At launch there are about 39,000 local and international bestsellers for smartphones, tablets and PCs. Payment is in Singapore Dollars (S$) and made via Singapore Credit Cards or if you are a SingTel customer, you can charged it to your monthly SingTel bill.
Singapore, 15 November 2011 – Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel) today announced the launch of skoob, Singapore’s first e-book service. Skoob breaks new ground by being the first e-book service to offer the works of Singapore writers, as well as study guides and educational books for local primary and secondary school students.
At launch, skoob offers more than 39,000 local and international bestsellers for smartphones, tablets and PCs. It is the first e-book service to accept payments in Singapore dollars and offers tremendous savings versus the cost of traditional paper books. For example, fans of John Grisham can enjoy his novel, The Confession, at S$9.00 instead of S$17.07 at a bookshop. Neil Humphreys’ acclaimed Complete Notes from Singapore is available at S$13.90 instead of S$29.90. Skoob also offers a range of classics for free download, such as Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities.
Mr Goh Seow Eng, SingTel’s Chief of Digital Home, said: “The Singapore market has long been overlooked by e-book services from abroad. With the launch of skoob, Singapore readers finally have a service that offers local books and caters specifically to their tastes and needs. It also provides local publishers and writers with a powerful digital platform that allows them to reach a wider audience.”
“We are continuously working with publishers to expand our catalogue. We believe skoob’s range of local study guides and educational books will be well received by school students, and we are looking to include assessment papers soon,” he said.
Skoob is available on Apple and Android tablets and smartphones via a free app. It can also be enjoyed on PCs and Macs using standard browsers. Customers have the flexibility to download books on up to five devices. Payments can be made via Singapore credit cards. SingTel customers can choose to have purchases conveniently charged to their monthly bills.
Mr Goh said that skoob is an important addition to SingTel’s growing suite of multimedia offerings, which includes the award-winning AMPed music service, deF!ND digital concierge, ESC games service, De!ite e-magazine service, exCite web video app and mio TV.
“SingTel is transforming from a provider of traditional telecommunications services to a multimedia solutions provider. We are constantly developing new apps and services that make the most of our networks and smartphone technology to enhance the lives of our customers,” he said.
Skoob offers titles from leading publishers, including the world’s six major publishing houses: Random House, Penguin, HarperCollins, Hachette Book Group, Simon and Schuster and Macmillan. The service carries local titles, study guides and educational books from: Popular, Marshall Cavendish, Cengage Learning, Asiapac, Flame of the Forest, McGraw Hill, Sunbear, Monsoon, Singapore Asia Publishers (SAP) and Janus Education. For more information on skoob, and to download the app, please visit skoob.com.sg.
