E-books find popularity among mobile handset users

If a couple of years ago PCs and PDAs were the primary targets of e-book content, now it is the handsets that start grabbing a bigger share. The market research company mReport found out that, in Japan, the flat-rate data plans encouraged mobile users to download more e-books onto their handsets.

KDDI au was quick to recognize this trend by establishing “EZ Book Land!” -- a mobile e-book portal -- in April 2005. KDDI subscribers can browse the library of e-books (EZ books in KDDI’s slang) within the portal and download at no charge the snippets of ones they liked. If they wish to purchase the actual book, it is easy to place an order via a cell phone. According to KDDI, there were 5.5 million of e-book snippets downloaded from the EZ Book Land! portal as of September 2005. What a great promotional tool for new books releases!

In the US, mobile phones are just starting to gain some recognition as a marketing channel for books. This week, Stephen King’s new horror novel Cell will be promoted through mobile phones. The marketing campaign will include the sale of two “talk-tones” by Mr. King. Cover art from the novel will also be for sale as cell phone wallpaper.

Source: Japan.Internet.com