Reflecting on the happenings in the tablet field this past week, what comes to the fore is that there has been no major tablet launches during the period though the usual doses of rumors and speculation had its share of limelight all along. The biggest news of the past week has of course been the way the Apple iPad almost steamrolled the competition by announcing total sales for the last quarter to a staggering 15.43 million units. That’s not only more than all the Android tablets put together but also eclipses the sales total PC sales of bigwigs such as Dell, HP or Lenovo.
The other big story from last week is the good showing of Android tablets like Amamzon Kindle Fire, B&N Nook Tablet or the Kobo Vox. Unfortunately, there is no way to make out just how good (or how bad) their sales were in the absence of any official sales figures. Market analysts though point out the tablets may have made up 40 percent of the total 10.5 million units of all Android tablet that found takers in the last quarter. Impressive figures it should be for Amazon, B&N or Kobo even if that has been achieved by pricing the tablets low. Also, all of that is certainly a lot better than the 1 million tablet sales figure reported by Motorola which has been achieved all of last year. Motorola has also stated it is ready to offer the Xyboard tablets.
As for news pertaining to Android 4.0, both Sony and HTC has stated they would be releasing the update to the latest Android version for the Tablet S/Tablet P and Flyer respectively in the coming months. Asus too will launch the ICS update for its first gen Transformer during mid February. Asus will also release the Transformer Prime Bootloader Unlock Tool next month. So that’s plenty of action coming up in the next few weeks.
Kobo executive Michael Tamblyn was at Digital Book World speaking about the importance of ebook pricing to authors and publishers, as well as participating in a panel discussion on global adoption. He took a few moments to speak with GoodEReader about some issues facing the company as a whole.
The following video interview gives Tamblyn an opportunity to focus on some major issues, such as the recent expansion into the Netherlands and the deal with Rakuten. He touched on the possibility of Kobo reaching out to further Asian markets, as well as paid great attention to the viability of their self-publishing platform becoming a major distributor, especially in some untapped markets like Africa and South Asia.
Kobo has now opened up shop officially in the Netherlands today in conjunction with their new business partner—Dutch retailer Libris Blz. Starting January 30th, you will be able to walk into one of their stores or order online and get free shipping. The only product the company is stocking right now is the Kobo Touch Reader, but we were told the Kobo Vox should be available next month.
“Through our new partnership with Libris Blz., we’re confident our expansion into the Netherlands will be a huge success,” said Michael Serbinis, CEO of Kobo. “Kobo’s focus has always been to bring eReading and eBooks to people everywhere around the world. By launching in the Netherlands, and bringing eReading to the passionate Dutch reading community – we are one more country closer to delivering on that promise.”
“Libris Blz. and Kobo are a perfect fit, as we are driven by a strong passion for reading and books, and both organizations see great potential in eReading,” stated Caroline Damwijk, Managing Director of Libris Blz. B.V.
The deal between Kobo and Libris Blz marks the latest chapter in the European domination strategy that was outlined at last year’s London Book Fair. Since then, the company has expanded into the UK, France, Spain, and Germany.
THE NETHERLANDS / TORONTO – January 24, 2012– Kobo, a global leader in eReading with over 7 million users in more than 170 countries worldwide, announced today that Dutch retailer Libris Blz. are selling the award winning* Kobo Touch eReader online at www.libris.nl and www.blz.nl with free shipping, and it will be in select stores starting Jan 30 – for €129.00. Kobo offers one of the world’s largest bookstores with more than 2.5 million ebooks, which now includes thousands of bestselling Dutch titles.
“Through our new partnership with Libris Blz., we’re confident our expansion into the Netherlands will be a huge success,” said Michael Serbinis, CEO of Kobo. “Kobo’s focus has always been to bring eReading and eBooks to people everywhere around the world. By launching in the Netherlands, and bringing eReading to the passionate Dutch reading community – we are one more country closer to delivering on that promise.”
“Libris Blz. and Kobo are a perfect fit, as we are driven by a strong passion for reading and books, and both organisations see great potential in eReading,” stated Caroline Damwijk, Managing Director of Libris Blz. B.V.
THE KOBO TOUCH – Built by booklovers, for booklovers.
