Meet the Kobo, Borders first forray into the eBook market

The Kobo reader

While they may be months behind some competitors, and years behind Amazon, Borders has entered the eBook market with the Kobo and the launching of its eBook Store.

Weighing no more than eight ounces and measuring 4.7 inches by 7.2 inches, the Kobo is lighter and smaller than its Kindle rival¹, while matching its 6 inch e-ink display². The reader has 1GB of memory¹ with a bonus SD slot for additional storage². The Kobo supports Epub, PDF and Adobe’s DRM formats¹, and comes preloaded with 100 ‘classic’ books, which is more than any reader on the market³.

Currently available for pre-order, the Kobo retails for $149.99². This makes the Kobo the cheapest reader on the market, roughly $100 cheaper than the Kindle. The only other reader that comes close to this – at a rumored price of  $199.99 – is the Sony Pocket Reader, which has yet to hit stores³.

What makes the Kobo so inexpensive?

The Kobo is a pretty bare bones reader. Most significant to critics is its lack of 3G wireless and WiFi accessibility – meaning that instead of wirelessly purchasing your books, you have to hook the device up directly to your PC, or through Bluetooth, to download them or from the proposed “Area-e ™ boutiques” at Borders locations³.

The trend in mobile devices has been to offer users independence from computers, while this device makes the computer key to its operation¹. But according to the data supplied from Apple’s iBook Store, and interpreted by PaidContent, even the “most passionate early adopters and profligate media spenders […] don’t buy books very often”³. With this information in mind, it seems as though the addition of WiFi and 3G are merely an unnecessary price premium for other devices on the market³.

On a technical level, the Kobo is a good entry-level reader. If anything, the Kobo’s low price point will serve as a means of attracting people originally put off by the high price tag of the many other readers on the market. In a market were all the readers look generally the same, the price will be the most important factor consumers consider, which may result in a ripple effect caused by the Kobo.

While I highly doubt readers such as the Kindle will do away with their wireless capabilities, I do suspect that many eBook companies will lower their prices in an attempt to attract possible audiences. Hopefully these companies won’t lower their prices at the expense of new developments in their field.

Source(s):

1. ^Dickter , Adam. “Borders Enters Hot & Heavy E-Book Market with Kobo.” Wireless News. Top Tech News, 08 May 2010. Web. 11 May 2010.
2. ^Robbins, Kathryn. “Borders hopes the Kobo can cut the Kindle to pieces.” Tainted Green. N.p., 07 May 2010. Web. 11 May 2010.
3. ^Dannen, Chris. “Borders’ Newest E-Book Reader: How the Kobo Could Still Win the Race.” BNET, 10 May 2010. Web. 11 May 2010.