Kobo enjoyes its highest eBook download rate ever

Kobo, the only pure-play global eReading service built on an open platform, revealed its Holiday 2010 sales figures. This Christmas, readers around the world received new eReaders and iPads and other eReading devices under their tree.

Over a million people connected to Kobo, and hundreds of thousands of devices were activated each day since Christmas Eve, fuelling the highest eBook download rate in the company’s history.

Readers chose Kobo this Christmas, with the popular easy-to-use Kobo Wireless eReader, dozens of compatible eReaders, top-rated applications for iPad, iPhone, Blackberry, Android, and one of the largest catalogues in the world with over 2.2 million eBooks, newspapers and magazines.



Kobo’s holiday growth also included:

• Total registered users nearly doubling from the six weeks prior
• A 50X increase in purchases from previous Holiday weekend last year
• A 5X increase in purchases from the previous biggest weekend (also in December)
• Customer purchases from over 130 countries, with some of the biggest gains outside of US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, UK, occurring in Germany, Netherlands, and Singapore
• A significant increase in device mix, with eReaders and Tablets accounting for the largest percent in sales

Kobo became the first eReading service to launch an eBook gifting and gift card program and for the first time in history, eBooks “arrived” digitally in people’s email accounts this Christmas morning. The top three most popular eBooks gifted this holiday were:

“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” by Stieg Larsson
“The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest” by Stieg Larsson
“Room” by Emma Donahue

Kobo also shared its Holiday 2010 best-selling eBook titles globally, a list dominated by Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy series which includes the popular titles “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” “The Girl Who Played with Fire” and “The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest”.

Top three Kobo eBook title sales by country:

Canada

1. “The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest” by Stieg Larsson

2. “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” by Stieg Larsson

3. “Room” by Emma Donahue

United States

1. “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” by Stieg Larsson

2. “The Girl Who Played With Fire” by Stieg Larsson

3. “The Lost Symbol” by Dan Brown

United Kingdom

1. “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” by Stieg Larsson

2. “The Confession” James E. Mcgreevey

3. “The Girl Who Played With Fire” by Stieg Larsson

Australia

1. “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” by Stieg Larsson

2. “The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets' Nest” by Stieg Larsson

3. “The Girl Who Played With Fire” by Stieg Larsson


Rest Of World

1. “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” by Stieg Larsson

2. “Dead Or Alive” by Tom Clancy

3. “The 4-Hour Body” by Timothy Ferriss

Kobo’s recently-announced Kobo Reading Life program, now available on the iPad, marked the industry’s first comprehensive social eReading experience, personalizing eReading and creating a fun, engaging, and meaningful experience.

Over 250,000 Reading Life awards have been given out since its recent launch – simply for reading. Tens of thousands were given out this Christmas, including the “Milk and Cookies” award, and the “Holiday Cheer” award for reading on Christmas Eve and Day.

This holiday season, open standards and the ability to read on any device is a consistent theme. With Kobo, customers can to build their lifetime libraries as they choose, and read on multiple devices by downloading a free eReading app at kobo.com.

People can also download books for free, borrow and read eBooks from their local library on the Kobo Wireless eReader – and alternatively can read Kobo eBooks on other dedicated eReaders like the Sony eReader and Nook.