Borders launch Kobo e-reader
Borders, the second largest chain of book shops in the US, have launched its Kobo e-reader device, set to go on sale in June.
Not to be confused with the UK Borders bookshop who went bust last year, the US seller looks to pit its e-reader device against the popular Amazon Kindle and Barnes and Noble Nook.
Measuring 4.7 by 7.2 inches and weighing eight ounces, it features a six-inch e-ink grey display. It’s $100 cheaper than the Kindle and Nook, and if that wasn’t enticing enough, its e-books will not be constricted to a single device, free to use on any smartphone, laptop or other e-reader of your choice.
“We are giving consumers the flexibility to read the content they want on a variety of devices of their choosing,” Borders group interim president and CEO, Mike Edwards, said in a statement. “The Borders eBook store will be positioned as a device-agnostic, content-focused destination with expertise from decades of deep book knowledge and experience.”
Borders have said that their online ebook store will offer a whopping one million titles when it launches in June, but will only be accessible through a PC and USB connection, as the Kobo does not have internet capabilities.
The Kobo will come pre-loaded with 100 books to get you started, with support for Epub, PDF and Adobe DRM formats, with an expasion slot to build on the 1GB of built-in storage.
Shipping out internationally, click here to pre-order a unit, priced $149 (£99.45).