The Kobo Touch offers a best-in-class reading experience, with an amazing touch experience, that uses Infrared Touch Technology, allowing readers to easily swipe or tap to turn pages. With the intuitive touch interface, readers can highlight a phrase, lookup a word, zoom into an image, increase the font size, or quickly navigate through a book and an entire library. Plus, finding that next read is also quick and easy with Wi-Fi and a virtual keyboard.
The Kobo eReader Touch is the first eReader to be available in multiple languages and offers a completely local experience, including content, recommendations, and the Kobo store. Readers may choose from English, French, Canadian French, German, Spanish, Italian and Dutch.
KOBO TOUCH FEATURE HIGHLIGHTS:
New Pearl 6” E Ink Screen – Equipped with the newest E Ink screen featuring 16 level grey scale, the Kobo Touch is a highly responsive and intuitive experience designed to help you forget about the device and focus on reading.
• The eInk screen is glare free and easy to read in bright sunlight
Read in Style – Kobo’s signature quilted soft-touch back and travel-friendly size offer the ultimate reading comfort and experience – choose from white, black, silver, blue and lilac
Customize taps on the screen to turn pages to bring additional comfort to left-handed readers
A choice of 7 font styles and 25 sizes to best suit individual eyesight needs– the most of any eReader on the market today.
Add your own fonts for full customization
Easy note making within a book while users read, as well as browsing and editing notes with the Annotations list
Easily highlight favourite passages within books
Fully adjustable refresh rate for fast page turns
Sleep and power off screens that show full screen book covers
Progress indicator — Readers can easily find out how far they’ve read in each book
With battery life of up to one month, and storage of up to 30,000 books with expandable memory, the Kobo eReader Touch Edition delivers the freedom to read anywhere, at any time.
READ FREELY – KOBO SUPPORTS THE MOST CONTENT The Kobo eReading service is built on an open platform, allowing consumers to read eBooks from other stores that use the ePub format – plus books on a growing number of Kobo eReaders and apps. The versatile Kobo eReader Touch Edition devices let users read ePUB, PDF and MOBI format eBooks; view JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP and TIFF images; review TXT, HTML and RTF materials; and enjoy CBZ and CBR comic book formats. Consumers can also easily borrow and read eBooks from the local public library.
GET SOCIAL WITH KOBO READING LIFE
Kobo offers the industry leading social platform, Reading Life, that provides the ability to connect with friends or create book clubs and discuss favorite reads on Facebook and Twitter. Plus, users can track their reading statistics, and unlock fun and exciting awards just for reading.
SHOP AND READ ON ANY DEVICE WITH KOBO
Kobo offers free eReading apps so users can read on most popular devices such as desktops, laptops, tablets, AndroidÔ phones, iPhonesÒ, iPadsÒ, Blackberry® Smartphones and Blackberry® PlayBooks – in addition they can browse and shop the Kobo store. Plus, with Kobo Sync you can read from one device to another and pick up from the page that you last read – your library will always be kept up to date.
WHERE TO BUY The Kobo Touch eReader is available for immediate purchase online from Libris at www.libris.nl and Blz. at www.blz.nl, including free shipping and delivery, and in select stores starting Jan 30 – for €129.00.
Kobo will be launching a fully localized Dutch website in February. For more information and to download the free Kobo International eReading app avaible in Dutch please visit kobobooks.com/welkomlibrisblz
* Named “Editor’s Pick” in Wired Magazine: eInk Reader Round-up: January 2012 Edition; Won prestigious “Jaus de L’Industrie” for innovative & lightweight design of the Kobo Touch eReader; Institut Francais du Design (IFD); Nov 2011
About Kobo, Inc.
Kobo is a global eReading service with more than 2.5 million eBooks, magazines and newspapers – one of the largest eReading catalogues in the world. As part of its “Read Freely” mentality, Kobo believes consumers should have the freedom to read any book on any device and has attracted millions of readers from more than 170 countries across the globe. Kobo has top-ranked eReading applications for iPad, iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, Windows and MacOS, and is the eReading application of choice for leading tablet OEMs. Kobo eReaders, including the Kobo Touch and the newly launched Kobo Vox are available at leading retailers, including Indigo, Walmart, Best Buy, Target, Future Shop, WHSmith, FNAC, Collins Booksellers and Whitcoull’s. Kobo’s innovative Reading Life is an industry-first comprehensive social eReading experience where Kobo users can earn awards simply for time spent reading and encouraging others. For more information on Kobo, and to download free eReading apps, visit www.kobo.com.
