The retailer also officially announced the arrival of the Kobo eReader. The bare-bones eReader, which uses eInk technology, is the first to hit Kiwi shores. It will be sold through the Whitcoulls’ website for $295 and will come pre-loaded with 100 free eBooks.
REDgroup managing director Dave Fenlon said at the Auckland launch event that the arrival of eBooks in New Zealand would “change how New Zealanders read forever”. Australia-based REDgroup owns Whitcoulls and is also a part owner of Kobo.
Fenlon said the eBooks could be read on the Kobo eReader, iPad, iPhone, Blackberry, PC or Mac. When they were purchased from Whitcoulls’ website, they would be stored in a user’s account in the cloud, allowing the new owner to download them to any device they wished.
“If you use multiple devices to eRead, our eBook playform will let you read the same book seamlessly across all of them.”
Whitcoulls had released free applications for the PC, Mac and iPhone on its website already and would complete development of apps for the Blackberry and Android devices in “coming weeks”. A graphically impressive iPad app, which shows your book library on your own customised on-screen shelving, would be available for the New Zealand iPad launch "in July", Fenlon said.
New Zealand author Deborah Challinor said eBooks provided an opportunity for New Zealand authors to sell more books and push their books further afield.
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