Kobo partners with Rdio to pre-load app on Vox tablet

Amazon and Barnes & Noble aren't the only companies touting some high-profile apps for their Android-based tablets. Kobo has now also announced a partnership with Rdio, which will see the latter company's app (and access to a catalog of more than 12 million tracks) come pre-loaded on the new Kobo Vox tablet. Of course, the Rdio app is already available for other Android devices, but this is certainly at least a small boon for Kobo, which doesn't offer Android Market access on the Vox tablet.

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Kobo™ Partners with Rdio to Bring Music to its Readers

Consumers now have access to Rdio's full catalogue of 12+ million tracks on the new Kobo Vox

SAN FRANCISCO and TORONTO, Nov. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Rdio (www.rdio.com) the digital music service created by the founders of Skype, and Kobo, a global leader in eReading with over five million users worldwide, today announced that Rdio will come pre-loaded on the new Android-powered Kobo Vox. Together, Kobo and Rdio are making it even easier for users to enjoy enhanced, end-to-end entertainment that incorporates a social reading experience and music from the convenience of the new Kobo Vox.

"By adding Rdio to the Kobo Vox, our subscribers can now easily extend their Rdio listening experience into their reading life, and it gives them yet another platform to access our service," said Drew Larner, CEO of Rdio. "For Kobo customers, we bring a new and unique social approach to music discovery. Reading and listening to music have always been preferred leisure activities and now customers can enjoy them together, seamlessly."

Given Rdio's inherently social features, it was deemed the perfect fit for the Kobo Vox eReader, the industry's first social eReader. By allowing users to discover music through friends and influencers, it takes the work out of deciding what to play next.

"The Kobo Vox was designed for today's connected consumers," said Michael Serbinis CEO of Kobo. "Finding new books and new music is best done through trusted sources and friends. With Kobo Vox and Rdio, our customers can not only discover new books by connecting with other readers, but also new music from the convenience of one device."

Key features include:

* Play anything you want. Instantly search and play music from a catalogue of 12+ million songs directly from the Kobo Vox device.
* Discover new music and re-discover old favorites. Follow friends, people with similar taste in music, and influencers (such as recording artists and music bloggers) to discover new music.
* Listen offline. Sync music from your collection to your Kobo Vox and listen even when you aren't connected.
* Hear all the latest music the moment it comes out. Listen to new albums and songs instantly the day they are released.
* Create and listen to playlists. Access and update existing playlists and listen to playlists created by other users.
* Let Rdio decide what to play next. Also available on the Rdio App for Android, users can discover music from an artist and others like them through artist radio.


In the United States, the Kobo Vox eReader is available in Fry's stores, and available online from U.S. retailers including Best Buy (www.bestbuy.com), Fry's (www.frys.com), and Kobo.com for $199.99 . Sign up for Rdio Free Access by visiting Rdio.com. Users can also subscribe to Rdio unlimited for $9.99 a month for unlimited access on all devices including the Kobo Vox.

Rdio is currently available in the US, Canada, and Brazil.

About Rdio
Rdio is the ground-breaking digital music service that is reinventing the way people discover, listen to, and share music. With on-demand access to over 12 million songs, Rdio connects people with music and makes it easy to search for and instantly play any song, album, artist or playlist without ever hearing a single ad. Discover what friends, people with similar tastes, recording artists and more are listening to in real-time and share across Twitter and Facebook. Build a digital music collection that's available everywhere - on the web, in-home or in-car, on an iPad or smartphone, and even offline.

Launched in August 2010, Rdio is headquartered in San Francisco and was founded by Janus Friis, one of the creators of Skype. Currently available in the US, Canada and Brazil, Rdio is funded by Atomico, Janus Friis through his investment entities, Skype and Mangrove Capital Partners. For more information and to sign up, visit www.rdio.com.

About the Kobo Vox eReader

Kobo Vox™ is an eReader and more! One of the world's largest bookstores expands as Kobo adds a wide selection of stunning color books for all ages including interactive Read Along children's books that will ignite young imaginations on the brilliant 7" FFS+ multi-touch, multi-media screen. Kobo Vox opens a new world of social reading, featuring Kobo's Reading Life™ experience, now with Kobo Pulse™. Share ideas on passages with other readers within the pages of a book and share your Reading Life™ with friends on Facebook® and Twitter®. Built for connected life, Kobo Vox comes pre-loaded with great apps ready to go and offers access to Wi Fi, Web browsing, Facebook®, email, games, plus a store with over 15,000 apps for Android™!

About Kobo Inc.

Kobo is a global eReading service with more than 2.5 million eBooks, magazines and newspapers – one of the largest eReading catalogues in the world. Read Freely - Kobo believes consumers should have the freedom to read any book on any device and has attracted millions of readers from over 100 countries across the globe. Kobo has top ranked eReading applications for iPad, iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, Windows and MacOS, and is the eReading application of choice for leading tablet OEMs. Kobo eReaders, including the Kobo Touch and the newly launched Kobo Vox are available at leading retailers, including Indigo, Walmart, Best Buy, Target, Future Shop, WHSmith, FNAC, Collins Booksellers and Whitcoull's. Kobo's innovative Reading Life is an industry-first comprehensive social eReading experience – Kobo users can earn awards simply for time spent reading and encouraging others. Kobo is backed by majority shareholder Indigo Books & Music Inc., Cheung Kong Holdings, and institutional investors.

SOURCE Rdio