Bookboard Offers Streaming Access to Children Books via the iPad

By Rob Scott
November 13, 2012

Former Adobe executives Fang Chang and Nigel Pegg launched the free public beta version of Bookboard this week — an iPad app that offers streaming access to children’s ebooks.
The app already has a library of 300 titles from publishers Charlesbridge, Orca, Twin Sisters, Illumination Arts and Bubblegum Books.
The goal is to provide iPad content for kids and their parents that is more educational than YouTube or “Angry Birds.” The startup plans to eventually charge a monthly fee between $5 and $10.
“Bookboard titles are not enhanced with widgets, games, or other interactivity features (other than an ability to tap on text to enlarge it),” reports paidContent. “The company says that is intentional, to leave the focus on the reading experience.”
However, the company is expected to provide “more premium content and add-ons available in the future.”
Publishers will receive royalties based on page views. Other startups including Oyster and 24symbols are pushing to become the Netflix of ebooks, but have experienced challenges with the model, given resistance by publishers and conflicts with author contracts.
Chang told paidContent that “publishers are being a lot more savvy these days, making sure they obtain the digital rights for these books.” But the article points out that digital rights do not always cover streaming or subscription models.

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