UK company ICUE (pronounced IQ), has launched a mobile book service that it says will make thousands of books available to read on mobile phones. It uses technology that flashes words one-at-a-time, at speed, on the phone screen, which ICUE says makes reading interesting and efficient.
The company hopes to encourage people, particularly children, to read books on their mobile phone, and ICUE says it will invest profits back into a charity aimed at improving literacy in both children and adults.
ICUE Managing Director, Jane Tappuni says the company is working closely with schools and colleges to promote syllabus books to their students, and that the reception from teachers has been encouraging.
The charity will be formed to promote literacy to children and adults by making reading available in unusual ways and by allowing it to fit into a lifestyle, rather than making a lifestyle change says Tappuni.
The ICUE website lists hundreds of books in 16 categories, including Business, Fiction, Politics, and Fairy Tales & Folklore. Prices start at 3 per book, and the books are ordered by texting the keyword for the book in question to a dedicated shortcode, 64888.
ICUE has partnerships with many of the UKs largest publishing houses, including Harper Collins, Pan Macmillan, Pearson, and Simon and Schuster. Authors whose work is available via ICUE include Philip Pulman, Julie Burchill, Cary Cooper and Charles Dickens. The initial range of titles available includes celebrity PR Consultant Kizzi Nkwochas book, Heavens Fire. Nkwocha says:
When I first heard about ICUE, I quickly realised the incredible impact that this technology could have on children, and I wanted to be part of it. I have a son myself and know how difficult it can be to get them away from their games systems or texting their friends, and into the library. ICUE works, because kids already spend most of their day playing with their phone and reading books is a natural extension to that activity.
To trial the service, text freebook to 64888 from a UK mobile phone. 
