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Kobo's Glo and Mini readers on their way to Japan as the Touch gets a discount
Looks like Kobo's leveraging some of that Rakuten-infused love. The e-reader maker announced today that it'll be bringing its new pair of devoted readers to Japan over the next couple of months, courtesy of its parent company. The e-literati in that country can pre-order the new Kobo Glo now for ¥7,980 ($100) through Rakuten for a projected ship date of November 15th. The 5-inch Kobo Mini, meanwhile, is due to arrive in December for ¥6,980 ($87) -- the same price as the recently discounted Kobo Touch.
Kobo Touch, localized e-bookstore reach Portugal through FNAC
It's all too easy to forget in English-speaking countries that the e-reading selection often isn't as diverse in other parts of the world, where local authors are often kept out of the equation. The Portuguese may know that all too well, which makes Kobo's arrival in their country a potential breakthrough. A deal with European retailer FNAC has both the Kobo Touch and a localized Kobo e-bookstore reaching physical and online stores in Portugal as of today. The price strategy won't be a shock versus what we've seen through an earlier deal in France: the Touch itself costs €99.90 ($129), while books vary and typically hover around €15 ($19). Whether or not Kobo's offering is a good deal, its arrival could be a relief for lisboetas who'd rather not resort to paper and ink to catch up on their own culture.
Kobo eReader Touch Edition packs bags for Japan, books flight for July
Rakuten's $315 million buyout of Kobo will bear some e-reader fruit come July. The e-tailer's CEO and chairman, Hiroshi Mikitani, announced plans to release the Kobo eReader Touch Edition in Japan next month for 10,000 yen (on par with its $130 US sticker price). Timing is key, of course -- murmurs of the Kindle Touch's Japanese debut haven't escaped Mikitani's notice. "As a Japanese company, we cannot lose (to overseas rivals)," he told The Asahi Shimbun. Rakuten hopes to use the e-reader to export Japanese content, and aims to have 50,000 titles available by the end of 2012. Pre-orders kick off on July 2, with more details to come next month.
Kobo offers one free book a month, brings peashooter to the e-reader gunfight
In a slightly underwhelming attempt to match Amazon's Lending Library proposition, Kobo will start to offer a free download each month to new Touch eReader owners. Starting in January, customers will be able to pick from the decidedly broad selection of Pride and Prejudice, HBR's 10 Must Reads: On Managing People and Star Wars Vs. Star Trek. Unfortunately, the offer is limited to devices purchased between November 24 and March 31 2012, but Kobo is hoping that the ability to hold on to the titles indefinitely will cancel out Amazon's legion of free rentals. Users can sign up to the ebook's offers mailing list for the full details. Remember: A book is for life, not just for Christmas.
$100 Kobo Touch with Offers ships in '2-3 weeks,' serves you ads between reads for a one-time discount
Well, would ya look at this? Apparently, Kobo's unceremoniously launched a new variant of the Touch eReader on its webstore -- this time "with offers," priced at $99.99 (down from the regular's $130). According the company, this six-incher is identical to its original Kobo Touch, but will display advertisements when you're not reading -- namely, while it's off, in sleep mode and across other "discreet" areas when it's on. Notably, the device is only available in the US in black and currently unavailable for pre-order, although Kobo's listed it as "shipping within two to three weeks." There's no word on what sorts of "sponsored content" you can expect to see, but we'd bet that Amazon-related items won't be on the table. Ad-tolerating eBook aficionados will find all the details at the source link below.
