Smart partners with Summit Media for digital books

MANILA, Philippines - Wireless giant Smart Communications Inc., a unit of dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), has tied up with Summit Media to revolutionize digital content landscape in the country.

Mellissa Limcaoco, head for Innovations & Product Development Group at Smart, said the exclusive partnership with the country’s leading magazine publisher would revolutionize the e-Book and e-Magazine landscape in the Philippines.

Under the strategic alliance, Limcaoco said the partnership would give more than 56 million Smart subscribers nationwide easier and more convenient access to digital books and magazines via their mobile devices through an application called Buqo.

Smart subscribers would be able to make digital downloads using their prepaid credits or have them charged on top of their postpaid accounts.

 “With this groundbreaking partnership, we are giving our subscribers a chance to enjoy unique and relevant digital content on their mobile devices. Now, they can use only their Smart prepaid and postpaid subscriptions as a key to the vast world of digital content available through Buqo,” she said.

Summit Media president Lisa Gokongwei-Cheng said the partnership with Smart would allow more mobile phone users to access a wide range of content.

“The low credit card penetration in the Philippines has always been a barrier for companies offering virtual goods to Filipino consumers. By partnering with Smart, we lower the barrier to entry and give more users access to a wide range of content that can be unlocked using only their cellphone load,” she said.

Current titles available through the store include Yes! Magazine, Candy Magazine, Esquire Philippines, and a host of other Summit Media magazine titles. Titles from other publishers are also available, including the likes of Gadgets Magazine, PC Shopper, Car Finder, Speed Magazine, and Circuit Magazine, among many others.

Buqo is the localized version of Ookbee, the number one e-Bookstore app in Thailand, and was co-developed by Summit subsidiary Hand.Interactive Inc.