In an interview with Publishers Weekly a Copia VP said:
… that the decision to cancel the Copia devices came after “in-depth conversations” with their OEM partners—Copia had planned all along to produce its own devices as well as bundle its software on other devices. Lowinger said that Copia’s approach to hardware, “has always been agnostic. To enable our users to better appreciate the value of the Copia platform, it was our desire to power a variety of products that would be enabled by the Copia platform. Discussions over the past several months made it clear that the best way to do this is to work with hardware partners to offer their customers the Copia platform.”
While he declined to name the OEM partners, Lowinger said Copia plans to work to support the devices produced by these partners. Lowinger said Copia plans “on fully supporting the products of our brand partners to deliver a consumer experience that greatly enhances the devices that are important to them. In the near future, you will see the Copia platform available on a wide range of digital devices further promoting Copia’s concept of community.”
This Copia service looks like huge progress beyond the world of simple ePublishing, and on to a new level where the connectivity of the web can be exploited to bring like minded people together in a way that old world advertising cannot.
I haven’t used it yet but it’s claimed ability to connect with other readers with similar tastes and share comments and notes on eBooks and their contents looks exciting.
I can see a few subtle issues on the social side down the line that could make or break it, but they look like they know what they are doing so far.
I cannot see plain vanilla eReading apps surviving into the future unless they include the kinds of functionality that Copia are now bring to the table. I really believe it is this kind of service that will empower a new group of eRetailers to compete successfully with Amazon and B&N etc.