(19 June 2007 9:00 pm)

SINGAPORE: Broadband Internet is the key growth engine in the 21st century. Content is also a key IT trend following infrastructure and platform.

All IT technology and services should be based on broadband Internet.

However, without good user experiences in broadband environment, people can't notice new technology and new business model for broadband internet. These points were made by E-Book Systems COO Akira Kamei who dwelt on what the advent of broadband would mean for consumers. In terms of new applications for broadband and new business models, what is required is broadband infrastructure and an advanced user interface.

He dwelt on the Back Mirror Phenomenon. In the early stages of any new media development, existing contents of the "old media" tend to be transferred to the new media directly. Movies in early stages showed only theater plays. Specially made movie productions came later. TV programmes in the early stages showed mainly movie contents.

Contents in broadband have started out with songs and movies. Likewise, specially made new contents will come to broadband internet also.

"Softbank Creative has investigated the possibility of the eBook business and done many trials for more than five years. We have selected FlipBook technology and established E-Book Systems in 2004. The friendly interface is exactly the same as the real book. For scrolling there is multi-page flipping. It also offers a new internet ad platform," says Kamei.

He stresses that the eBook Business for Softbank Creative is not just conversions from paper books but creating new type of an eBook for broadband internet.

It is looking at ad revenue because it takes two to three years for users to change their behaviour to pay for content.