A deal was sealed today that will bring masses of new books — mostly self-published titles — to the Kobo e-reader. The agreement, penned between Infinity Publishing, and Canadian-based Kobo Inc., will help expand Kobo Book’s potential library to over 2.2 million books.
“This agreement opens up an important global distribution channel for Infinity [Publishing] authors, significantly increasing the exposure of Infinity eBooks to new audiences worldwide,” Arthur Gutch, the CEO of Infinity Publishing, was quoted as saying. “As a device-neutral platform, eBooks purchased through Kobo’s eReading service can be read on various eReaders, which is a level of flexibility that benefits our authors as they seek to grow their audiences of readers,” went on Mr. Gutch, expounding the virtues the company’s decision to embrace open standards such PDF and EPUB.
If you are not familiar with the Kobo e-reader, it is perhaps because it has only been on the market since earlier in May of this year. The e-reader is no-frills, inexpensive (about $150 USD) gray-scale unit, with 1GB memory (with an SD slot), and weighing in at a light 200 grams. Indigo Books & Music is one of the main financiers of the Kobo e-reader, so it is no surprise that you will find the Kobo at Indigo and Chapters bookstores in Canada. It is also being sold in New Zealand, in the Whitcoulls chain, at Angus & Robertson stores in Australia, and at Borders in the United States. (You can read our full review of the Kobo here.)
Infinity Publishing will be charging hopeful authors about $200 to self-publish their own titles, for sale through Kobo Books, and other digital libraries.
