Kobo Partners With Family Christian

NEW YORK, Nov. 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Kobo, a leader in eReading with more than 10-million registered users worldwide, today announced that it has partnered with Family Christian to bring its world-class eReading platform to stores across the United States. The Kobo Mini and Kobo Touch go on sale today, at Family Christian stores and at www.familychristian.com/kobo. In addition, Kobo will donate a portion of each eReader sale to The James Fund, Family Christian's non-profit organization dedicated to meeting the needs of orphans and widows around the world.

"Our partnership with Family Christian aligns well to our vision to make reading more accessible to people around the world," said Wayne White, EVP and GM Devices, Kobo. "Our reputation for building long-term and mutually beneficial partnerships with retail businesses of all sizes has helped us to establish innovative new partnerships that give organizations like Family Christian new ways to exceed the expectations of their customers."

The partnership between Kobo and Family Christian brings new ways for Americans to access faith-based materials including the Bible in digital formats. Customers buying a Kobo device from a Family Christian store will be delighted to find three versions of the Bible added when the device is registered: The New International Version, the King James Version, and The Voice. In addition, customers have access to more than 17,000 Christian titles as part of the Kobo library which has more than 3-million titles – one-million of which are free.

"Reading digital books is a natural progression enhanced by the technology available today," said Cliff Bartow, President and CEO, Family Christian. "Kobo is helping us to make faith-based texts more accessible to our customers while also helping us to reach new customers interested in eReading."

THE GIFT OF READING

The Kobo Mini is the world's smallest and lightest full-featured E Ink eReader available today, offering the complete Kobo experience at a great value. The 5" Kobo Mini easily fits in your purse or pocket and is loaded with all the amazing features Kobo customers have come to know and love. The Kobo Mini comes in white and black and is available for $79.99 MSRP.

With a revolutionary touch screen experience, the Kobo Touch makes eReading easier than ever. The easily portable eReader is thin and light, travels comfortably anywhere, and is available in and it is easy on the eyes, even in bright sunlight. It weighs only 185 grams – lighter than a paperback, has a battery life of up to one month, and holds up to 1,000 eBooks. Like all Kobo eReaders, the Kobo Touch supports English, French, Dutch, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, and Portuguese languages, making it truly the International reader of choice. The Kobo Touch is available for $99.99 MSRP.

About Kobo Inc.
Founded in 2009, Kobo Inc. is one of the world's fastest-growing eReading services offering 3-million eBooks, magazines and newspapers. Believing that consumers should have the freedom to read any book on any device, Kobo has built an open-standards platform to provide consumers with a choice when reading. Inspired by a "Read Freely" philosophy and a passion for innovation, Kobo has expanded to 190 countries, where millions of consumers have access to localized eBook catalogues and award-winning eReaders, like the Kobo Touch. With top-ranked eReading applications for Apple, BlackBerry, Android, and Windows products, Kobo allows consumers to make eReading social through Facebook Timeline and Reading Life, an industry-first social experience that lets users earn awards for time spent reading and encourage others to join in. Headquartered in Toronto and owned by Tokyo-based Rakuten, Kobo eReaders can be found in major retail chains across the globe.

For more information, visit www.kobo.com.

Family Christian is the world's largest Christian specialty retailer and is located in the United States. As of 2012, the retail chain has approximately 281 stores in 261 cities. The retail chain offers a variety of Christian-themed merchandise, including books, Bibles, children's products, gifts, music and more. www.familychristian.com

The James Fund is a non-profit foundation of Family Christian founded upon the biblical principal and scriptural mandate to care for widows and orphans in the U.S. and around the world.  Since its inception in 2003, The James Fund has served over 4-million orphans and widows and donated more than $7,000,000 to programs in need in the U.S. and abroad.  For more information about The James Fund, visit www.jamesfund.org

CONTACT: Cerys Godall, Director of Public Relations North America, +1-416-977-8737, [email protected]

SOURCE Kobo