Borders launches world’s first books to mobile service

Rating: Dissolving Borders conjures up even more readers for Harry Potter

By Tony Alton *New edgy blogger on GoMo News**

Borders is claiming to be the world’s first bookseller to bring content to mobile phones. It plans to send exclusive chapters of books which are just about to be released to people’s phones, as well as pushing them a mobile voucher to get 20% off the full version in-store.

Users will be able to go to the company’s website and get a special passcode for each book. This in turn sends an SMS link to the exclusive mobile content, downloading the chapter to the handset. The company is hoping to promote around 30 new titles per month in this way.

From the press release
Laura Stafford, Borders CRM and Online Manager said, “We are committed to making Borders as mobile friendly as possible because we believe it to be a highly accessible medium which complements literature. This scheme builds on our existing mobile vouchering activity and will help us bring books to a wider audience.”

What we think
World’s first – hmmm sounds like one of those well worn press release statements which is now applied to everything from mobile apps to toasters, I don’t think companies like i-Cue http://www.i-cue.co.uk would agree.

This said however it is the first time a brand with some decent clout, and more importantly a huge vat of content, has tried to make a decent go of the mobile literature market. Despite the shiny new world of mobile technology breaking barriers faster than Lewis Hamilton, companies have failed to bring the mobile book to the mass market, being hampered by complex content deals and the associated high prices. However a company like Borders entering the market, with exclusive access to books that people actually want to read at decent prices, it could be a step closer to discernable consumer take-up.

Will people use it? Probably – but if such services are ever going to migrate beyond the usual demographic of Guardian reading iPod fans with smartphones, then companies such as Borders need to throw some serious marketing money behind it. Who knows, if they do some day we might all be reading advance copies of the latest JK Rowling offering on our mobile, saving hordes of teenagers the hassle of sleeping outside the flagship Oxford St. shop, which can only be a good thing… unless you are a kid without a top of the range phone?

Related News:

1. No more monkeying about with phrase books on holiday
2. myCorner launches mobile video user generated social and networking service
3. WIN launches full service video streaming on T-Mobile Germany
4. PersonalNumber.com offer world’s first mobile service with free call forwarding
5. Vodafone Germany launches mobile visual search service “otello”