Sony has signed a deal with Kobo to serve as the official ebook partner for Sony in the US and Canada. This will enable users of Sony ereaders, tablets, and smartphone to tap into the vast collection of ebooks that Kobo offers, which runs well above 4 million titles. along with a rich collection of magazines, newspapers, and kids content.
The development also marks the end of the road for Sony’s own Reader store that, as things stand right now, will remain in operation until end of March. After that, customers will be sent emailed instructions of the process to transfer their Reader Store libraries to Kobo. Also, the Kobo app will come pre-installed on select Xperia smartphone and tablet devices.
Speaking about the move, Ken Orii, Vice President of Digital Reading Business Division at Sony, said: “Kobo is the ideal solution for our customers and will deliver a robust and comprehensive user experience. Like Sony, they are committed to those most passionate about reading and share our vision to use open formats so people can easily read anytime and anywhere.
“Our customers can be assured that they will have a seamless transition to the Kobo ecosystem and will be able to continue to access and read the titles they love from Sony devices.”
This comes amidst the restructuring process that Sony is in right now and demonstrates its policy of concentrating more on tablet and smartphone business. It has already sold off its PC business along with the VAIO brand to JIB.
Commenting on the development, Takahito Aiki, CEO of Kobo, said: “With a shared philosophy to deliver the best reading experience across platforms and with the best content available, Kobo and Sony will reach more people than ever before. Together, millions of customers across the US and Canada will find their next great read at their fingertips – any time, any place, and on any device.”
Sovan Mandal is the senior tablet and tech corespondent for goodereader.com. He brings a international approach to news that is not just applicable to the North American market, but also Asia, India, Europe and others. Sovy brings his own writing flavor to the website and is interested in Science Fiction, Technology and Writing. Any questions, send an email
