The Bookseller.com

2nd December 2008

Ladybird goes digital with Nabaztag

12.08.08 Caroline Horn

Children's publisher Ladybird has partnered with digital company Violet, creator of the Nabaztag Rabbit, to make some of its traditional tales available via the digital device. It is the first UK-based publisher to partner with the French digital pioneer.

The WiFi-enabled Nabaztag Rabbit, which first launched in 2005, is permanently connected to the internet and can react to and transmit many types of content available on the net including news, music, radio and now also books. The Nabaztag identifies books using the "Ztamp" system designed by Violet.

It recognises a book via the "Ztamp" glued under a book's cover, retrieves the story from the Violet server and then reads it out loud. Users can navigate through the chapters of the story by moving the Rabbit's ears.

From September this year, The Nabaztag Rabbit will be bundled with three traditional Ladybird Tales at a cost of £115, or the tales can be bought separately online. Penguin business development director Nicola Dowle said the publisher would consider making additional titles available.

There are now more than 40,000 Nabaztag devices in circulation in the UK and Violet predicts that this will double by the start of next year. The company said it was in discussions with "significant" publishers in all its major territories, including the UK, France, Italy and the US, to make more books available in this format.

The Nabaztag Rabbit was created by French firm Violet as an office-based device but it has also found a natural market in homes. Rafi Haladjian, co-founder of Violet, said the "Ztamps" would help create a world where everything was connected to the internet. "We believe that we don't need to create virtual avatars of our objects on computer screens to make them connected and intelligent. Objects will keep their original form but at the same time be enhanced and enriched by the services and content from the Internet."

Caroline Horn Home digitisation Ladybird Rabbit Nabaztag Rabbit

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