Libris Blz. B.V.
The Libris Blz. group of booksellers comprises independent, professional, highly-motivated entrepreneurs who work together to compete effectively against standard bookstore chains. Libris booksellers aim to be the authoritative bookseller within their market, offering a wide assortment of titles, whereas Blz. booksellers offer an optimal mix of books in combination with office supplies. With gross book sales of more than 100 million euros, the Libris Blz. group is the largest player in the Dutch general book market.
The Kobo Vox e-reader is the companies first Android tablet and with that operating systems comes a ton of flexibility. You can install your own alternative reading apps like Kindle, Nook, and Sony to read books via other companies. You can also install your own 3rd party applications like FBReader, Aldiko, and Moon+ Reader. With these programs you have the ability to load in your own books that you downloaded from the internet. The default Kobo Android Market via Getjar is sparsely populated and you will be hard-pressed to find quality apps through it.
We recently started our own web-based Google Android Market for e-Readers and this gives you a great alternative to the default one that comes on the Kobo. You now have the freedom to install many additional reading apps, games, kids apps, productivity and essential apps. Our video below documents the exact steps you need to take in order to prepare your e-reader to install 3rd party apps and then do it via our website.
If you have a Kobo E-Reader by now you are aware of the deep social media imprint via Twitter and Facebook. With Reading Life you can earn rewards and achivements by reading books under different conditions. You have the unique ability to let your friends know all about your progress and even form virtual book-clubs. The company announced today that their apps and e-readers will have a new ability to provide Kobo readers with a more social and engaging reading experience as users can now share their Reading Life with Facebook Friends directly in their Timelines.
Starting today, people on Facebook can download the Kobo iOS app, and add Kobo Reading Life to their timeline. With Kobo Reading Life they can share their latest eBook activity with friends, from showing off their current read to staying atop of the hottest eBooks. Building upon the free downloadable Reading Life app launched in 2010, this new Reading Life feature for timeline adds a new dimension in Kobo’s commitment to making reading a more engaging social experience.
Right now it all starts on their iOS app, which is in effect their testing ground for new enhancements. The company has informed us that they are working on upcoming firmware updates for the Kobo Vox and Kobo Touch readers to give you the same ability.
TORONTO – Jan. 18, 2012 – Kobo, a global leader in eReading with over 7 million users in over 170 countries worldwide, today announced the integration of Reading Life on the Kobo iOS eReading app with Facebook Timeline; elevating the traditionally solitary pastime of reading into a more dynamic activity to be shared with friends online.
Kobo is proud to be one of a select few kicking off the launch of apps for Facebook Timeline; apps that allow users to bring their timelines to life through sharing what they’re doing, music they are listening to, books they are reading, and more.
Starting today, people on Facebook can download the Kobo iOS app, and add Kobo Reading Life to their timeline. With Kobo Reading Life they can share their latest eBook activity with friends, from showing off their current read to staying atop of the hottest eBooks. Building upon the free downloadable Reading Life app launched in 2010, this new Reading Life feature for timeline adds a new dimension in Kobo’s commitment to making reading a more engaging social experience.
“We know that readers have always loved sharing their experience with books, but organizing a book club isn’t always feasible in our fast-paced, digital world,” says Dan Liebu, Kobo Inc.’s Chief Technology Officer. “With the rise of social media and the growing popularity of apps, reading doesn’t have to be done alone – it’s something that can be shared with friends.”
“Reading Life for Facebook Timeline gives you a way to let others know what’s in your library while moving beyond simply sharing titles; this app is about sharing Kobo reading experiences in a fun and exciting way.”
The new app allows people to post every aspect of their reading experience: from reviewing and recommending eBooks, to sharing passages and keeping tabs on what friends are reading. People can also earn fun badges for hundreds of reading activities, like the Papillion (for extreme social sharers), the Twain (for daily readers), and the Witching Hour (for readers who read into the wee hours of the night).
The Reading Life app for Facebook Timeline builds on Kobo’s ‘Read Freely’ philosophy, which seeks to provide the ultimate reading experience any time, any place by giving consumers the freedom to read any book on any device – and to be able to get more from their reading experience.
