From launching Vee Press last year, Vibal Foundation makes another giant step in shaping the digital publishing industry in the country through its newest platform: Vibe.
Using cloud-computing technology, Vibe seeks to make available to the public the widest number of newly published, out of print, or public domain book titles, as well as magazines and newspapers. It also addresses the problematic issues of high prices, fragmented distribution channels and delayed marketing time that all printed matter in the Philippines face by making titles easily available in digital format.
How? A three-fold innovation harmonizing the technologies of e-bookstore, e-publisher and e-book application.
E-bookstore
Unlike foreign-based e-bookstores like Amazon Kindle and Apple iBooks, the Vibe E-bopokstore is tailored to the needs of Philippine readers and publishers. Rather than depending on credit cards, readers can transact with Vibe through Globe Gcash, SMART Money and other widely-used local services.
Local publishers can also deploy their content abroad through Vibe’s direct accounts with international e-bookstores Amazon Kindle, Apple iBooks and Barnes and Noble Nook.
E-publisher
Publishers can easily upload their books in ePUB or PDF format to Vibe and release them to the public through Vibe’s e-bookstore. This allows publishers to save on paper, printing, distribution and marketing costs, as well as ensuring nationwide availability of their material.
Publishers who do not have in-house facilities to turn their books into e-books can also draw on Vibal Foundation’s digitization program, which has aided dozens of Philippine publishers in creating electronic copies of their published material.
E-book app
Vibe is also a universal reading application (app) program compatible with tablet computers like the Android and iPad. The Vibe app can read and display both flat and interactive reading material, such as digital newspapers, e-magazines, storybook apps and ePUB formatted books.
Watch out for the upcoming Vibe launch in September 2011!
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