Online e-book seller Shortcovers has changed its name and is in the process of revamping its web site to better compete with rivals Amazon.com and Sony. Operating under the name Kobo following its spin-off from Indigo Books & Music, the online seller is being backed by investors that include Borders, Instant Fame, and REDgroup Retail.
“Kobo is an anagram of ‘book’, and a name that we think will resonate globally,” wrote Kobo CEO Michael Serbinis in a blog. The company also has “assembled a strong syndicate of investors and partners across key categories — retail and mobile distribution.”
Any Device
Serbinis thinks the best way for Kobo to challenge e-book leader Amazon.com is to offer support for open standards so customers can read e-books on any digital device they choose, whether a smartphone, a computer, a tablet, or an e-reader. “You can buy from us and use [content] on other devices or software — not just ours,” Serbinis wrote.
But Forrester Research Vice President and Principal Analyst James McQuivey observed that later market entrants or smaller players like Kobo always argue for format independence. The implication is “that Amazon’s approach is not in the best interest of the market,” McQuivey said. “But Amazon will continue to push its proprietary format and delivery solution for as long as they can in the market.”
He noted that it took Apple four years to pull the plug on digital rights management. “Once it no longer worked and publishers gave in, Apple made the change,” McQuivey said. “The same will happen with Kindle, but not until Amazon feels the heat from Kobo, Sony and others who pursue an open solution.”
Amazon will have at least a year before it will have to worry much about competitors, McQuivey thinks. “In the meantime, they’ll turn their attention to publishers,…