App startup biNu has partnered with United Kingdom-based publisher Harlequin to make 8,700 books – including the popular romance series Mills&Boon – available for consumption on feature phones.
biNu’s partnership with Harlequin targets non-smartphone users, particularly prevalent on the continents of Africa, Asia and South America.
Gour Lentell, co-founder and chief executive officer, pointed to “an immense hunger for books, and particularly romance fiction” in these technologically emerging countries.
Mills&Boon is available to users through an app store via biNu, where readers can buy mobi books with biNu credits.
Tim Cooper, commercial director at Harlequin United Kingdom (UK), said: “Working with biNu has created a real opportunity for us to reach women in global markets who don’t have access to high end tablet or smartphone technology.
“With the biNu feature phone application we will be at the heart of their reading experience.”
The technology to adapt smartphone apps to lower profile mobiles, as is biNu’s speciality, is also offered to other companies to adjust accessibility for developing nations.
Backed by TomorrowVentures, founded by Google chairman Eric Schmidt, apps built by biNu reach five million people through Facebook and YouTube.
The main focus currently falls on social features in addition to the distribution of content.
Harlequin is the first company to collaborate with biNu on a third-party platform.
