BEA SPOTLIGHT: Microsoft’s new book search, full color in print-on-demand, and a new audio-book format

- A company called Playaway showcased its new device-free audio book format--no cassette/CD player needed, no files to download. The Playaway mini audio-books (about the size of an iPod Mini, but thinner, weighing 2 oz.) are sold complete with ear buds and a lanyard, and run on one AAA battery. You just plug the earpiece right into the mini book to listen to it. Listeners can use tools on the books’ “back cover” to navigate and bookmark content. Titles, such as “Anansi Boys,” John Grisham’s “The Broker,” Stephen King’s “Cell” and “The Da Vinci Code,” begin at $34.95; the company says the titles are priced comparably to audio CDs on the market. Currently, the titles are being sold through Borders, Office Max, and Barnes and Noble.