Shortcovers Makes Some Changes no comments
Ebook seller Shortcovers has been busy the past few days.
Yesterday Shortcovers announced that they have partnered with the Internet Archives to bring 1.8 million public domain titles into their catalogue. These new titles are in the process of being added, which could take some time. Hopefully this week the PDF and ePub versions will be available, with versions for Shortcover’s mobile apps to follow.
The public domain titles add up to around 400 million pages in 180 languages. Both the ePub and PDF versions will be DRM-free. Shortcovers is adding the English language titles first and the other languages will follow.
The Internet Archive’s public domain catalogue is also available in MOBI format for Kindlers. Kindle owners will need to connect through the ereader’s browser or download to a computer and then sideload onto their Kindle ereader.
Today Shortcovers announced that they have been spun off from parent company Indigo Books & Music and received new financing from Indigo, Borders and others.
Shortcovers has changed its name to Kobo (an anagram of the word “book”)and the new URL is http://www.kobobooks.com.
Today, Kobo’s eReading service includes support for leading smartphones, desktops and dedicated eReaders. Since inception in February 2009, while operating as Shortcovers, more than one million eReading apps have been downloaded by users from over 200 countries worldwide. Kobo will extend its platform by launching additional smartphone support, desktop and tablet apps, and its own dedicated eReader devices.
Does “ its own dedicated eReader devices” mean that we will soon see an ereader from Kobo? Apparently so – reportedly in the first half of 2010.
It also appears that international ebook readers are in luck as well:
Through its new strategic partners, Kobo has distribution in the U.S., Canada, UK, European Union, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and other territories. Core to Kobo’s strategy is making eReading available through partners everywhere and as such, the company will be working to enable a broad range of retailers, device manufacturers, and operators who will benefit from our leading eReading service.
Kobo also says that they will soon be adding the ability to pay for purchases in one’s local currency.
Borders will also be adding an ebook store on Borders.com powered by Kobo.
I have noticed in the past that Kobo sometimes has some great pricing on their ebooks; if you have an ereader that supports Adobe Digital Editions you might want to check their price before you buy that next ebook.
In addition to reading apps for ereaders and desktops (both PC and Mac), Kobo also has apps for iPhone, Blackberry, Palm Pre and Android smartphones.
£149.00
£109
