Shortcovers Announces Users in 160 Countries

      

"We're pleased with the response to Shortcovers in just the first two months, and are learning more every day about what our users want out of a mobile destination for ebooks, magazines and newspapers," said Michael Serbinis, CIO & EVP of Indigo Books & Music. "Far and away, our biggest successes are our global reach and platform diversity. We thought iPhone would dominate downloads, but we're very popular on Blackberry and Android. Readers tell us again and again how much they appreciate that our service is available on devices they already own."

Specifically, Shortcovers released the following information about its growth and global reach:

• Users in 160 countries. Top global regions include the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, India and China
• More than 100,000 people have tried Shortcovers, and 10,000 registered with the service
• The average purchase is just under $10 USD
• The most popular purchases include the Twilight series and Outliers
• Authors have contributed thousands of books, chapters, short stories and other works directly through Shortcovers.com

Shortcovers also announced the following features in upcoming product updates:

• Reading personalization and enhanced paging, providing a more book-like reading experience
• Enhanced browsing and discovery, including best sellers, award winners and other notable sources
• Integrated purchasing for Blackberry and Android
• Support for Android and new mobile devices to be announced

Additionally, mobile OEMs are working with Shortcovers' Developer Program, announced earlier this month. Featuring open APIs, a mobile SDK and developer forums, Shortcovers launched the Developer Program to further the company's vision of reading on any device, anytime, anywhere. Shortcovers expects the first major release from an OEM using the Shortcovers SDK in the fall of 2009.

Publishers, also, are embracing Shortcovers' open platform as a way to reach new readers. This week, House of Anansi Press made the new release Heaven is Small by Emily Schultz available to readers free of charge through Shortcovers. The promotion ends Friday, April 24.

For more information or to download Shortcovers, visit www.shortcovers.com.

About Shortcovers

Shortcovers is a new digital destination developed by Indigo Books & Music Inc., offering both an online and mobile service. Shortcovers allows users to find their next great read, sample and purchase for immediate download. The service will provide instant access to the newest books, hottest authors and most popular articles and blogs. Not just for avid readers, Shortcovers is for consumers who want the convenience of accessing and reading their favorite content, anytime, anywhere, on the mobile devices they already own. For more information, please visit www.shortcovers.com.

A key differentiator for Shortcovers is that unlike the Amazon Kindle or Sony eReader, Shortcovers is available for free on consumers' existing device. Shortcovers mobile applications for iPhone, Blackberry and Android are available at www.shortcovers.com/mobile. The Shortcovers iPhone application is available for free download in the iTunes App Stores worldwide. Other mobile applications will be made available on device specific App Stores once those stores go live. Shortcovers will be expanding their mobile application portfolio to include applications for Symbian, Windows Mobile and Brew devices, the Palm Pre, and other exciting new devices for reading.

About Indigo Books & Music Inc.

Indigo Books & Music Inc. (TSX:IDG) is a publicly traded Canadian company and the largest book retailer in Canada, operating bookstores in all provinces under the names Indigo Books Music & More, Chapters, The World's Biggest Bookstore and Coles. Indigo operates www.chapters.indigo.ca, an online retailer of books, music, DVDs and toys. To learn more about Indigo, please visit the About Our Company section of www.chapters.indigo.ca.