“Reading Life for Facebook Timeline is a celebration of reading, where it’s not just about individual books but rather a way to share you reading life with friend everywhere,” says Liebu. “Reading often plays a key role in all our lives – whether temporarily transporting us away from reality or bringing an important issue front and centre. This app encourages discussion around reading, which really is embedded into our social fabric.”
The Reading Life application is available for the Kobo iPhone and iPad App and will soon be available on other Kobo platforms… For more information, visit www.kobo.com/readinglife. To download the apps visit: For iPhone: www.kobo.com/iPhone, and for iPad: www.kobo.com/iPad.
Kobo is starting a new initiative focused on independent Canadian writers called Indie Reads. The promotion is running right now until January 22nd, and you can find huge deals on many lesser known authors. There are many genres under this new program, such as literary fiction to memoirs, mysteries, young adult reads, and more.
Japanese E-Commence giant Rakuten has now officially completed their acquisition of Canadian based Kobo for $315 million dollars. 100% of the e-reader companies assets now belong to Rakuten and the future is uncertain for the future of their e-book store and e-book reader lineup. During the holiday season, Kobo saw record sales in terms of books and peddling devices such as the Kobo Vox and Kobo Touch.
I have been following Kobo since the company first launched its bookstore and started making its branded e-readers. The selling price really undervalued the company and I feel that if they would have waited a year, they would have made almost double the money. The only real benefit is the expansion into the Asian Market where e-readers have not really taken off into the mainstream like they have in North America. Kobo will continue to operate out of its Toronto, Ontario Canada headquarters, even though Rakuten is based out of Japan. Now that the deal is completed, it will be interesting to see whether the Kobo CEO and his management team will jump ship and start a new project. I have a feeling that Michael will stay in charge for the interim until he is replaced or chooses a successor, and then takes the upper echelon of the company and starts something new.
TORONTO, Jan. 11, 2012 – Global eReading leader Kobo Inc. (“Kobo”) today announced the successful acquisition of all its outstanding shares by Rakuten, Inc. (JASDAQ:4755) (“Rakuten”) for US $315 million. The acquisition has been completed following customary closing conditions, including approval under the Investment Canada Act. Kobo’s management team will remain with the company, which will continue to be headquartered in Toronto.
The acquisition by Rakuten, one of the world’s leading Internet service and e-commerce companies, provides Kobo with a strong growth opportunity to expand its footprint into new and expanding markets. The move comes as Kobo set new sales records this past holiday season:
· December 25th was Kobo’s best day ever for eBook downloads, with several ebooks downloaded every second by readers in over 150 countries
· Kobo saw a 10-fold increase in new customers compared to the company’s pre-holiday period
· Compared to last year’s holiday season, eGifting increased by 500%, eReader sales and eBook sales more than doubled
· More than 1 million new Kobo users were added in December alone
“During this holiday season, Kobo has demonstrated strong sales and continued leadership within the competitive eReading market; we are very excited to complete the acquisition of Kobo and look forward in supporting its global expansion,” said Hiroshi Mikitani, Chairman and CEO of Rakuten. Beyond Kobo’s established presence in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, the company also saw dramatic gains in the UK, France and Germany this holiday season.”
“While the transformation to digital reading is well underway, it is still in its infancy. As a part of Rakuten, we will accelerate our growth internationally, bringing new products, a leading eReading experience and a world class catalogue to passionate readers everywhere,” said Michael Serbinis, CEO of Kobo Inc.
Kobo was founded in 2009 as a contender in the global eReading market. Since its inception, the company has become a fierce competitor in the marketplace with its family of innovative eReaders, global ebookstore, industry-leading social platform and a wide range of free eReading apps for smartphones, tablets, netbooks and desktop computers.
About Kobo Inc.
Kobo is a global eReading service with more than 2.5 million eBooks, magazines and newspapers – one of the largest eReading catalogues in the world. As part of its “Read Freely” philosophy, Kobo believes consumers should have the freedom to read any book on any device and has attracted millions of readers from over 100 countries across the globe. Kobo has top-ranked eReading applications for iPad, iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, Windows and MacOS, and is the eReading application of choice for leading tablet OEMs. Kobo eReaders, including the Kobo Touch and the newly launched Kobo Vox are available at leading retailers, including Indigo, Walmart, Best Buy, Target, Future Shop, WHSmith, FNAC, Collins Booksellers and Whitcoull’s. Kobo’s innovative Reading Life is an industry-first comprehensive social eReading experience where Kobo users can earn awards simply for time spent reading and encouraging others. For more information on Kobo, and to download free eReading apps, visit www.kobo.com.
