Amazon fights back against the Kobo eReader

In a pretty clear demonstration that Amazon seriously believes that the Kobo eReader could potentially be a threat in the eReader market, released a new version of their Kindle at a price point to beat out the Kobo in price and features. With WiFi capabilities for $139US and 3G capabilities for $189, Amazon is putting more than the Kobo in jeopardy.

I still believe that one of the great features of the Kobo is the ratio of screen to controls, which leaves the device feeling more like a book than purpose-built computer or over-sized  Blackberry. As others have said, the Kobo was relying on price point and access to a great library to win over a part of the market. Now that this strategy may no longer be valid, it will be interesting to see what comes up on that front.

Where to get ebooks?

Since I've received my Kobo as a gift, I've been searching high and low for free sources of ePub format ebooks. I have managed to find several interesting sites that provide high-quality public domain work, including:

• http://www.epubbooks.com/
• http://www.web-books.com/
• http://manybooks.net/

And of course, a great source of reading material, who is slowly providing ePub versions of their online library:

• http://www.gutenberg.org/

Enjoy many great books of the past; anyway, most of them are better than what has been written in the last 100 years!

Update on the Kobo eReader

I am very happy to report that my wonderful wife, for our second anniversary, decided to get me my own Kobo and I thought that I would point out my experiences so far. The device is well packaged and comes with a single accessory, a USB cable (standard mini USB cable in white). The device is cradled in a combination of foam and cardboard, with a screen protecting membrane installed on the face.

I removed the device from the package, removed the USB cable and plugged the device into my wife iMac. It took a moment and the device mounted in the Finder. At that point, I discovered that the device contained a folder with both the Windows and Apple version of the Kobo Desktop software. I quickly installed the Apple version and looked over the functionality. Well, let me say, this version of the application lacks a little "polish".

After determining that I was unable to view the 100 free included books in the application, nor could I remove them, I ejected the device (which should be done with any USB data device) and looked it over. The free books were there and I took a few moments to open a few and browse, as well as to check the various features of the Kobo. At least the device itself is fantastic: easy to read screen, great format, light weight, easy to hold and with a secure feeling in hand.

I decided to install the Windows version of the application on my netbook and see if this version was a little more complete. Alas, it is the very same application. Feeling somewhat disappointed, I logged on to the Kobobooks website, created an account, and started exploring what was available. According to the site, I can add books to a personalized section labelled My Library, which would sync them to my Kobo Desktop software, which I would then use to transfer the books to my Kobo. Sounds simple enough, I thought. I looked through the free section and  discovered that they were the very same books that I already had loaded on the device I had in my hand. I wasn't up to purchasing a new book, so I decided to determine if I could add books I currently had, many of which are in PDF format. I was aware that the device supported PDF display, but I was curious to see how well it would work. Since the device was available as a data drive, I dragged over a PDF file, ejected the drive and powered up the device.

The PDF file was available within the Document section of the device, and loaded up quickly and with great resolution. Basic PDF display commands were available, including the all important resize, which worked quite well. But that is when my troubles began. I decided to remove the PDF file from the device, first by connecting the Kobo back to the computer, letting the device mount and deleting the file from the drive. Several folders were now being displayed in the Kobo, including the PDF file I had dragged over.

The Kobo supports ePub and PDF formats at the moment, although the maker has hinted at further support down the road with firmware upgrades to the device. I have been downloading ePub files left, right and center to test with the device, since finding some advice online about using another application to send books to the device, called Calibre, which has been working a lot better for me than the Kobo Desktop.

I've been enjoying the device tremendously though; who could have thought that I would be able to carry hundreds of books in such a small and convenient device. I will post more concerning my experiences with this great device as I learn more about it from regular use. I can tell you that within a couple days of receiving it, I've already re-read The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Most Dangerous Game and I am quarter of the way through The Count of Monte Cristo.

A look at the Kobo Reader

On one of our regular trips to Chapter's, I could not help but notice the rather large Kobo display that had been set up near the middle of the store. For your information, the Kobo is Chapter's/Indigo's attempt to rival the pretty established Amazon Kindle e-Reader. And a lot of people feel that they may have a winner on their hands. The Kobo is a pretty standard looking, e-ink based display device to read e-books. Like the Kindle, it links to an online bookstore for purchases, this time making use of the large, 2 million title library offered by Kobobooks. The average price is around $9 a book, but many free downloads are available.

With the device's internal 1GB memory and an SD slot that can accept cards up to 4GB, this gives the Kobo an average maximum capacity of 1000 books, which is a small library on its own. The device itself is quite plain, but up to the task it has been given:

I feel that the design is probably the least technologically intrusive of the current batch of e-book readers, but that may of course change with the introduction of the iPad.

The Kobo gets you started with a list of 100 classic books, free with purchase of the device, which at $149 CAN, could almost be considered a bargain. Another way to look at it is $1.00 a book and $49 for a reader, which seems practically fair! This is a better offer than any of the competing manufacturers and I hope it becomes a business practice for the others.

Head over to the site, or even better, head to Chapter's and have a look for yourself; it might be time to add this tool to your reading arsenal!

Amazon's Kindle has some competition from Sony

It was bound to happen. After the popular online book retailer Amazon introduced their ebook reader, the Kindle, it was just a matter of time before another manufacturer attempted to jump on the bandwagon of ebook readers. Well, Sony announced two new readers today, the Reader Pocket Edition and the Reader Touch Edition. Sony plans to have the devices out at the end of the month and with a pricing structure that puts it at the same price or just below the Kindle.

The Pocket Edition has a five-inch display, will be available is three colours for the moment, including navy blue, rose and silver, and is sized to fit in a jacket pocket or a purse. It will store about 350 standard eBooks and will last about two weeks on a single charge, if we are to believe Sony's claims.

The Touch Edition is a little bit larger, with a six-inch display that you can control, as the name indicates with touch, using either your finger, a stylus or the virtual keyboard. The device will also includes a built-in Oxford American English Dictionary as well as Memory Card and SD card slots, for additional storage space. Sony has indicated that both models make use of an E Ink Vizplex electronic paper display, that according to Sony representatives, "mimics the look of ink on paper.

The software provided will be compatible with both PCs and Apple platforms and allow users to read documents in several formats, including PDF, Word, BBeB and other text files. Sony has also created an eBook Store online, and new releases and New York Times bestseller titles will be priced at $9.99. The readers will also have access to the 1 million free public domain books that Google has currently digitized. What remains to be seen is Sony's response to the public pressure against their draconian DRM application.

It will be interesting to see what Amazon's response is to Sony's step into this market. I can only anticipate price reductions on current Kindle models, and perhaps some hardware revisions in the near future? It remains to be seen.