HMV wants yoof ereader market – Bookbox

MUSIC RETAILER HMV and UK electronics firm View Quest are going after the yoof ebook market with the launch of their multi-use device.

The firms took time out from hanging outside of shops in hoodies to let us know that their device is designed to meet the needs of a demanding demographic. Which jars with us, since whenever we ask the yoof what they want, the answer is usually “wotever”, or “don’t care”. Neither of which are particularly demanding.

Anyway, the Bookbox is presumably aimed that those kids that swoon over the Twilight books, or nerd out over the Harry Potter ones, but apparently it’s more than that.

With its rubberised finish it can perhaps survive a light hurl against a wall mid-tantrum, while also remaining comfortable to hold. It has a full colour 5-inch TFT LCD screen, which might seem small in comparison to others. As well as displaying books with Adobe reader software, it can also be used for viewing photos and videos, as well as music. View Quest added that it supportd epub, pdf, txt and fb2 formatting.

Chris Mole, product manager at View Quest described the Bookbox as, “The right product at the right price and the right time. Recent research shows interest in eReaders continues to grow and we’re sure the time and effort we’ve put into understanding the market is evident in the usability of this product.”

The View Quest Bookbox goes on sale at HMV stores this week and should cost around £99. Currently the website has it at £79. µ