Rakuten Kobo uses Foxit PDF SDK to display and markup PDF in their custom eReader devices.

About Rakuten Kobo

Rakuten Kobo is a digital bookseller headquartered in Toronto, Canada. The company was founded in
2009 and the team develops eReaders, eBooks and audiobooks for their 58 million users around the world.

Challenges and Objectives

Rakuten Kobo wanted to display and markup PDFs within their eReader devices. The solution they were using at the time loaded slowly and left users unable to effectively markup pages. They were
interested in improving their user experience when it came to general performance, pinching/zooming, page turning, annotations, note taking, and writing on PDF.

Why Foxit?

Rakuten Kobo tried and tested other PDF SDKs and found that the performance and customization offered by Foxit beat the competition. They required a bespoke Linux ARM built specifically for their eReader and worked closely with our developers who supported them in getting the project up and running. After confirming through a proof of concept that the solution met their needs, it was an easy choice.

“The performance and features that Foxit PDF SDK has added to our eReader line has massively improved user experience and has helped us to reach our growth targets.”
– Ramesh Mantha, VP Product Devices, Rakuten Kobo

Results

Rakuten Kobo’s 7”, 8” and 10” eReader devices now come with a custom-built PDF viewer and editor. Their eReader users can easily markup pages on PDFs that load in an instant. This has resulted in a vastly improved PDF experience for their customers.