A Hearst-backed startup is readying an e-reading service platform that will debut in 2010.

Skiff, formerly known as FirstPaper, will deliver magazine and newspaper content to e-readers, smartphones, and netbooks using Sprint's 3G network. Skiff says its interface will preserve newspaper and magazine layouts via "high‐resolution graphics, rich typography and dynamic updates."

"Skiff's goal is to connect publishers and marketers with consumers," Gilbert Fuchsberg, president of Skiff, said in a statement.

Skiff is backed by publishing company Hearst, which has also provided early stage investments for Netscape, XM Satellite Radio, Sling Media, and E Ink Corporation.

The company is currently working with "major consumer electronics manufacturers" on a deal to integrate the Skiff platform into their devices. Their names will "be unveiled soon," Skiff said.

Skiff has signed a multi-year agreement with Sprint, whose 3G network will power the devices. The wireless provider will also sell products with the Skiff system at Sprint retail stores, Skiff said.

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