>> 2001/05/29

■"PreviewPort Offers RealRead: The Ultimate Online Book Browsing Experience"

NEW YORK--May 29, 2001--PreviewPort and RealRead Inc. announced today that Previewport will offer, as part of its Online Publisher Center, RealRead, a digitally-secure online browsing solution that mimics the actual book reading experience.

RealRead gives book buyers the ability to view text, graphics, and illustrations on screen and in full color. Readers can turn pages and "flip" through the book just the way they would in a bookstore.

"This technology is ingenious and simple, and offers a more compelling online presentation than any we've seen," said Susan Bergman, CEO of PreviewPort.com. "We've been searching for a product that provides publishers a way to showcase their books with the strongest visual appeal."

RealRead will enhance the services already offered at PreviewPort's Online Publisher Center. The center offers customized web pages that market and sell publishers' current titles in both print and e-book editions.

"PreviewPort's Online Publishing Center program provides publishers with a tremendous tool to implement their electronic sales and marketing strategies by connecting publisher's offerings directly to a genuine reader/author community" said John Conti, VP of Sales for RealRead Inc. "RealRead's own services will help hone that tool even further in taking the heart and soul of each book directly to the reader."

With RealRead there is no need to scroll down long pages of text and no downloading is required; images appear and pages turn quickly even with a 56K modem. The viewer sees only as much of the book as publishers allow, from the entire book to just the table of contents and/or a few pages. RealRead samples cannot be copied or downloaded, though publishers can e-mail samples to customers. The service also manages user information so publishers can track the sampling of their books online.

PreviewPort believes that RealRead will be a powerful marketing tool for Online Publisher Center clients who publish books with strong visual content, especially art, photography, gardening, crafts, cooking and children's books.

For a complete demonstration of PreviewPort's Online Publisher Center, visit PreviewPort's booth #1420 at BEA. For a complete demonstration of RealRead's services, visit the RealRead booth #5264 at BEA, or www.realread.com

PreviewPort collaborates with leading authors, agents, and publishers to increase awareness and sales of authors' works in the electronic marketplace.
RealRead is a web-based sampling service that gives viewers the ability to see actual book content in the actual page-turning format of the books themselves.

CONTACT:

RealRead contact: John Conti
212-554-4137
johnconti@realread.com

Previewport contact: Kimberly Soenen
312-726-5336 ext. 1803
ksoenen@previewport.com