Borders Extends E-Books Commitment; Carrying Sony’s New Reader PRS-700 and Expanding Co-Branded E-Book Store

By Press Release - Oct 09 , 2008

Retailer also hosting ‘Reader Revolutionaries’ for demonstrations at over 200 Borders stores across the country

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Oct. 7, 2008—Borders®, the first retailer beyond SonyStyle® stores to carry Sony’s Reader Digital Book beginning in 2006, has deepened its support of Sony and e-books, announcing today that nearly all of its over 520 superstores nationwide will carry the just-unveiled Reader model PRS-700 beginning this holiday shopping season. Borders will also continue to carry Sony’s Reader PRS-505 model currently available in its stores.

“E-books are a part of our business now and will be a part of our future as a bookseller,” said Borders Group Chief Executive Officer George Jones. “That’s why we were the first retailer outside of SonyStyle stores to align with Sony and carry the Reader back in 2006. We’ve continued to build on our relationship with Sony through a co-branded e-book store, and now, with demonstrations of the Reader in our stores as well. Our company’s mission is to be a headquarters for knowledge and entertainment, and we believe that embracing technology is key to achieving that mission. We are pleased to team with Sony to bring e-books and the Reader to Borders customers.”

The new PRS-700 model features an interactive touch screen display that allows for the most intuitive digital reading experience to date. A sizeable six-inch display with the new touch screen capability allows readers to flip pages with the slide of a finger. In addition, readers can easily search terms within a document or book, create notes using the virtual keyboard and highlight text with the included stylus pen. Five pre-set text sizes are available so readers can find the one most comfortable for them and for those that need a closer look, zooming in is as easy as tapping the screen. And, at about 10 ounces, the new Reader PRS-700 is the perfect way for readers to carry all of their favorite books with them wherever they go.

The device still features high-resolution, high-contrast electronic paper display technology, which provides a reader experience very much like ink-on-paper that is highly readable even in bright sunlight. For low light situations, the new Reader PRS-700 features a built-in LED reading light, which Sony is the first to offer. Expanded memory offers enough capacity to store about 350 average size digital books and can sustain up to 7,500 pages of continuous reading on a single battery charge. Using optional removable Memory Stick Duo media or SD memory cards, the Reader can hold literally thousands of books and documents.

In addition to carrying the Reader, Borders last year announced it has teamed up with Sony on a co-branded e-book store at http://ebooks.borders.com. The store is being redesigned this month by Sony to offer more prominent book cover art that will enhance the visual appeal of the site. A streamlined check-out process along with updated search and discovery make finding and purchasing an e-book a breeze. Customers who purchase a Reader at a Borders superstore or online at Borders.com can download free e-book Library software at the site and can then immediately begin purchasing e-book downloads of titles written by bestselling authors such as Stephenie Meyer, Dean Koontz, Khaled Hosseini and Michael Connelly, among thousands of others. Each month, thousands of new titles are being added. Customers who register their Reader on Borders.com receive a credit for 100 free e-book classics upon registration.

Approximately 200 Borders stores nationwide are also hosting “Reader Revolutionaries” throughout the next three months who will demonstrate the Reader for customers and share information about Sony’s “Reader Revolution” campaign. The campaign helps promote reading with Sony pledging to give over 15 million e-book classics to schools and educational institutions nationwide. Visit sony.com/reader to join the cause and learn more.

About Borders Group, Inc.
Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich., Borders Group, Inc. (NYSE: BGP), is a leading retailer of books, music and movies with more than 28,000 employees. Through its subsidiaries, the company operates more than 1,100 stores worldwide primarily under the Borders® and Waldenbooks® brand names and recently launched Borders.com for online shopping. For more information, visit www.borders.com/aboutus.

Contact:
Anne Roman
(734) 477-1392