 3 or later with Adobe Flash 9 or better installed.
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Discussion 8 comments so far
8 Responses to “Disney pushes into e-books with Web-based interactive books”
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When I first saw this picture, I thought it was “Kylie” pimping Windows 7 again.
That said, I think this is generally a move in the right direction in terms of focusing on the computer as the primary target as opposed to something like the Kindle platform, etc. However, with Jobs on the Disney board, I would have thought they could have done something more creative than a Flash based design. Still, this should be interesting to see how things work out.
Heh, imagine Disney on a Black and White Kindle screen.
I cracked up during the webcast — they were playing music from “High School Musical” before the live event started, and it was “Stick to the Status Quo.”
A step in the right direction. The goal companies are struggling toward is interactive ebooks that can be updated quickly with links to videos and other more in depth material, a feature which would make the ebook more valuable than a paper book. As this article highlights, the area is also waiting for a larger portable screen with color capability (an Apple tablet).
Agreed.
I’m probably going to sign up for this. My son is right at the point where he can read most kid books …and he loves the computer.
with FLASH no good for ipod Touch or iPhone…
YouTube knows this over 60% of YouTube is now H.264 (quicktime)
the new HTML5 standard does not refer to FLASH at all
perhaps FLASH is a dinosaur standard!?
Maybe eventually Flash will be a dinosaur standard, but right now it reigns supreme on the desktop and laptop. HTML5 is certainly something to look forward to once it’s deployed ubiquitously.