Baker & Taylor Proudly Partners with K-NFB Reading Technology to Unveil Blio at International Consumer Electronics Show

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Baker & Taylor, Inc., the world's largest distributor of physical and digital media, is proud to partner with K-NFB Reading Technology to unveil Blio - a revolutionary e-reader software application - at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Baker & Taylor, which is aggregating and distributing digital content for Blio, will conduct demonstrations of Blio at the Las Vegas Hilton, Jan. 7-10.

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"Baker & Taylor is thrilled to join forces with e-reader technology that leaps ahead of black-and-white reading devices. Blio does what no other e-reader in the world does - bring words and graphics to life. That will open the floodgates for entire categories of e-content - like children's books and textbooks - that can only thrive in a rich media environment," said Tom Morgan, Chairman and CEO of Baker & Taylor. "Together with K-NFB Reading Technology and renowned innovator Ray Kurzweil, we are delivering an interactive, full-color, totally immersive reading experience. Book lovers will be instantly hooked."

Blio, featuring cutting-edge print-to-speech (for rights-enabled titles) and full-color 3-D technologies, is the brainchild of futurist and inventor Ray Kurzweil. Quite simply, Blio delivers the most advanced, flexible and open reading platform in the world. Blio does more than translate best-sellers to a black-and-white screen, though consumers will find hot titles on its roster. Blio is especially fantastic at bringing to life children's books (imagine storytime with multiple character voices), textbooks (take notes and highlight text) and lifestyle titles, such as cookbooks and travel books (download recipes or follow a video to a distant land). Blio is also hardware neutral, meaning it works on a number of devices, including personal computers, laptops, netbooks and iPhones, not to mention the up and coming tablets.

"Our partnership with Baker & Taylor, the market leader in digital content distribution, has propelled Blio to the forefront of the e-reader market," said Ray Kurzweil, CEO of K-NFB Reading Technology. "Combining Baker & Taylor's deep relationships with publishers with our unique 3-D reading experience, advanced file formatting, image processing and full-color display, Blio provides the most engaging experience for today's readers."

By leveraging strong relationships with the publishing community as well as its best-of-breed digital media partners, Baker & Taylor is converting, managing and delivering new content for Blio every day. Publishers in the Blio program include Elsevier, Hachette, HarperCollins, Random House, Penguin, Simon & Schuster, Wiley and many more. With more than 44,000 customers in 120 countries, Baker & Taylor's global reach makes it the perfect partner to provide superior content management and distribution for the world's most innovative e-reader application. Baker & Taylor's affiliation with Blio is its latest step in bringing comprehensive digital media services to multiple channels and to a wide variety of end users, solidifying its position as the premier source for physical and digital media distribution.

At Baker & Taylor's Blio demonstrations at CES, publishers will learn how their content can be included in Blio's spring launch. Retailers will learn how to integrate Blio into their online sales strategies to bring enhanced digital media to their customers worldwide. Conference attendees and members of the media may schedule a Blio demonstration by contacting Baker & Taylor at [email protected] or 800-258-3774, ext. 3338.

About Baker & Taylor

Baker & Taylor, Inc. (www.baker-taylor.com) is a global information and entertainment services company that offers print and digital books and entertainment products along with value-added services to libraries, educational institutions and retailers. Based in Charlotte, N.C., the company has been in existence for more than 180 years, developing long-term relationships with major suppliers, including book publishers, movie studios and music labels. Baker & Taylor maintains one of the largest combined in-stock book, video and music inventories in the United States, and services the broadest customer base in the industry. Baker & Taylor is majority owned by Castle Harlan Partners IV, L.P., an institutional private equity fund managed by Castle Harlan Inc., a leading private equity investment firm.

About K-NFB Reading Technology Inc.

K-NFB Reading Technology Inc. is a joint venture between Kurzweil Technologies - headed by CEO Ray Kurzweil, a 30-year innovator and pioneer in assistive technologies and the inventor of the first print-to-speech reading machine for the blind - and the National Federation of the Blind, the largest, most influential membership organization of blind people in the United States.

SOURCE Baker & Taylor, Inc.