ANN ARBOR – Borders Audiobook
Downloads, a new audiobook download service, debuted Monday on
Borders.com, offering an initial 15,000 titles, including fiction and
non-fiction bestsellers, classics, self-help and children’s books, among
other categories.
Each week, hundreds of new titles will be added to the
online catalog of audiobook titles, augmenting the vast selection of
audiobooks on CD that are available in Borders stores and online. At
launch, more than 5,000 of the listed titles are available in MP3 format, a
digital format that is universally compatible with all MP3 players,
including iPods. Leading digital audiobook distributor OverDrive provides
both the inventory and the underlying technology for the new Borders.com
service.
To introduce the service, beginning tomorrow July 15 and continuing
through July 19, customers can download free of charge Jon Krakauer’s “Into
the Wild” in MP3 format. In addition, the 15 popular titles are being offered at the discounted price of $9.95 through July 22.
In addition to offering the new audiobook download service on
Borders.com, a similar service is available in Borders’ new concept stores
where the audiobook download service is provided via self-serve computer
stations within specially designated Digital Centers in the stores. Borders
will have 14 concept stores nationwide by the end of 2008 and has 10 of the
new stores in operation now.
“With the launch of Borders Audiobook Downloads on Borders.com, the
availability of the download service in our concept stores, and the option
to buy audiobooks on CD, we are giving customers what no other book
retailer does-the ability to enjoy this great form of entertainment in a
variety of formats including the universally compatible MP3 format,” said
Kevin Ertell, senior vice president of e-business for Borders Group. “We
look forward to growing our audiobook catalog so that customers always have
access to the best selection of audiobooks available.”
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