Adlibris launches Letto, a Swedish e-reader

“Letto is a new way to read books,” says Pär Svärdson, CEO of Adlibris. “We have looked at e-books for a decade, but it seems they are beginning to be taken seriously now.”

The latest Swedish books as well as a broad selection of classics are easy to find and download at www.adlibris.com/letto.

“Adlibris’ idea is to offer a wide choice for book lovers,” says Svärdson. “Letto is as small as a book but big enough to hold an entire library. It’s easy to carry in a bag, to work or to the beach. In short, it’s an easier way to read.”

Why are you launching the e-reader now?

“Over the past decade there’s been a lot of talk about e-books in Sweden, but since there were no e-readers, publishers started to lose interest,” says Svärdson. “And since there wasn’t a big market for e-books in Sweden, e-readers from outside Sweden weren’t launched here either. So it seemed the time was ripe to finally push hard to get a market for e-books going in Sweden.”

Letto has menus in Swedish and a paper-like screen that allows for easy reading, even in strong sunlight. It can handle a number of different formats, so books can be downloaded from most online stores.

“It’s exciting that Adlibris has created a simple and modern Swedish e-book platform,” says Håkan Rudels, marketing director for Bonnierförlagen. “We are taking our 200-year-old traditions into a new era. Already there are 500 Swedish titles available for Letto and from 2010 on, all new Swedish books from Bonnierförlagen will come out as e-books.”

What do you think the launch of Letto will mean for Bonnierförlagen in the long run?

“That we’re saving time in the digital development process. We’ve long been working on the digitization of our list, so that wasn’t affected by Letto. I mean more the speed of digitization. And if it goes well, it can be good business for us in the consumer sector in the future, via Adlibris.”

The introductory price of Letto is SEK 1,495 (regular price SEK 3,170), and it can be bought at adlibris.com/letto. During the campaign, a Letto purchase will include four books already loaded on the e-reader, plus a book of the reader’s choice that can be downloaded from adlibris.com.