Mobifusion, a Silicon Valley-based technology providerfor media and publishing, announced the release of MOBIeReader, an e-readingsoftware application that will run on most mobile phones. The MOBIeReader enables publishers to offercustomers e-book access without having to buy a dedicated e-book reader.
MobiFusion cofounder Chris McKenney said the applicationwill run "on most of the world's mobile phones and PDA's," including iPhone,Blackberry, Android, Windows Mobile, Java, Symbian and Palm. The platform cansupport a wide range of e-book formats, although McKenney said the platform doesnot support Kindle e-books at this time. The MOBIeReader format supports arange of features, including full-color text and images, multimedia, includingvideo, a search feature, and the ability to provide community and socialnetworking integration.
For publishers, using the technology is simple,McKenney told PW. "Publishers send usdigital files in one of the standard formats and we take it from there." Publisherscan choose from multiple versions, she added, such as a "network aware app,downloadable app, or a messaging app (if the content is messaging-optimized)." Thesocial network integration allows readers to share comments, reviews, "snippetsof content," and there's even a navigation feature that allow users to creategroups or book clubs. Publishers can offer customized editions featuring these,or allow end users can make their own "personalized" editions.
In addition to the 1.0 launch, McKenney noted that thecompany is "ramping it up to add a few more features for version 1.5 release"targeted for sometime this spring.
