Payment systems for digital content, video tools for distance learning, potential uses for 3-D technologies, augmented reality in children's books: the exhibitors at the five Frankfurt Hot Spots offer a wide range of different solutions for all aspects of creating and distributing digital content. With more than 90 exhibitors from around 30 countries, the Hot Spots will once again showcase complex and innovative applications at the Frankfurt Book Fair (8–12 October 2014). Over the five days of the Book Fair the Hot Spots will host about 140 events and presentations, demonstrating the productivity and innovative strengths of the industry.
At the Hot Spot Digital Innovation (Hall 8.0 L 151), about 30 exhibitors will present their products. Surrounded by exhibitors from the English-speaking world, innovative technology suppliers and service providers like Page Foundry, AppGeneration, Contentra and Pan Asia demonstrate new solutions for the future of digital publishing. While Page Foundry (USA) is a developer of interactive e-book apps for large companies, the Portuguese company AppGeneration will present its product "KidsBookMaker" with which publishers can make their own apps for publishing on iPhones, tablets or Android devices. PanAsia from Taiwan offers distribution products as well as app development. For more than 10 years, Contentra has stood for "full life-cycle content management services".
The Hot Spot Education (Hall 4.2 C 85) is a meeting place for producers of teaching and learning aids, serious and educational games, digital whiteboards, education software and e-learning solutions. The many exhibitors include companies such as BBC Worldwide Learning (UK), Readspeaker (the Netherlands), Wiris (Spain), Knewton (UK).
The Hot Spot Mobile (Hall 6.1 D 138) is devoted to mobile technologies. It showcases the whole bandwidth of mobile business opportunities, from tablets and e-readers, to apps, network providers and content licensors. Among the exhibitors at the Hot Spot Mobile are Waterbear and BIGSTAR Global (Korea) as well as Jiangsu - Red Chamber Dream World from China.
The content and service providers working in the fields of STM & academic publishing, specialist information and libraries are pioneers of digitisation. At the Hot Spot Professional & Scientific Information (Hall 4.2 P 99), Kudos Innovations (UK) will present web-based products that help academics and universities to evaluate the searchability and the impact of their published articles. The company textovia offers all-round services for digital publishing, from word processing to the generation and sale of digital products. The research institution TIND Technologies is an official spin-off of CERN. It provides installation, integration and support services for the software Invenio, which was developed by CERN. As a web-based document management system (DMS), Invenio can be used for administering up to five million separate data files, handling all types of document, including academic papers, research data, reports, pictures and videos.
From "A" for asset management to "Z" for zero warehousing, at the Hot Spot Publishing Services (Hall 4.0 A 24), service providers from the print and digital fields can meet to present and collaborate on long-term innovations and customised solutions for the production and distribution of content. Here, the company Achilles will show off its quality packaging and stationery products, like ring binders, boxes and card indexes. Aquafadas Digital Publishing System offers an all-in-one solution covering all aspects of digital publishing, from content design and the creation of apps, to sales and analysis.
On the Wednesday of the Book Fair, all the Hot Spot exhibitors and their business partners will have a chance to do some networking and exchange ideas over a glass of wine or mineral water and a traditional German pretzel. The Happy Hour will take place on Wednesday, 8 October, from 6.30 to 8.00 pm, at the Hot Spot Professional & Scientific Information (Hall 4.2 N 95).
There will be two guided tours of the Frankfurt Book Fair Hot Spots, beginning at 11.00 am respectively on Wednesday and Thursday (8 and 9 October). The meeting place for Wednesday's tour will be the Hot Spot Digital Innovation (8.0 L 151); the tour will be followed by a visit to the exhibitors of the Hot Spot Mobile (Hall 6). On the Thursday, the tour will start at the Hot Spot Publishing Services (4.0 A 24); after having visited the Hot Spot Education, it will end at the Hot Spot Professional & Scientific Information in Hall 4.2. Please register for participation in these tours: hotspots@book-fair.com