About Rakuten
Rakuten, Inc. (JASDAQ:4755), is one of the world’s leading Internet service companies, providing a variety of consumer- and business-focused services including e-commerce, travel, banking, securities, credit card, e-money, portal and media, online marketing and professional sports. Rakuten is expanding globally and currently has operations throughout Asia, Western Europe, and the Americas. Founded in 1997, Rakuten is headquartered in Tokyo, with over 10,000 employees worldwide. For more information, visit http://global.rakuten.com/group.
Kobo announced today they have experienced record sales during the Christmas holidays. The company proclaimed today that they now have over five million registered users and that the user population has doubled during the last six weeks. They also saw sales dramatically increase by almost 5X, and the gifting of ebooks by 500%.
“This holiday season broke every foreseeable record for Kobo, and we have exceeded our expectations driving several ebook downloads per second through the holidays,” said Michael Serbinis, CEO of Kobo. “I would like to thank our customers for choosing Kobo to start building their digital library – our success this holiday season is a precursor to a New Year with people reading more than ever thanks to eReaders, eBooks, and Kobo.”
Check out the Press Release for the full scoop.
TORONTO, ON — January 5, 2012 — Kobo, a global leader in eReading with over 5 million users worldwide, today revealed record sales for the holiday season. This year the Kobo eReader was a very popular gift with people around the world receiving new Kobo Touch, Kobo Vox eReader and Kobo Wifi devices, driving company sales to a record high.
Kobo saw strong momentum with a 10X increase in new customers from the company’s pre-holiday period, and hundreds of thousands of devices were activated each day since Christmas Eve, fuelling the highest eBook download rate in Kobo history – with eBooks being sold to Kobo customers every second of the day. Due to Kobo’s broad international footprint, people around the world chose Kobo this Christmas for their popular easy-to-use Kobo eReaders, top-rated free eReading applications for iPad, iPhone, Blackberry, Android, and one of the largest global eBook catalogues in the world with over 2.5 million eBooks, newspapers and magazines.
Key Kobo growth metrics include:
Total registered users nearly doubling from six weeks prior
A 5X increase in purchases from the previous biggest weekend (also in December)
Customer purchases from over 150 countries, with some of the biggest gains outside of US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, UK, occurring in Germany, Netherlands and Singapore
A 500% increase in eGifting from November to December
Gifting of eBooks was up over 200% compared to same time last year
“This holiday season broke every foreseeable record for Kobo, and we have exceeded our expectations driving several ebook downloads per second through the holidays,” said Michael Serbinis, CEO of Kobo. “I would like to thank our customers for choosing Kobo to start building their digital library – our success this holiday season is a precursor to a New Year with people reading more than ever thanks to eReaders, eBooks, and Kobo.”
eGIFTING OF eBOOKS AND CARDS SEES MASSIVE INCREASE
The Kobo eBook gifting and eGift card program was more popular than ever this year, with people sending electronic gifts set to “arrive” digitally in recipients’ email accounts on Christmas morning. eGifting more than tripled this holiday season and was adopted as a convenient gift giving solution.
The top four most popular eBooks gifted this holiday were:
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
11/22/63: A Novel by Stephen King
A Game of Thrones (four book bundle) by George R. R. Martin
THIS HOLIDAYS MOST POPULAR READS
Some of the biggest gains internationally were in France with over 7,000% growth, the UK with over 1,000% and Germany which came in just shy of 1,000%.
Two of the most popular books purchased this year in both the US and Canada on Christmas Day were Kathryn Stockett’s The Help and Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Game . Elsewhere in the English-speaking world, customers were looking for a deal. A £0.49 sale on Karin Slaughter’s The Unremarkable Heart drove strong sales in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. In the UK, Slaughter was joined in the Top 3 by self-publishing sensation John Locke, who sells his thrillers for $0.99. Book sales in the UK for the holiday season increased over 7X the previous daily average for December.
