E-Readers
Copia is hoping its new platform will be a better solution for e-reader enthusiasts than a simple device, like the Nook eReader. REUTERS

Call it the Facebook for e-reading enthusiasts; Copia has officially taken the covers off its social networking platform.

Copia, a part of the DMC group of companies, introduced the new platform to members of the press during an introductory conference call this week. The platform had previously been available in only a private beta.

The company says the platform is fully immersive, where users can share their insight, libraries and suggestions with friends. The platform has two modes: personal and universal. In personal, users can create book collections, search details and find out what their friends are reading. In universal, they can find out what everyone else is reading and buy the books directly from the site, which uses Adobe epub to make them available digitally. Copia says it has 400,000 books for sale as well as many free books.

Some of the most exciting advancements over the past decade have come when a technology redefines an experience people thought they already understood very well, Ben Lowinger, Executive Vice President of Copia Interactive, said in a statement. We believe the launch of Copia is one of those moments. Copia embeds community and collaboration directly into the digital experience across multiple content categories.

Interaction between Copia users is what the company hopes will be the platform's strong point. Along with sharing opinions on books and forming book clubs, users are able to highlight passages within a certain title for others to see.

The first time a Copia user is puzzled by a passage then finds an insightful comment left in the margin by another Copia user, they're hooked. If a book is worth reading, it's worth talking about. Copia is an easy to use, powerful and refreshing twist on reading, Cowinger said.

Copia's route is certainly non-traditional in the up-and-coming industry. It has foregone building an Amazon Kindle hardware competitor to focus on building an immersive platform available on all e-readers as well as mobile devices. Lowinger said the company decided to think bigger than a single device.

The company has also partnered with Twitter and Facebook to allow users to sign into their Copia accounts via those social media platforms. It says it hopes to bring newspapers, magazines, music and video into the platform down the line.