A new digital reader aims to bring the newspaper reading experience closer to the traditional hardcopy.   As we noted in earlier entries, there have been attempts to expand newspaper readership (and e-book readership) by utilizing advances in technology. These have ranged from expanding the functionality of the reader (The future of the book?), to altering the form (The future of the book? Mimicking a classic), to moving to a newer subscription model made possible by technology (The Future of the newspaper: Read & Go?). I am a fan of small and portable myself, so I find it interesting that while many  pdas and smartphones have been shrinking in size, digital e-book readers have been getting larger.  The Sony Reader Digital Book and the Amazon Kindle are both significantly larger than you average pda.  A new reader, spotlighted in New E-Newspaper Reader Echoes Look of the Paper,  takes things a step further, featuring a screen the size of a sheet of copy paper.  The new reader will more closely mimic the look, though not the feel, of traditional newspapers.  The screen is 2.5 times that of the Kindle, but the device is thinner, and  unlike the other e-book readers, it is made of flexible plastic. The new reader, made by Plastic Logic, will use the same E Ink technology used in the Kindle and other prominent e-book readers, and can be continually updated wirelessly.  All of the latest wi-fi enabled e-book readers have some impressive features, but major advances are on the way.  We may soon be seeing  color displays with interactive, clickable, multimedia features.  They will eventually allow for writing on the screen and video viewing. If the Plastic Logic reader gains wide acceptance as a means of reviewing the news, it could be a boon for publishers in several ways.  Not only does electronic distribution save on the cost of printing and distribution, but the feedback mechanism that can be built into readers that download wirelessly is a potentially valuable marketing tool. Wireless technology in digital newspaper readers works well, according to the article,  but publishers may find that their biggest competition is their own website.  They have trained a generation to expect free news.  Will readers be willing to pay to download news to a portable reader?  Most major newspapers maintain a frequently updated website where you can read the entire contents for free.  Even archives are frequently available, and are about to be exponentially expanded.  See Google plans to digitize newspaper archives for more on this, and to see which NYU Poly database feature newspaper archives.  For free online access to major news sources, see the library web links in the General Reference section.