Kobo expects 2012 to bring additional surprise bestsellers from self-published authors, whether through direct relationships or aggregating partners. The pricing experimentation Kobo has seen from publishers large and small will likely continue, as they work with ebooksellers to drive visibility by pricing select titles at pocket change for a limited time.
TOP THREE KOBO eBOOK TITLE SALES BY COUNTRY:
Canada 1. The Help by Kathryn Stockett 2. The Litigators by John Grisham 3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
United States 1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 2. The Help by Kathryn Stockett 3. Kill Alex Cross by James Patterson
United Kingdom 1. The Unremarkable Heart by Karin Slaughter (on sale for £0.49) 2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson 3. Saving Rachel by John Locke
Australia 1. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen 2. Red Mist by Patricia Cornwell 3. The Unremarkable Heart by Karin Slaughter (on sale for £0.49 or ~$0.64 AUD)
Germany 1. Ausgelöscht by Cody Mcfadyen 2. Herzstoß by Joy Fielding (Canadian author; title published as Now You See Her in English) 3. Der Beobachter by Charlotte Link
France 1. La délicatesse by David Foenkinos 2. La verticale du fou by Fabio M. Mitchelli 3. Le théorème de Roarchack by Etienne Johann
Rest of World 1. Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson 2. Locked On by Tom Clancy 3. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
KOBO’s INDUSTRY LEADING SOCIAL READING LIFE WITH PULSE SEES STRONG ADOPTION, WITH 100,000 AWARDS ON CHRISTMAS DAY ALONE
Kobo offers the industry leading social platform, Reading Life, which enables readers to connect with friends, track reading statistics, and unlock fun and exciting awards just for reading. Members can also create book clubs and discuss their favorite reads on Facebook. With Kobo Pulse, readers can feel the pulse of a book, start conversations, share comments and thoughts and leave reviews by ‘Liking’, ‘Disliking’ and/or commenting, in real-time, with others who are reading the same book.
Since the launch of Reading Life in 2010, over 8.8 million Reading Life awards have been given out– simply for reading. 100,000 awards were given out this Christmas Day alone – the top award given was the Once Upon a Time award that is given for starting to read your first ebook. On Christmas Day, 50X more people signed up to engage socially with friends on Reading Life compared to the same day in 2010.
CONSUMERS’ CHOICE IS AN OPEN PLATFORM
This holiday season, open standards and the ability to read freely on any device is a consistent theme. With Kobo, customers can build their lifetime libraries as they choose and read on multiple devices by downloading a free Kobo eReading app at www.kobo.com. Consumers can also download books for free, borrow and read eBooks from their local library on the Kobo Wireless eReader and the Kobo Touch eReader– and alternatively they can read Kobo eBooks on other dedicated eReaders like the Sony eReader and Nook.
About Kobo Inc. Kobo is a global eReading service with more than 2.5 million eBooks, magazines and newspapers – one of the largest eReading catalogues in the world. Read Freely – Kobo believes consumers should have the freedom to read any book on any device and has attracted millions of readers from over 100 countries across the globe. Kobo has top ranked eReading applications for iPad, iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, Windows and MacOS, and is the eReading application of choice for leading tablet OEMs. Kobo eReaders, including the Kobo Touch and the newly launched Kobo Vox are available at leading retailers, including Indigo, Walmart, Best Buy, Target, Future Shop, WHSmith, FNAC, Collins Booksellers and Whitcoull’s. Kobo’s innovative Reading Life is an industry-first comprehensive social eReading experience – Kobo users can earn awards simply for time spent reading and encouraging others. Kobo is backed by majority shareholder Indigo Books & Music Inc., Cheung Kong Holdings, and institutional investors.
Kobo Customer Service is a wicked and harsh mistress! You only have to look as far as a few of our posts HERE and HERE with thousands of comments to see peoples utter disdain on the entire Kobo customer service experience. The company outsources all of its support to India and most of the call center representatives have never had a Kobo in their hands, in their life. This insures that most common questions and concerns are read from notes. Many people have sold us first hand experiences with waiting weeks to hear anything back from elevated support and most of the time they just bring their device back to the place of origin for a refund.
Kobo recognizes that many people are unhappy with the level of customer support they receive via email or telephone calls. A few months ago the company issued a press release to us and mentioned they are revising their technical support and customer service departments. This may have something to do with the Japanese company that purchased them a few months ago. There has been zero news or movement on what the company is actually doing to fix the many problems people are facing.
