ReadOz raises $2.2 million for digital reader

Series A from private investors fuels elegant digital reader and publishing platform

Digital publishing startup ReadOz announced Friday that it has raised $2.2 million in its Series A round, contributed to by unnamed private investors. The funding will help ReadOz continue rolling out its free digital reader and publishing platform to attract more users.

Founded in 2007, the Chicago, Ill.-based company develops a digital reader that gives users online and mobile access to newspapers, magazines, catalogues, brochures, directories and other printed materials.

Clients who use ReadOz receive built-in analytics, commerce and search engine optimization technology. The company also says there are iOS and Android applications available, whether through a global ReadOz app (which is pending approval) or a client-specific private app.

ReadOz is also available contract-free, meaning clients can publish directly to the platform individual pieces of content.

"Unlike other contract-based services,” explained Alex Shchekin, founder and president of ReadOz, “we have created a free, Hulu-like digital portal for print materials as both a destination and library for content, and we're excited by its continued growth as we enter our next phase of development.”

The startup’s marketplace currently hosts over 50,000 digital files from a variety of publishers, including the Tribune Company's RedEye Chicago and TribLocal editions.

Pictured above is the ReadOz digital reader. Clicking anywhere on the page and dragging lets the user navigate both currently open pages. How much page is visible can be adjusted in gradations with the zoom tool in the upper left-hand corner. The two black squares on the left and right turn into arrows with mouse rollover, and turn the page in that direction when clicked.

At the bottom sits the navigation bar, which provides the reader with more functions than one might ever need. Searching, printing, rotating, page-turning, zooming, sharing and even more functions are all readily accessible from this prominently displayed toolbar.

All in all, it looks and feels like an elegant digital reading solution.