A personal to-go library at the palm of your hands

With books and other reading materials going digital, being able to carry 5,000 books (yep, you read that right) literally with you wherever you go has long become reality rather than science fiction.

Stored on a single device, the e-readers of today provide ease of access to virtually all of your most beloved books anytime of the day. It’s like carrying your whole library with you 24/7.

The written word, after all, isn’t dead—far from it. It has just gone digital.

The beauty of the modern e-reader is how life-like the e-books look. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think you’re flipping the pages of a physical book, instead of a digital one.

With the growing number of e-readers in the country, it was timely that National Book Store and Kobo partnered together to bring the latter’s ecosystem in the country. With Kobo’s award-winning e-reader devices coupled with National Book Store’s knowledge of the behavior and tastes of readers in the country, it could only mean good things for bookworms.

“Digital reading is only just emerging in the Philippines,” said Todd Humphrey, EVP of business development of Kobo, one of the leading global players in the e-reading industry. Advocating freedom to read any book on any device, Kobo’s ecosystem is available in 190 countries.

“With Kobo and National Book Store, consumers can—for the first time ever—access a world of international content and look forward to their local authors and publishers making their work available in digital formats,” he said.

Despite the prevalence of tablets in the market, having a dedicated Kobo e-reader is a must for any book lover. Unlike tablets, Kobo devices are reader-first gadgets, meaning they are specifically made to enrich the reading experience first, and everything else follows.

There’s a Kobo for everyone—it could be a Kobo Touch, Kobo Glo, or a Kobo Arc; each has its own unique features that suits the needs of the most passionate readers.

Admittedly, there were hesitations from the National Book Store, being that e-readers are an unfamiliar territory. Ramos said even their matriarch Socorro, the woman who put up the bookstore decades ago, was a bit skeptic at first about these digital reading devices.

“But we realized that e-books are not going anywhere anytime soon. They’re here to stay. So it’s a matter of what we’re going to do about it,” said Miguel Ramos of National Book Store.

National Book Store, of course, with its 150 stores nationwide is well-positioned to promote this digital reading revolution. If there’s anyone who can make this happen, it’s them, with its firm role as supporter and promoter of education and reading.

Contrary to popular belief that digital books cannibalize the sales of physical books, there is no evidence to this. In fact, Humphrey has a theory that e-books help proliferate reading in general, which leads to more chances of bookworms actually buying a physical book after they’ve read it in their gadgets, perhaps for collections sake.

“We told National Book Store that we’re not here to steal your books. On the flip side, our devices allow people to consume more reading materials. So we become a tool for them to sell more books to their customers,” Humphrey said.

While the Kobo ecosystem has been available in different countries since it launched in 2009, its partnership with a leading bookstore, in this case National Bookstore, is only the 14^th such deal it has made (and first in Southeast Asia).

Through the partnership, readers will have access to Kobo’s eBookstore, which has 4 million titles across 68 languages, which includes international and local bestsellers. In the country, the Kobo devices will also be available in Powerbooks locations and online at nationalbookstore.com.

“I think the Philippines is very much ready for the Kobo e-readers. The population here is very tech-savvy, with millions owning tablets and smartphones. We also know that Filipinos read a lot,” Humphrey said.

Ramos said: “Books, and reading in general, is still a growing industry, despite of—or perhaps because of—technology. We are committed to delivering a world-class reading experience, whether with a good physical book or with an e-book through the Kobo devices. Our readers deserve only the best.”

*** This article was first published on the Philippine Daily Inquirer on September 22, 2013 as an advertorial, written by yours truly. It has been slightly edited for TWIST. Enjoy! ***