Lexcycle, the company behind the Stanza electronic book reader for
the iPhone and iPod touch, announced that it has entered into a
definitive agreement with Adobe to license PDF and EPUB rendering
technologies as well as support for Adobe’s eBook content protection
technology. The integrated technology will allow Stanza users to
enjoy eBooks sold or loaned by any retailer or library, who
distribute eBooks protected with Adobe Content Server 4.
With over 1.3 million users spanning 60 countries, Stanza is the most
popular eBook reader for the Apple iPhone. Since its launch in July
2008, Stanza has supported the EPUB format, the International Digital
Publishing Forum’s open XML-based standard format for reflowable
digital books and publications. To date, Stanza users have downloaded
over 3 million eBooks from a selection of over 100,000, half of which
are available for free. The license agreement will significantly
expand the selection of available titles to Stanza customers to
include a wide variety of commercially published eBooks from major
publishers.
“Stanza has become the most popular electronic book reader for the
iPhone and iPod Touch by providing a great user experience, from the
discovery and acquisition of content to the fine-tuned reading
experience,” said Neelan Choksi, Chief Operating Officer of Lexcycle.
“Licensing Adobe’s content protection technology will allow Stanza
users to have a wider selection of eBooks, periodicals, and other
content from around the world, secure in the knowledge that the
content they purchase is based on open standards.”
“Stanza is a great iPhone application and the addition of Adobe PDF
and EPUB with Adobe Content Server compatibility will make Stanza
even more compelling,” said Bill McCoy, general manager, Digital
Publishing Business at Adobe. “This collaboration is a significant
step forward for Adobe’s overall strategy to enable publishers to
deliver engaging, high-fidelity reading experiences across a wide
range of mobile devices.”
Starting next quarter, Stanza will be able to read EPUB and PDF files
secured with Adobe’s content protection technology from Adobe Content
Server 4. The EPUB format has gained significant traction among major
trade book publishers and industry groups such as the Association of
American Publishers (AAP). With the upgrade, Stanza users will be
able to purchase or borrow Adobe eBooks from the hundreds of
retailers, academic and public libraries who distribute Adobe eBooks
worldwide.
Stanza for the Apple iPhone and iPod touch is available as a free
download at http://www.lexcycle.com. Stanza with support for Adobe
DRM will be released in 2Q09.
