If you're a Vodafone customer who fancies settling down and reading (or listening to) a book on your phone, you're in luck: the provider has announced the launch of the appropriately named "Books on Mobile!" service, which allows customers to download e-books and audio books direct to their phone.

The service is a partnership between Vodafone and GoSpoken.com, a website dedicated to provided audio books specifically for mobile phones. Set up in part by ex-SAS man turned author Andy McNab, the site can deliver a three-hour audio book to your mobile in around three minutes - provided you use Wi-Fi or HSDPA to download, of course. Publishers including Penguin, Random House and HarperCollins are already on board, and other big names are expected to join them in the near future.

Vodafone will begin by offering audio books only, and these are expected to cost between £5 and £15 apiece. Purchases will be added to your monthly bill. E-books should be available in a couple of weeks.

With mobile phone screens getting bigger and crisper - just look at the 5800 XpressMusic's lovely display - it seems that mobile books could be about to take off in a big way. Vodafone's new service could be just the tip of a literary iceberg...

Source: Unwired View