An article in today’s New York Times reviews the latest hope for saving newspapers and magazines…an over-sized, unruly, black and white electronic reading tablet. Oh, and it’s also slow. Needless to say we’re somewhat dubious that this device will become the ailing publishing industry’s savior. As always, we look for the best in ideas, and portable electronic devices that are capable of displaying magazine and newspaper content are clearly the way of the future. However this device, by Plastic Logic, seems confined both by limitations of newspapers and magazines as well as available technology.

While the product is closer in size to newspapers and magazines than other readers out there is it the right size for today’s and tomorrow’s consumers? We’re concerned for a few reasons. First, how many devices are we going to carry around with us, especially when they offer similar features to users? Between blackberrys, PDAs and iPhones, we can access the web, read news, take pictures, listen to music, oh, and talk on the phone. Many can also be used as e-readers, muscling into Amazon’s Kindle’s and other readers’ territories. Is there any room or need in the market for plus-sized readers? Also, if you can’t easily put it in your pocket and even have to carry around a special bag for it we think it’s just too large. You can fold newspapers and magazines, and hey, if you need to you can toss them. You probably won’t want to toss the readers, at least not while we’re still in a recession.

It may be difficult to travel with the readers, but it also doesn’t seem likely people will read them at home or in the office. The technology is only capable of giving readers a black and white image, with no video or audio. When you have access to computers at home and in the office offering multimedia experiences, why would you turn to the reader? In the Times article, one executive is quoted as saying if the devices had come out five years ago there would probably be more excitement. Which makes us wonder if this is just like someone introducing a really really great VHS player.

So what should magazines and newspapers try to offer with a digital reading device? It needs to leverage the modern consumer lifestyle mixed with the equity of the newspaper/magazine experience. If consumers like “flipping through” magazines, maybe the devices can consist of two or four folds, allowing people to flip the page, instead of just scrolling down. And perhaps they can select a random function, allowing stories and features to show up in different orders, just like flipping through an actual magazine. Of course multimedia options, which aren’t available, would be great drivers of adoption. This could let a user listen to the headlines and full articles of favorite sections or key topics of interest while driving or riding to work.

Finally, magazines and newspapers should not forget about the badge value they offer readers. People give off a message when they’re reading The Financial Times versus The New York Post, and The New Yorker versus King…and this is something to leverage further rather than give up to a beige blank electronic reader.

These are just a few ideas, and clearly the publishing industry is putting a lot of time and effort into providing something new for readers. We just hope they catch up before the next headline is the shuttering of another big name paper or magazine.