Penguin India Inks Mobile Content Deal

By Calvin Reid -- Publishers Weekly, 2/21/2008 6:52:00 AM

Penguin Books India is teaming up with Mobifusion, a developer and publisher of content for mobile devices, to make its content available to mobile consumers in India. The venture will focus on the Indian market but future plans include targeting a global market of mobile phones and other handheld devices.

Mike Bryan, CEO and President of Penguin Books India, said PBI “aspires to make great literature in all its forms available to the widest possible audience. This is very significant step on that journey.” The first titles to be distributed through the new agreement will be The Joy in Loving: A Guide to Daily Living with Mother Teresa, compiled by Jaya Chaliha and Edward Le Joly; The Path to Tranquillity by His Holiness the Dalai Lama; and The Book of Prayer, edited by Renuka Narayanan.

Mobifusion founder and CEO Pavan Mandhani said Indian consumers are demanding more “branded personalized and localized content, and Mobifusion is committed to actively supporting the needs of the country’s content users.”