Borders’ Kobo eReader hurt by Nook’s new price
I personally don't understand why Borders' even bothered putting their hat into the eReader ring.
It is very sad to know that this Borders' answer to the Kindle, Nook, iPad and the slew of tablets being released within the next 12 months.
Seriously, with a price tag of $150, this eReader is neither 3G nor Wi-Fi and is only compatible to certain smartphones using Bluetooth.
What were they thinking?
My motto is simple: if you're not going to do it right,don't even bother.
Borders' Kobo eReader hurt by Nook's new price
As the price suggests, the Kobo, which has the same-size 6-inch e-ink display as the Kindle and the Nook, is something of a no-frills e-reader: it doesn't have Wi-Fi or 3G wireless connectivity (and the screen has 8 levels of gray, not 16). However, it does offer a Bluetooth connection for "wirelessly syncing with select smartphones and updating your reading list on the go." It comes with 1GB of internal memory, and there's an SD card expansion slot for adding more (up to 16GB).
Needing sort of a hook to make its presence felt in the e-reader space, Borders came up with the strategy of going with an affordably priced e-reader to try to gain a competitive advantage. Late in 2009, the company took a stake in Kobo, which was originally called Shortcovers, a spin-off of Canada's Indigo Books & Music (Indigo remains the largest investor in the company). Alas, shortly after the Kobo shipped in June 2010, both Barnes & Noble and Amazon lowered the price of their e-readers to $199 and $189, respectively, and Barnes & Noble released a $150 Wi-Fi-only version of the Nook.
Read more at news.cnet.com
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