Dymocks has unveiled an Australian-first foray into digital books, offering 135,000 titles from today. Digital book kiosks have been installed at the retailer’s flagship company-owned store in George St, in Sydney’s CBD and the books can also be bought online.
After a trial in the city store, the kiosks will be progressively rolled out through franchises Australia-wide, at a pace to be determined by the result of the trial.
The digital offer comprises 120,000 readable books in text and 13,000 audible titles – many of them read by the actual authors.
Dymocks CEO Don Grover says the digital offer will complement printed books and offer consumers an alternative medium for reading or accessing information.
It has particular applications for example, for students, who can access single chapters of text books, or for commuters who can opt to listen to books being read on iPods or other listening devices, or read books on PDAs or laptops.
Long term, it will also ensure books will never be out of stock – if a hard copy is not on the shelf, it can be digitally downloaded. Technology already exists for in-store printing and even personalisation of books, although this is not part of the initial Dymocks service.
Dymocks’ new digital books initiative was formally launched in the George St store last night. British author Jeffrey Archer welcomed the new technology to Australia via a pre-recorded video message from London.
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