Sony Shuts Down Reader Store Signs Deal with Kobo

February 6, 2014 By Sovan Mandal 6 Comments

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

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

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Argos
Being a former fan of Sony’s e-readers I am not surprised. I think we see the beginning of the first cracks. Their store is not profitable enough anymore. Sony has chosen a path of self destruction with their current e-readers. They have ignored what a huge part of the e-reader customers want. I would love to know if their e-reader sales figures have plummeted.
Sony was big in the netherlands and all e-reader owners I know of owned Sony models. This has totally changed now. It is Kobo everywhere I look. Kobo listened to us and delivered. Sony could have done the same. A modernized e-reader based on their PRS 950 for example, with higher res, faster processor, more internal memory and front lighting could have won my heart with ease.
I still own my most beautiful PRS-950, but I have switched to the Kobo Aura HD for everyday use now. I waited a long time for Sony to come to their senses, but they sadly never did.
I am still willing to switch back to Sony, but they would have to change their tune drastically. And that is not what I expect them to do.
Alessandro Moraes dos Santos
I hope the Kobo, arrange your apps, incidentally Sony in the issue PDF is a thousand times better than the Kobo.
Improvements in Android App which is bad, in the use of screen space, in fact there is no full screan option.
Kobo Glo has no option of Library and PDF reader is pretty horrible.
Sony could spend the whole structure of the Ereader for the Kobo, so readers would be with a user interface better than the Kobo Thousand Times.
Nathan
This seem like a good move for Sony, but I still would rather buy another device
Argos
I agree that the Sony readers have good software and some nice features, but their hardware just is not up to the challenge. That is why you see their readers less and less and that is what you can read in every review.
I would not mind a Kobo ereader with Sony software though, but I do not think we will ever see that day.
It is sad really; Sony could have had it all. They had such great ereaders to evolve from (650 and 950 series). Instead they chose to stay behind. I would be prepared to 50% more for a Sony ereader based upon their PRS-950 model. I loved the design and dimensions of that reader. They could easily create an 8″ screen in the same frame with current technology. They could ad modern high quality front lighting, give it a faster processor and more memory, include a higher resolution and their new software and in my mind it would be the best ereader ever made.
Lilibet
Reading this, I’m left with a sour taste in my mouth. I bought a book on the Kobo website yesterday, as I did many times before. I have a Sony eReader (the second one they made) and I had never encountered any problems whatsoever.
Today however, I notice that I am unable to download my book, even on my computer, because the blue button is missing. After spending a full half an hour with the live chat services, the lady has informed me that the book I just bought is simply not compatible with my device. No warning was given, just a decision by the publisher, who choses to keep it secret as well.
Apparantly, I’ll be getting a sort of refund. Fine by me, but that’s so not what I wanted. I was really looking forward to that book. And, I’m not so sure if I’ll use Kobo again. What if it just happens again, and I have to beg for a refund again?