Bookeen has accelerated its ebook distribution in Sweden by partnering with Adlibris. Bookeen will be launching their Cybook Odyssey as a re-branded device, called the Adlibris Letto, to penetrate the market more effectively and allow users to buy books directly on the device.
When we spoke with Bookeen at CES this year, the company said by default the e-reader did not tap into any particular bookstore, which was a drawback to your average consumer. The company was looking for partners that sold ebooks in different languages to offer the technology to work in conjunction with other content delivery networks.
In the last few months, Bookeen has made headway in securing relationships with other companies. It has new contracts with Virgin Megastore, Cultura, Decitre in France, and the leading bookseller in Italy La Feltrinelli. With these collaborations, Bookeen is clearly seen as the only European competitor of Amazon Kindle and Kobo e-readers. The new device launching in Sweden will be the only e-reader in that entire country that allows people to buy books directly on the device. Julia Reuszner, head of digital at Adlibris, commented that “We have all seen how the market for e-books has exploded in the US and we know that Swedes love to read. This is now the right time to launch the Adlibris Letto in partnership with Bookeen, the European e-reader pioneer.”
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
