Txtr

Txtr was a German company founded in Berlin in 2008 by, among others, two former founders of gate5, a digital mapping startup sold to Nokia in 2006. It operated an online ebook store and supplied integrated digital reading solutions to various players in the publishing value chain, including tablet manufacturers, telecom operators, publishers, booksellers and libraries. It also marketed a low-cost e-reader called the Beagle. The company built a digital bookstore accessible online in about a dozen languages and roughly twenty countries. Beyond selling ebooks, txtr preinstalled its reading application on partner tablets; the app, available for iOS, Windows 8 and Android, allowed users to buy ebooks and manage them in a cloud-based virtual library. By March 2013 its catalogue contained one million ebooks and its application had one million users. Txtr also developed the digital bookstore (ebooks only) for Foyle's in the United Kingdom and the 3M Cloud Library application for American libraries. In 2011 the American group 3M took a stake in the company, the size of which was kept secret. In 2012 txtr opened an office in New York to get closer to the US market, by far the most dynamic in the ebook industry. Christophe Maire, founder and CEO since the company's creation, left the helm in 2013 and handed over to Thomas Leliveld, previously sales director. At the Frankfurt Book Fair in October 2012, txtr announced the launch of an ultralight e-reader called the Beagle, priced at ten euros. It actually went on sale in Germany in April 2013 at sixty euros, much more than announced. Txtr lowered the price during summer 2013 to twenty euros. Running on batteries, the Beagle can store up to five books that must first be transferred via Bluetooth from a smartphone. It supports ePub and PDF formats. Txtr was governed by German company law as a GmbH (Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung), the equivalent of a French SARL. Its current status is not clearly documented in the available evidence.

Txtr was founded in 2008 in Berlin by, among others, two former founders of gate5, a digital mapping startup sold to Nokia in 2006. The company set out to sell ebooks online and to provide integrated digital reading solutions to various actors in the publishing value chain: tablet manufacturers, telecom operators, publishers, booksellers and libraries. It also marketed a low-cost e-reader called the Beagle. Txtr created a digital bookstore accessible online in about a dozen languages and roughly twenty countries. In addition to selling ebooks, it preinstalled its reading application on partner tablets. The app, available for iOS, Windows 8 and Android, allowed users to buy ebooks and manage them in a cloud-based virtual library. By March 2013 the catalogue contained one million ebooks and the application had one million users. Txtr also developed the digital bookstore (ebooks only) for Foyle's in the United Kingdom and the 3M Cloud Library application for American libraries. In 2011 the American group 3M took a stake in the company; the size of the participation was kept secret. In 2012 txtr opened an office in New York to get closer to the US market, by far the most dynamic in the ebook industry. Christophe Maire, founder and CEO since the company's creation, left the helm in 2013 and handed over to Thomas Leliveld, previously sales director. At the Frankfurt Book Fair in October 2012, txtr announced the commercialization of an ultralight e-reader called the Beagle, sold for ten euros. It actually went on sale in Germany in April 2013 at sixty euros, much more than announced. Txtr lowered its sale price during summer 2013 to twenty euros. Running on batteries, the Beagle can store up to five books that must first be transferred via Bluetooth from a smartphone. The e-reader supports ePub and PDF formats. Txtr is governed by German company law. It is a GmbH – Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung – the equivalent of a French SARL (Société à Responsabilité Limitée). The available evidence does not document the company's later fate or current status.

• 2013

  Beagle goes on sale in Germany in April at sixty euros, much more than announced.

• 2013

  Christophe Maire leaves the helm; Thomas Leliveld, previously sales director, takes over.

• 2013

  Txtr lowers the Beagle price during summer to twenty euros.

• 2013

  By March, the catalogue contains one million ebooks and the app has one million users.

• 2012

  Txtr opens an office in New York to get closer to the US market.

• 2012

  At the Frankfurt Book Fair in October, txtr announces the Beagle e-reader at ten euros.

• 2011

  American group 3M takes a stake in txtr; size kept secret.

• 2008

  Txtr founded in Berlin by, among others, two former gate5 founders.

Low-cost digital reading and white-label ebook platform for partners across the publishing value chain.

• Beagle

  Ultralight battery-powered e-reader storing up to five books transferred via Bluetooth from a smartphone; supports ePub and PDF.

• txtr ebook store and app

  Online digital bookstore in about a dozen languages and roughly twenty countries; app for iOS, Windows 8 and Android with cloud library.

• 3M Cloud Library

  Application developed by txtr for American libraries.

• Foyle's digital bookstore

  Ebook-only digital bookstore developed by txtr for Foyle's in the United Kingdom.

1. 1Txtr on Wikidatawikidata.org
2. 2Txtr on French Wikipediafr.wikipedia.org