The Kobo Touch is one of the most updated e-readers on the market and is constantly refined to give users the best experience. Today Kobo has released new firmware that provides a number of enhancements. Firstly the speed is dramatically increased for page turning and searching. The books themselves now have higher resolution fonts that make the text appear more crisp.
One of the biggest changes packed into this update is the way the home screen has changed. It has been made to be more simplified and only has Library, Store, and Reading Life as your main options. If you are looking for books that are much akin to the ones you purchased or loaded into your device, you are in luck! “Recommended for You,” is a new feature that will give you personalized options based on the books you own. If you dig a particular author, genre or book series, you can get new options to expand your literary horizons.
Finally, a number of new syncing options have been introduced into this firmware update. Icons for Settings, Sync and Help are now also available under the HOME menu. Sync anytime, anywhere by touching the cloud icon in the status bar. Sync progress is now shown as a progress bar at the top of the screen.
In order to run this update you want to download the newest edition of the Kobo Desktop Manager and then plug your device into your computer via the USB cable. Alternatively you can get the update pushed to you via WIFI.
Wired magazine published a two-page review of e-readers and unfortunately it comes a little too late for Christmas shoppers to do anything other than wish they had bought the other guy’s device. Of the four major e-readers for the U.S. market that the tech team reviewed, the Kobo Touch, Nook Simple Touch , Sony Reader PRS-T1, and the Amazon Kindle, even Wired staffers were surprised by their choice: the Kobo machine.
The editor’s pick was based on the device having the fastest touch response time of the four devices and their opinion that the reading on the screen felt the most natural of the test machines. Interestingly, the device tied with the Sony Reader as the most expensive model they reviewed at $130, compared to the $99 Nook and the $79 version of the Kindle.
Each machine had its pluses and minuses; in the case of the Kobo, first unveiled at the IDPF conference in May of this year, the magazine staffers actually were put off by the lack of buttons on the hardware, as well as the fact that there are very limited magazine choices in the Kobo catalog (about forty newspapers and magazines compared to Amazon’s 300), a reading option that both Amazon and Barnes&Noble have been hard at work this year to provide for their customers.
As for the two major U.S. players, the Nook and the Kindle, Wired’s editors loved the Nook’s easy setup and social platform, but weren’t as thrilled that the B&N device has no web browser. On the Kindle side of the fence, they liked the language selections, the overall price, and massive catalog of titles that Amazon can provide, but had a negative comment about the ad placements on the Special Offers version of the Kindle that they tested.
The Sony device, a less popular option for American reading consumers, was visually appealing but very cumbersome according to the testers. It offers great search features from Google books, but was overall just not worth the money when the Amazon and Barnes&Noble competitors are simply a better value.
The full review can be found in this month’s Wired magazine.
Wired Magazine recently did a piece on e-readers which shows you how far the industry has come along to get widespread recognition. They compared the Sony, Amazon, Nook Simple Touch, and Kobo Touch. Hands down the writers at the publication voted the Kobo Touch has the best of the bunch.
Wired has a dedicated circulation of around 800,000 issues per month, making it one of the largest tech magazines of its kind. Kobo Touch design was described as “handsome and comfortable”, its touch screen as “fastest and most responsive,” and the user experience was evaluated as most “intuitive interface and easy to annotate books”. Click here for page 1 & page 2 of the review.
Kobo announced today they were developing a Metro styled Reader application for the Windows 8 App Store. The company received a preview of the new store during a conference in San Francisco earlier in the week.
The former Canadian based company Kobo is intending to be one of the few e-reading stores to offer an application with the launch of the official Windows App Store. There is no word yet if this new app will be compliant with the new Xbox Metro update that will eventually pull app data from Microsoft.
In the end, this is a good move by Kobo to get in early and develop a slew of social features that the company is notorious for. I just hope their HTML5 Reader app they announced a few months ago will be a reality soon.
Wired Magazine recently did a piece on e-readers which shows you how far the industry has come along to get widespread recognition. They compared the Sony, Amazon, Nook Simple Touch, and Kobo Touch. Hands down the writers at the publication voted the Kobo Touch has the best of the bunch.
