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Dutch eReader Maker Bebook is Bankrupt

It looks like the tight competition between the the big boys has claimed another victim.  Netherlands based ebook reader maker Endless Ideas filed for bankruptcy today. Emerce is reporting that the small Dutch company had filed for bankruptcy protection as a step towards reorganizing and restarting the company.

While I don’t have the filings in front of me, that sounds like it is a Susurance type of bankruptcy. This is similar to a Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US, and it give the company an opportunity to negotiate with creditors in order to settle debts without having to liquidate the company.

Endless Ideas has been importing ebook readers since 2008, starting first with a rebranded Hanlin V6, a 6″ E-ink ereader from a Chinese manufacturer. Last year Endless Ideas expanded into tablets, launching the Bebook Live 7″ Android tablet. I’m told that they also had plans to release more models, but that is probably not possible now.

I’m not sure that they’ll make it out of bankruptcy alive. The ebook reader market is a lot tighter than it was when the first Bebook launched. The US market is mostly out of Endless Ideas reach due the the intense price competition between B&N and Amazon. And now the European market is getting to be highly competitive as Amazon, Kobo, and Pocketbook get serious about fighting over market share.

There’s not much room for the little guy anymore.

Endless Ideas

Emerce via e-anagnostis


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Comments


Zetmolm January 5, 2012 um 4:01 pm

Too bad they did not survive. I may be wrong but I think they lost a lot of money on the Live tablet rather than on the E Ink readers.

As to the type of bankruptcy, it’s not a 'surseance' (that’s the correct spelling) but a real bankruptcy. However, in situations like this it’s not uncommon here in the Netherlands that an attempt is made to do a sort of restart. E.g., when Irex went bankrupt, they made a restart in the form of IRX Technologies.
Last Tuesday a 'curator' was appointed by a Dutch court. It’s up to him now to decide whether to liquidate or to attempt the restart. Apparently he said he’s working on the latter option.

Zetmolm January 5, 2012 um 4:02 pm

I meant 'IRX Innovations', of course 🙂


eReader Maker Bebook Has Been Sold – The Digital Reader January 17, 2012 um 10:47 am

[…] couple weeks back I reported on a bankrupt Dutch gadget maker, and today I’ve learned that reports of their demise were greatly exaggerated. Endless Ideas, […]


Helen Kirchen June 4, 2018 um 4:02 pm

I am so sorry that BEBook folded. I still have my BEBook Neo. And it works. The fact that you could load PDFs from Project Guttenberg onto an SD card
is the user controlled.
Mine BEBook is still loaded with books I want to read!


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