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Shortcovers Beats Kindle to Mobile Books

By: , IntoMobile
Thursday, February 26th, 2009 at 9:16 AM

Amazon had mentioned that they’re flirting with the idea of getting their library onto mobile devices other than their proprietary Kindle, but Canadian rival Indigo has already thrown their chips in with an app, Shortcovers, for Android, BlackBerry,  and iPhone. Thousands of free samples are readily available, ranging the gamut from books, blogs, poems, short stories and even fan fiction. The first chapter for retail books are free, then cost you $0.99 per chapter, or $10-$20 for the full book, with the option for getting the title shipped to you if you fancy reading the old-fashioned way. Lots of tools are available for publishers who are looking to get their content out digitally, as well. Take a look, and see if there’s something worth reading.

[via shortcovers]

About The Author

Simon Sage

Simon Sage’s education largely surrounded writing, technology and online community, leading him to begin his blogging career at www.BlackBerryCool.com and to quickly discover a vibrant and active community surrounding BlackBerry and mobile technology. In exploring RIM’s platform, he has learned what enterprises are looking for in mobility as well as what makes the innocuous BlackBerry so appealing to them. Recently Simon’s been covering RIM’s gradual move into an already-crowded consumer market, and the impact of burgeoning challengers, such as the iPhone, as well as long-time leaders, like Nokia, on BlackBerry’s advancement. With plenty of content under his belt, Simon will be branching off a bit to see what other smartphone manufacturers are working on while still using BlackBerry as a barometer. At IntoMobile, you can count on his posts being even-handed, well-informed and thought-out.

  • StephanieInCA

    My biggest concern about the Kindle, aside from it’s weird, book-buring-esque name, is that it compromises the integrity of the written word. A printed book may be unwieldy, but you know that once it’s on your shelf, not one letter is going to change. Can’t say the same for the Kindle.

    Also, when I spill coffee all over a book, I’ve only ruined that particular book :)

  • Simon Sage

    Maybe it’s just because I’m a blogger, but I have no reason to believe the written word has any inherent sanctity or integrity whatsoever – I’d blame the internet for that sooner than Kindle. When I make a typo in a post, I relish being able to fix it right away, rather than a print situation where such a thing would at best tarnish my name, and at worst cost me my job.

    Your post about censoring banned books brings up more about governments than it does about enabling technologies. I’m sure if one particular book suffered that much persecution on the Amazon store, a PDF would find its way to the torrents quickly enough.

    And very true about the coffee. :) The thing is just too expensive.