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Kobo not great e-Book competition for iPad
A man plays with the Apple iPad during an Apple Special Event at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, Calif.
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The e-Book reader Kobo from Borders will be released in time for Father's Day, but it may have a hard time making sales headway in the market due to the iPad's dominating draw as an all-purpose media consumption device. Apple's popular tablet has swept away markets and allows users to play games, go online and more as well as download and read books and magazines. Although Kobo will sell for about $100 less than other options, the price alone may not be enough to lure readers.
Richard Nash, founder of digital publishing start-up Cursor, doubts there are enough people out there who want to buy all these eBooks. "The demand is not going to be anything what it was like for iPod. There's fairly limited demand for a device that does nothing other than let you read books."
I don't think this reporter reads. I bet this person is a gamer. The ipad is not a reader. It is an ipod/laptop that can be used as a substitue ereader. The Kobo is not sold by BN it is sold by Borders, and it is an ereader. Most people that read, and publishing is a multi billion dollar business, want a devise that presents a book like experince. Not a gadget full of distractions that only works so-so. I do not have the space her to list all the differnces, but at $150.00 the Kobo is half the price of the ipad and does its job well. When I read I use a reader.
Where do they drag up these writers? We are finally getting inexpensive e-readers (and the iPad is not an inexpensive e-reader), and right away people are trying to compare them to the iPad. The author and his "analysts" don't have a clue.
First, it isn't Barnes & Noble. It's Borders that is offering the Kobo. Barnes & Noble has the Nook reader.
Why is this a contest between the iPad and the Kobo or ANY dedicated ebook reader? Is there a contest between the Caterpillar Bobcat with all of its options--auger, pallet loader, grader, etc.--and a Toyota Corolla?
They are different devices with different target markets. The iPad is for gadget lovers; the Kobo (and Nook and Kindle) are for book readers.
Kobo debuted in Canada. They can't keep them on the shelves. Borders (not Barnes & Noble) has already sold out its first shipment of Kobos that were pre-ordered and is taking pre-orders to ship July 2.
I'm not even sure your writer knows the difference between an iPad and an iPod.
Someone should be very embarrassed by this article!
