Big Rollout for DNL Laptop-format e-Books

By Calvin Reid -- Publishers Weekly, 4/21/2009 6:39:00 AM

Australia-based software and e-book developer DNAML announced plans to release  more than 31,000 of its DNL format e-books by late summer aimed at the growing Netbook, small laptop computer market.  The rollout of DNL format e-books includes titles from more than 35 large publishers like Random House and HarperCollins as well as more than 250 small presses and self-published authors.

In fact, Adam Schmidt, CEO of DNAML, said the company expects to releases more than 75,000 e-book titles over the next 12 months. The titles will be available through a new website, ebook.com, as well as through a variety of DNAML distribution channels. The company also has deals in place for e-book titles to be preloaded on Netbooks, flashdrives and other devices as well as offered through international retail and reseller sites.

DNL-format e-books are aimed at the users of Netbooks and at the conventional laptop and desktop computing marketplace. DNL e-books feature strong DRM that allows publishers to limit or expand where an e-book can be sold or how many devices it can be read on. The format provides consumer feedback to publishers and also allows readers to purchase titles from within the application and allows consumers to try the book before they buy.

“We strongly believe that publishers understand their customers and can market digital versions of the print book appropriately to them if they are given the ability to do so. Allowing publisher’s access to consumers that have purchased their e-book and have opted in to receive updates and further notifications of new offerings is uncommon within current book distribution systems. We believe that this concept will catch on and publishers will be promoting directly to their customers just as software publishers have been doing successfully for over a decade now,” said Schmidt