Blio - a new e-book format

Next week at the International Exhibition 2010 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), there will be presented a new format of e-books - Blio. Instead of pretending to be e-paper, Blio is to be adapted to the requirements of tablets, netbooks, and mobile phones.

The advantage of the new format will be the maximum similarity of an e-book to a paper book. Unlike most e-readers, Blio will make it possible to browse color illustrations. It is therefore an ideal tool for albums, atlases and books for children. The text can be read or listen to as an audiobook.

Ray Kurzweil, the founder of the project, wants Blio to be available for most systems and devices. Applications for reading e-books in this format will be available both for PC and Mac. There will also be available a version for iPhones and Nokia phones. Blio will debut with a library containing one million titles. Everything seems to indicate that a large portion of e-books will be available through agreements with Google and Google Books.