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Book publishers have been in talks with Apple and are optimistic about being included as part of its new portable tablet-sized computer, which the computer giant hopes to launch in time for the Christmas shopping season, according to the FT.
The device is expected to be launched alongside new content deals, including some aimed at stimulating sales of CD-length music, according to people briefed on the project. The touch-sensitive computer will have a screen that may be up to 10 inches diagonally. It will connect to the internet like the iPod Touch – probably without phone capability but with access to the web, and to Apple’s online stores for software and entertainment.
According to the FT, the device could provide an alternative to Amazon’s Kindle, Sony’s Reader and a forthcoming device from Plastic Logic, recently allied with Barnes & Noble. "It would be a colour, flat-panel TV to the old-fashioned, black and white TV of the Kindle," one publishing executive said.