When a Rocket Misfires

Does anybody remember the Rocketbook? No? There’s a good reason for that: the Rocketbook was at once ahead of its time, and a dismally clumsy product. But before the Kindle and Nook began closing bookstores, the Rocketbook was poised to take the book-world by storm. Only it didn’t.

 I remember the day when, at the Doubleday staff editorial meeting back in 1998, a prototype of a Rocketbook was passed around. Nobody knew what to make of it. We did know that our employers had poured a ton of money into its development. Some said that number was upwards of 100 million dollars. And all for what? It was clunky like a heavy etch-a-sketch, the type was faint, and it just felt cold in the hands. It could hold a total of ten books (or three novels, if you like David Foster Wallace). The Rocketbook failed, and failed big. Authors who sold over 10 million copies of their books in print sold in double digits on the Rocketbook. After a few early adaptors and curiosity seekers stopped buying, sales of the first e-reader went totally flat. Nobody wanted the thing.

I am not sure what tipped the scales in favour of an e-reader. I am guessing its weight. Once the e-reader became lighter than an actual book, it became practical and desirable. Or maybe the Rocketbook was just too far ahead of its time to make an impact with consumers. Amazon’s huge ability to dictate how books are sold and delivered also probably had something to do with the swift and sudden Kindle uptake. But there is a sea-change in people’s acceptance of hand-held devices.

It should be noted that the name Rocketbook has been taken over by a ‘smart’ notepad. Perhaps this is a form of poetic justice, where writers have succeeded where publishers failed.