Bertelsmann Ventures, A Division of Media Giant Bertelsmann AG Makes Strategic Investment In Electronic Book Leader NuvoMedia, Inc.

NuvoMedia Debuts The RocketBookTM Electronic Book and Distribution System at David Coursey's Digital Living Room

LAGUNA NIGEL, Calif. - (June 22, 1998) - Making its second major announcement in a week, Palo Alto startup NuvoMedia Inc. further strengthened its position as the leader in the emerging category of electronic books with the addition of Bertelsmann Ventures, a division of Bertelsmann AG, as a strategic partner and investor. Terms of the investment were not disclosed. NuvoMedia earlier announced the Q4 launch of its RocketBook” electronic book and distribution system, which allows for the publishing, distribution, purchasing and reading of electronic books securely and efficiently over the World Wide Web via a network of online booksellers. NuvoMedia will debut the RocketBook electronic book and distribution system today at David Coursey's Digital Living Room conference in Laguna Nigel.

"The key to success in the electronic book category will be the ability to provide readers with both an abundance and choice of content. Because the RocketBook fits transparently into an existing publishing model, we've received nearly universal support from publishers, most of whom want to make their books available for the RocketBook," commented Martin Eberhard, founder and CEO of NuvoMedia, Inc. "The strategic and financial support we've received from Bertelsmann Ventures, a division of one of the media world's most prestigious companies, further validates our belief that the RocketBook will be the electronic book and distribution system of choice for publishers and readers."

"We're very excited about NuvoMedia's electronic book distribution system because it successfully addresses a publishers' most critical concern, maintaining control of its intellectual property," said Jan Henric Buettner, General Partner of Bertelsmann Ventures.

"By offering a safe and secure solution, NuvoMedia has made it possible for publishers to fully embrace a digital delivery system that promises great advantages and opportunities for authors and booksellers. When this new channel is fully mature we feel that it will offer a new way for publishers to have their books read by consumers."

The Future of Publishing - The Time is Right For NuvoMedia

Historically, electronic publishing, while effective and very successful from the production side, has not been readily accepted by either publishers or readers. The tools for distribution have been non-existent, too expensive, or have undermined the protection of the publishers' intellectual property. Portable readers have been technologically challenging, too expensive or too difficult for most consumers to use. The advent of the RocketBook permanently transforms the publishing landscape by providing an end-to-end solution. NuvoMedia's World Wide Web distribution network, modern encryption technology and secure reading device solves the publishing industry's concerns about controlling and protecting content, while providing booksellers with an opportunity to sell digital editions of books alongside the paper editions. For the end user, the RocketBook will, for the first time, provide instant access to the vast selection of published content from popular online bookstores.

About the RocketBook

The RocketBook and future RocketBook-enabled readers will allow users to easily carry a small library with them, wherever they go. This 20-oz. paperback-sized electronic book can hold at least 4,000 pages (about 10 novels) of text and graphics at a time. Its user interface is designed for reading with optimized screen technology that is easy to read in all lighting situations. A battery life of 20 hours will provide users uninterrupted reading whether in the office, at home or on the go. Being digital, books read on the RocketBookcan be browsed, searched, annotated, highlighted, bookmarked, linked and referenced in ways impossible with a paper book.

About NuvoMedia, Inc.

Headquartered in Palo Alto, and located on the Web at www.nuvomedia.com, NuvoMedia is dedicated to becoming the electronic book distribution solution by providing a network infrastructure for publishers, retailers and end users to publish, distribute, purchase and read electronic content securely and efficiently over the World Wide Web.

About Bertelsmann Ventures

Bertelsmann Ventures [ http://www.bertelsmann.de/bag/englisch/ ] is the venture capital fund of Bertelsmann AG and is closely focused on the Internet and communications. Bertelsmann AG is the third largest media company in the world with annual sales of approximately DM 25 billion (14 bn US dollar). The company has significant interests in all areas of media including book, magazine and newspaper publishing, music, television, online, film and radio. With more than 600 individual companies, Bertelsmann currently employs nearly 60,000 people in 53 countries.