Publisher Hearst said to be preparing "periodicals" ebook reader

Ebook readers continue to draw interest in the news and among consumers, mostly because of Amazon's newest model now available for purchase. The Kindle 2, which was previewed here recently, is drawing some early praise from consumers and reviewers alike. It has highlighted this product category so much, in fact, that we now have a buying guide for related products and features to consider.

Now comes word today, via the magazine Fortune, that mega-publishing empire Hearst is planning to launch a wireless e-reader of its own. What is reportedly different about this reader from other ones already offered is that it will be around the size of a standard piece of paper and targeted towards publishers like Hearst. The end result? A specialized, larger screen format reader which lets you subscribe to magazines and newspapers for wireless delivery.

It is said this new ereader, perhaps available by the end of this year, will be able to serve up ads mixed amongst the print content you are reading on the display. This may help throw a lifeline to print publications, most of which are seeing sharply declining revenues in the changing economy as well as how people look for information today. A number of well known publications have already folded, or are close to folding, so any additional ways for them to reach readers might be worth consideration.