Chunghwa Telecom to offer e-book service for smartphone users

Oct. 22, 2009 (China Knowledge) - Chunghwa Telecom Co Ltd, the largest telecom and Internet services provider in Taiwan, plans to launch e-book services for smartphone users by the end of this year, Chang-Rong Chen, vice president of its mobile business group, said Wednesday, Dow Jones Newswire reported.

The telecom carrier is now developing smartphone reading software and an e-book downloading platform named Hami bookstore, which will be launched by the end of the year.

Users of at least four smartphone models, HTC Corp's Hero, Magic and Mega, as well as Apple Inc's iPhone, will enjoy the new services, according to the report.

In addition, Chunghwa Telecom will team up with several local publishing companies to provide content on its e-book service, and will receive a 25% commission on the sale, said Chen.

Chunghwa Telecom's smartphone user base hit 140,000 last year and will rise 30% per year in 2009 and 2010, Chen said.

Earlier this year, Far EasTone Telecommunications Co Ltd, the second-largest telecom operator on the island, also announced that it was working with Eslite Bookstore to offer e-books and comics.