Shortcovers rechristened Kobo, with no branded e-reader in sight

It’s official: Shortcovers, the Indigo-owned e-book service launched less than a year ago, has a new name. At midnight last night, the company was rechristened Kobo (an anagram of “book”), and along with a redesigned website and mobile app, introduced several new features. However, no mention was made of a branded e-reading device, despite recent speculation.

What does the name change mean? Presumably, if the Shortcovers brand is starting from scratch all over again, we can expect more than simply a new “look and feel.” But the initial changes, outlined in a blog post by Kobo CEO Mike Serbinis, seem fairly minor. They include the ability to browse by category (fiction, romance, sci-fi & fantasy, etc.), a regularly updated bestsellers list, and recommended reading lists.

Serbinis says to also expect new apps, new “supported devices,” and expanded international offerings, including the ability for consumers around the world to make purchases in their local currency.

To experience the new Shortcovers, go to kobobooks.com.

What is Kobo?

Remember that rumour from this past summer that Indigo was planning to unveil a dedicated e-reading device? Well, some intrigue at the Canadian Intellectual Property Office is reviving such speculation.

Yesterday, blogger Mark Bertils noted that the Shortcovers app had gone AWOL in the Apple store. And a little digging from the Association of Canadian Publisher’s Nic Boshart has unearthed that Indigo-owned Shortcovers has taken out a trademark on the name Kobo, described as a portable e-reading device “for receiving, downloading, displaying, providing access to and reading text, images and sound and other digital content through wireless Internet access.”

Indigo to launch its own e-reader?

Canada AM tech reporter Kris Abel was casually chatting with Indigo CEO Heather Reisman this morning – she had just got through doing an interview about her annual “summer reads” selections – when she revealed that Indigo is currently in final talks with a number of e-book reader manufacturers about adopting one of their devices and launching it here in Canada – under the Indigo name – by the end of this year.

The link to Abel’s post is currently broken, but the gist of it is as follows:

While chatting with myself back-stage she divulged the company’s plans, willing only to confirm that it won’t be the Sony Reader, already available and supported by Sony’s own online E-Book store, nor Amazon’s Kindle, which has yet to find a launch in Canada. Instead the retailer will launch their own service, one that will follow on the heels of their successful ShortCovers service, launched earlier this year.

No one from Indigo has verified Abel’s report, as of yet. Keep checking Q&Q Omni for further updates.

Bookmarks: Stanza acquired by Amazon, and more

Sundry links from around the Web:

• It looks like Shortcovers, Indigo’s downloadable e-book application for mobile devices, has some new competition: Lexycycle, the start-up behind the popular iPhone e-book reader Stanza, has been acquired by Amazon
• U.S. judge orders advertising mogul Peter Arnel to pay back part of a $550,000 advance to HarperCollins
• David Cronenberg is set to adapt a Robert Ludlum thriller for the silver screen

Bookmarks: reviews of Shortcovers, Mailer’s reviewers, and a new book for uppity editors

Sundry links from around the Web:

• BookNet Canada’s Michael Tamblyn offers a fairly enthusiastic review of Indigo’s new “e-books for iPhones” app Shortcovers.
• Harper U.S. acquires Kerouac’s unpublished first novel, about a man at sea.
• The Subversive Copy Editor aims at improving frayed relations between authors and editors.
• Norman Mailer strikes back (at his critics).

Shortcovers set to launch tonight

While nerdy Americans await delivery of their Kindle 2s, nerdy Canadians can console themselves by trying Indigo’s new Shortcovers service. The ambitious e-book service – which allows users to download titles to their cellphones or personal computers for anywhere from $9.99 to $19.99 – launches tonight (or tomorrow, technically) at exactly one minute after midnight. You can see Q&Q Omni‘s previous coverage of Shortcovers here, you can get a sneak preview of what to expect here, and if you’re the early-adopter type you can go here tonight to actually download something.