HarperCollins to make new book excerpts available on mobiles, including the iPhone!
Leading book publisher HarperCollins has announced a dedicated web site to allow mobile phone users to browse excerpts of more than a dozen new book releases.
Despite the title looking like a vain attempt to cash in on the iPhone craze, the opening line of the press release actually states that “The publishing world is hooking up to the iPhone”. Really.
Though any mobile browser could theoretically access the site, it does seem as if the service has been specifically designed to match the look and feel of the iPhone. Users can view up to 10 pages of any book’s first two chapters, and are able to shrink or enlarge the print size.
“Reaching consumers on mobile devices and the Internet is increasingly important for publishers,” said Brian Murray, president of HarperCollins Publishers Worldwide. A recent statement suggest that the publisher has already digitised 10,000 of their titles.
Books already being excerpted include Michael C. White’s “Soul Catcher”, Michael Korda’s “Ike”, Faye Kellerman’s “The Burnt House” and Ray Bradbury’s “Now and Forever”.
mobile.harpercollins.com (via International Herald Tribune – hat tip to Carson)
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