Flipkart launches e-books app for iOS, Windows Phone and Browser; Initial impressions
- After almost 10 months of it's Android app, Flipkart has finally launched the iOS version of their ebooks app. The app essentially allows you browse, purchase and read ebooks from Flipkart. Flipkart ebooks use a propriety format and cannot be read in any other format and hence the app. The iOS version of the app claims the following features -Day, Night & Sepia modes
- Multiple easy on the eye fonts
- Bookmarks
- Highlight sections & make notes
- Dictionary
- Search in Book
- Sync your bookmarks and annotations across devices
Ravi Vora, Sr. VP – Marketing, says “Flipkart is a clear leader in the Indian books market with 40-45% share of the organized books market in India. Providing seamless content, regardless of platforms, will be a big part of our strategy to further strengthen this position and extend it to the digital space.”
Speaking about the app launch and Flipkart’s upcoming plans for eBooks, Mekin Maheswari, Head – Payments and Digital Media,said – “Everything we do at Flipkart is about making the end-user experience easier and more delightful. We don’t believe that the eBook experience should be restricted to a single device. With the launch of these apps, our eBooks titles are now accessible to all readers, no matter which device they use. We already have 2.5 lakh titles on the site and we aim to increase this to 10 lakhs by year-end. And all of these can now be read by a customer, through any smartphone, tablet or PC.”
Intial impressions
Flipkart's iOS app now joins an elite group of 14 ebook readers in the complete existance of the iOS app store. Of these, iBooks and Kindle are probably the most established. With close to a 100,000 downloads on the Android platform, I think the reception of the app has been lukewarm so far. Also, the iOS platform is a great bet for Flipkart because of it's large tablet userbase.
However, there is no mention of their iOS tablet app, which I believe is a important for an e-book reader. Flipkart however, does have a tablet version for its Android app.
We've just got our hands on the app and we will soon update you with the user review of the app. Until then, download the Flipkart ebooks app for iOS and WP and tell us what you think.
