America’s second largest bookstore chain stormed onto the e-books market today, unveilng its own electronic reader, the Kobo. Borders also announced plans to open its e-books store next month, in June.
The Kobo will compete with Amazon’s wildly popular Kindle and the more recently introduced Nook from Barnes & Noble, as well as Sony’s e-reader and Apple’s iPad — which functions as an e-book reader and much more. So, how does the Kobo stack up?
Price is one major differentiator. The 8-ounce Kobo, with 1 GB of memory and a 6-inch e-ink gray display, sells for only $149, which is $100 less than both Barnes & Noble’s Nook and Amazon’s Kindle. But there’s a key difference: The Kobo can’t download books on its own. Instead, it must be connected to a computer or smartphone via USB cable or Bluetooth to retrieve new titles.
“That will be OK for those who have a computer and are willing to do that kind of cable transfer,” said mobile devices analyst Jeff Orr of ABI Research. But, it could be limiting if you have to have a computer available, and have to feel comfortable using a computer for downloading more books.
Manufactured by Kobo, Inc., formerly Shortcovers, a Canadian company in which Borders has a significant investment, the Kobo device is available for pre-order now, and ships on June 17, in time for Father’s Day in the U.S.
The 4.7 by 7.2 inch device comes with 100 classic books preloaded. It will support Epub, PDF and Adobe’s DRM formats and has an expansion slot for added memory. The Bluetooth feature will enable synching with “select smartphones,” according to Borders.
“It looks like a solid device,” said Orr. “It’s comparable to the Sony Reader Pocket Edition.”
The lack of WiFi or 3G may allow a lower price…