Kobo has closed a $50 Million investment round led by a leading institutional investor.  Existing investors also participated in the round; investing $13M.

“Kobo will use the new funding to continue its explosive growth internationally,” said Greg Twinney, CFO of Kobo. “As the eReading space continues to heat up, Kobo is committed to providing an innovative experience that lets consumers read anytime, anyplace and share their love of reading with friends.”

Kobo kicked off its European expansion last week, with the announcement of its plans to launch local content stores inGermany – the largest book market outside of the US — and Spain starting in May 2011.

Libraries and schools worldwide were at the forefront of the eBook boom in 2010, as patrons and students downloaded millions of digital books for iPhone, Android, Sony Reader, NOOK, and personal computers. More than one million new users signed on to access free eBooks, audiobooks, and more from ‘Virtual Branch’ websites last year, resulting in a 200 percent increase in eBook checkouts and a 52 percent increase in audiobook checkouts over 2009.

Key statistics for library eBooks, audiobooks, and more from OverDrive-powered digital catalogs include:

1. 718 million book and title catalog pages viewed
2. 15 million digital titles checked out
3. 6.6 billion minutes of spoken word audio downloaded
4. 400,000 copyrighted eBook, audiobook, music, and video titles available to libraries

Library users are able to download eBooks over the air directly to their iPhone, iPod touch, and Android tablet or phone, in addition to downloads for PC, Mac, and popular eBook readers.

Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook are the two serious contenders for the title of best e-reader. There are other electronic reading devices on the market, but Kindle and Nook dominate the scene while the others are fading further into the background. So, this is going to be a straight review and comparison of Nook and Kindle as the two market leaders.

Since the launch of the first models of Nook and Kindle, the enhancements of each subsequent version have brought the two contenders closer.

Media and publishing market forecast firm Simba Information, publisher of the “Book Publishing Report” newsletter, has estimated about 35% of iPad owners haven’t used the devices to read e-books. The estimate is based on the preliminary findings from a nationwide survey of over 1,800 respondents, who were selected on a nationally representative basis.

“The fact that over a million iPad buyers haven’t used the gadget for e-books shows that not all new gadgets equate to a new e-reader,” says Michael Norris, senior trade book analyst at Simba Information.

Digital publishing vendor YUDU Media announced that it has launched a cross-platform self-publishing solution that enables users to create their own digital publications that are viewable on the web, iPad, and iPhone via custom-built branded apps. The company also announced that the availability of self-publishing applications for all other major ereaders and mobile devices will follow in the coming months.

YUDU’s cross-platform solution utilizes fixed-page layouts as well as “rich view” capability, allowing content to be automatically reflowed and adapted to fit the size of each device.

YUDU Pro supports the Apple iPhone and iPad formats today with the purchase of custom-built apps. Support for the Barnes & Noble nook, Sony eReader, Android, Amazon Kindle, and others will follow shortly.

Website: http://www.yudupro.com/