Up and Running Blog

New Application Takes eBooks to Phones

by Tim Berry on February 12, 2009

No, it’s not crazy; or at least, I should say, I’ve done it. I spent many hours during business travel using my t-Mobile PDA phone as an ebook reader, compatible with the Microsoft Reader format. It worked for me then (several years ago), and might still be convenient now. And that’s even despite the fact that I also own a Kindle.

That comes up because a Canadian company is introducing a digital book application that makes e-book readers out of smart phones. And the iPhone (hooray) is first.

As several providers rush into the e-book reader market, a Canadian company is preparing to take advantage of a huge population of stealth e-book readers — smartphones — and launch its Shortcovers service, which lets consumers read books on their handsets.

The digital book platform has been tested for Apple’s iPhone, according to people who have seen the service. Shortcovers is a division of Indigo Books & Music, which operates a Canadian nationwide chain of bookstores.

I like to post about ebooks and related new things on this blog because I think this is a market that has a lot of future to it. Or maybe it’s just me, that I like this technology.

About Tim Berry

Tim Berry

Tim Berry is the founder of Palo Alto Software, a co-founder of Borland International, and a recognized expert in business planning. Tim is the originator of plan-as-you-go business planning. He has an MBA from Stanford and degrees with honors from the University of Oregon and the University of Notre Dame. Today, Tim dedicates most of his time to blogging, teaching, and evangelizing for business planning. His full biography is available on his blog.

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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }

Sierra Night Tide February 16, 2009 at 1:32 pm

it’s about time :) I’ve been waiting to see how long it would take to get an ebook download to a PDA / wii fi phone. I don’t believe this is going to kill the ebook readers but it shows where the market is going.

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