Franklin Electronic licenses reference work rights Jun 25, 2003, 10:32am EDT Burlington, N.J.-based Franklin Electronic Publishers Inc. said Wednesday it has licensed the rights to produce versions of three well-known reference works for its own handheld devices, as well as memory cards and Internet downloads for Palm, Pocket PC and Symbian handheld computers. Franklin will unveil its handheld edition of the 11th Edition of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary on July 8, the same day the print edition goes on sale. Franklin said it will be the first simultaneous launch of a handheld electronic version and print version in publishing history. Franklin also plans to make memory cards and Web-based downloadable versions of the dictionary available in July. Franklin will make The Britannica Concise Encyclopedia from Encyclopaedia Britannica available on memory card media and Internet downloads at the same time it launches the collegiate dictionary. It will launch a special Limited Edition handheld Reference Suite containing the encyclopedia and dictionary later this fall. Franklin expects to make the 2004 edition of the World Almanac and Book of Facts available this winter initially via memory cards and Internet downloads.