Esquire magazine has announced that its October edition (which will hit shelves in September) will feature an electronic cover, using E-Ink's electronic paper technology, which is used by ebook readers, such as Amazon's Kindle. This doesn't come cheap, though. It cost a six figure sum just to have the battery designed in order to power the 100,000 special copies of the magazine. Part of the cash was stumped up by Ford, who will have a moving car ad on the inside cover.
Esquire's editor-in-chief David Granger told The New York Times: "Magazines have basically looked the same for 150 years. I have been frustrated with the lack of forward movement in the magazine industry. The possibilities of print have just begun. In two years, I hope this looks like cellphones did in 1982, or car phones. We are trying to combine a 21st century technology with a 19th century manufacturing process".
Kevin O'Malley, Esquire's publisher, added: "This is really the 1.0 version. Imagine when the consumer walks by a newsstand and sees that it is alive. Part of the iconic DNA of the magazine is our covers. I fully expect that in 25 to 30 years, this cover will be in a museum".
Of course, given the battery life of these covers is only 90 days, it might not look so impressive by then.