Spring Design teams with Borders for ereader services

Ereader solutions and products provider Spring Design announced an agreement to feature bookseller chain Borders Group's forthcoming ebook store when the firm's Android-powered Alex device hits retail later this year. The Alex unit--which boasts full browser capabilities as well as Spring Design's patented Duet Navigator dual screen, which offers users a monochrome electronic paper display alongside a secondary color LCD screen featuring dynamic hyperlinked multimedia information and web content--is slated to go on sale on Feb. 22 at a retail price of $359.

Late last year, Borders Group announced an unspecified strategic investment and commercial partnership with ereader services provider Kobo (formerly Shortcovers), a spinoff of Canadian retailer Indigo Books & Music. The partnership will yield a new Kobo-powered ebook storefront integrated into the Borders.com website as well as a Borders-branded store optimized for mobile devices. Borders and Kobo add they plan to launch the new digital services in Q2 of this year. Kobo already provides ebooks to consumers in over 200 countries--downloads of its application now exceed 1 million, and span across desktops, smartphones and ereader devices like the Sony Reader.  

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