Kobo Partners with Leading Bookseller Eason to Bring its World-Class Digital Reading Platform to Ireland
Toronto, Ontario (PRWEB) October 30, 2013 -- Kobo, a global leader in eReading, and leading bookseller Eason and Son Ltd., today announced an exclusive partnership to bring Kobo’s world-class eReading platform to Ireland’s most passionate Readers. The Kobo Glo, Kobo Aura, and Kobo Aura HD E Ink eReaders as well as the Google-certified Kobo Arc 7 tablet will be available across the extensive estate of 60 Eason stores as well as online. Kobo devices and accessories, along with the company’s catalogue of nearly 4-milliion eBooks, magazines, and children’s titles, will be available for Ireland’s most passionate Readers in time for Christmas.
“We are thrilled to team up with Eason, a company that like Kobo, stands for Readers – those most passionate about storytelling and the written word,” said Michael Serbinis, CEO, Kobo. “Together, we will help people across the country read more – any time, any place and on any device they choose. With award-winning eReader options and a localized bookstore with the best titles, there’s something to suit every Reader’s taste.”
Kobo offers one of the largest eBookstores in the world, with nearly 4-million titles across 68 languages, including international bestsellers, colour-rich kids content, and works by local authors such as A Gift to Remember by Melissa Hill, The Guts by Roddy Doyle, and The Honey Queen by Cathy Kelly. People in Ireland can access a local Irish digital reading experience at http://www.easons.com and http://www.kobo.com, where they can easily download their favourite titles to read on Kobo’s eReading devices and top-ranking eReading apps for iOS, Android, BB10 and Windows platforms.
Conor Whelan, Managing Director at Eason & Son commented on the partnership, “After reviewing a number of different options for the business we are delighted to partner with Kobo in offering our customers the best platform we believe for content and devices. This partnership is a key component of our digital strategy and will ensure that Eason remains a leading retailer of physical and digital books in Ireland. This partnership with Kobo will allow our customers to explore a vast digital catalogue at home or on the go. The devices will be available to buy in local Eason stores where our teams will be on hand to help you when buying your new Kobo device.”
KOBO GLO – READ COMFORTABLY, DAY OR NIGHT (€129.99 MSRP)
The front-lit Kobo Glo eReader offers the most even and adjustable ComfortLight technology to enable people to read anytime – day or night. Its durable screen and customizable fonts and page-turning features make it the perfect eReader for the most passionate booklovers. The Kobo Glo uses E Ink technology, and its no-glare XGA high-resolution 6” E Ink screen provides an experience that is just like reading print on paper. The device easily connects to Wi Fi allowing consumers to explore and discover recommendations in the Kobo eBookstore. Available in Black or White with a selection of stylish back colors – Pink Sunset, Blue Moon, Silver Star – the Kobo Glo has a battery life of up to one month and has 2 GB of internal memory for the storage of up to 1,000 books, with the option to expand to 32 GB with a microSD card.
KOBO AURA – READ IN STYLE AND ELEGANCE, DAY OR NIGHT (€149.99 MSRP)
Touted by popular technology news site Engadget as “the best flagship eReader on the market” – the new 6” Kobo Aura eReader is a front-lit E Ink eReader that features the first high-resolution, edge-to-edge display available in an E Ink eReader. Kobo’s ComfortLight technology offers the most evenly lit display that is adjustable to suit any preference for the best reading experience – day or night. Available in black and pink, the sophisticated design of the eReader delivers the closest experience to print-on-paper with a 212 dpi and Pearl E Ink screen. With pinch-and-zoom capabilities for FLePubs/PDFs, Kobo Aura creates a smooth experience with a low-flash waveform screen to virtually eliminate page refresh and ghosting. With 4GB of storage (up to 3,000 books), expandable up to 32GB with a microSD card, Kobo Aura has a battery life of up to two months.
KOBO AURA HD – THE EREADER, REIMAGINED (€169.99)
Named “the best eReader” by The Wall Street Journal and designed for the world’s most passionate booklover, the Kobo Aura HD delivers a superior eReading experience with the highest resolution at 265 dpi and 1440x1080 resolution. The spacious 6.8” front-lit ClarityScreen+ Pearl E Ink touchscreen offers 30 percent more reading surface and the closest experience to print-on-paper – showcasing text and high-resolution images beautifully. ClarityScreen+ also delivers a crisp, clear and glare-free eReading experience. The display has the most durable E Ink eReader screen on the market as proven by an independent test that revealed the screen stood up to drops from 3” up to 2.4 times better than the competition. Available in Ivory, Espresso and Onyx, the Kobo Aura HD was designed to fit perfectly in the hand, just as a hardcover book does, for a truly ergonomic design and immersive reading experience.
KOBO ARC 7 TABLET – THE BEST TABLET FOR READERS (€149.99)
The Kobo Arc 7 tablet celebrates reading with Kobo’s Reading Life platform, a compelling reading dashboard that is part of the user interface, with full access to the content people love to consume including books, magazines, news, and social media. The tablet is powered by the MTK 8125 Quad-Core processor and with 1024 x 600 display delivers a crisp, seamless viewing experience. With 1GB of RAM, a front-facing 0.3MP camera, and a battery that lasts up to 9 hours so Readers are never at a loss for words. The Kobo Arc 7 is available for €149.99.
About Kobo Inc.
Kobo Inc. is one of the world’s fastest-growing eReading services offering nearly 4-million eBooks, magazines and newspapers to millions of customers in 190 countries. Believing that consumers should have the freedom to read any book on any device, Kobo provides consumers with a choice when reading. Kobo offers an eReader for everyone with a wide variety of E Ink eReaders and Google-Certified Android tablets to suit any Reader’s style including the award-winning Kobo Touch™, Kobo Mini, Kobo Glo, Kobo Aura, Kobo Aura HD, Kobo Arc, Kobo Arc 7, Kobo Arc 7HD, and Kobo Arc 10HD. Along with the company’s free top-ranking eReading apps for Apple®, BlackBerry®, Android®, and Windows®, Kobo ensures the next great read is just a page-turn away. Headquartered in Toronto and owned by Tokyo-based Rakuten, Kobo eReaders can be found in major retail chains around the world. For more information, visit http://www.kobo.com.
About Eason
Eason & Son Ltd is Ireland’s largest and oldest standing book retailer in Ireland selling an extensive range of books, newspapers, magazines, stationery, cards and more. With more than 60 outlets through Ireland and Northern Ireland, there is an online shop (easons.com) , and a back to school online outlet (easonschoolshop.com). Follow Eason on Facebook – Facebook.com/EasonsIreland and Twitter @easons
For more information please contact:
Cerys Goodall
Senior Director, Public Relations
647-282-1181
cgoodall(at)kobo(dot)com
Nicola Watkins (Kobo Ireland)
nicola(at)nicolawatkinspr(dot)com
+353 87 2646858
Justine Luykx
Wilson Hartnell (Eason)
086 859 5597
Justine.Luykx(at)Ogilvy(dot)com
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René d'Entremont, Kobo Inc., 416-977-8737 Ext: 3587, [email protected]
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