[MattBerry08]

So with the news that today Borders will liquidate its stores and sell assets, I presume that this means the death (or sale) of the Kobo. Maybe now RIM will step up its relationship with Amazon or Barnes and Noble - ideally to get the Kindle and/or Nook to have an app for the playbook?

anyone seen anything on the news? Probably remains to be hashed out. I hate to see Borders go, but the economics of bookstores are changing so rapidly.

Bring on a Kindle app!!!

[lotuslanderz]

So with the news that today Borders will liquidate its stores and sell assets, I presume that this means the death (or sale) of the Kobo. Maybe now RIM will step up its relationship with Amazon or Barnes and Noble - ideally to get the Kindle and/or Nook to have an app for the playbook?

anyone seen anything on the news? Probably remains to be hashed out. I hate to see Borders go, but the economics of bookstores are changing so rapidly.

Bring on a Kindle app!!!

I dont think this will be the death of Kobo -- at least according to Kobo:
E-Reader Maker Kobo Responds To Borders� Liquidation News - Elizabeth Woyke - Mobilized - Forbes

[guerllamo7]

I don't think Kobo will be going out. However, if Borders is going out of business it is partly because Amazon sells books and is not required to pay taxes. That gives them an unfair advantage over brick and mortar stores. To add insult to injury, a customer can go look at a book, magazine or other thing in a Barns and Noble or Borders store and pull out their smart phone and order the book from Amazon. Since they don't pay taxes and don't pay for a beautiful store they can undercut the competition. Great right? But what happens when they kill the competition.
Because if this I've cancelled my audible.com account and don't use my amazon account. As long as Kobo (or BN) provide books for the playbook, I'll avoid Amazon. It may make sense in the short term to just go with the flow of Amazon but in the long term we are going to get less choice and that is why Amazon will always be my last choice. I even buy my music from 7 digital. By the way, this is another reason (besides the fact that I absolutely love my BlackBerry Torch) why I'm not an iPhone user. Their closed ecosystem gives me claustrophobia. I want choice. Blackberry is the last of the independents (unless you really think that Motorola is a contender).

[jem9777]

Kobo, Inc., is a Toronto-based company that is separate from (the former) Michigan-based Borders Group. Just because they had a partnership to sell Kobo ereaders through Borders and a branded version of their store doesn't mean they go belly-up if Borders does.

[berrysqueezer]

Those were interesting articles in Forbes and I will be doing some follow up reading on KOBO. I have been using the app since I started my playbook and find that I enjoy reading on my PB quite a bit. What impresses me a bit more is the world wide outlook of the company. Diversity and a wider distribution base in more countries means a better chance of staying around, and also a wider diversity of book choices.
I wish that there were more sharing and marking capabilities but those seem to be on the way. I hope that they are.

[mmcpher]

I don't like rank speculation over the demise of businesses that employ many people and who have many loyal customers out there. Personally, I still prefer Kindle and haven't used Kobo on the Playbook, but the platform and the customer base have value. There are enough smart business people out there that see through the constant premature death-knelling, so I wouldn't count Kobo out yet. But this will hurt and require some sort of re-assessment by Kobo. A few weeks ago I went to the local Barnes and Noble and was stunned to see the expanse and prominence of the most prime retail floor real estate devoted to the Nook, in all colors, sizes etc. It was right as you walked in the door, crowding out the current release hard copy best sellers to the sidetracks to the point where you almost had to hunt to find what had been the prime draw for B&N previously. The way B&N had configured its store layout was to force everyone to first traverse the impressive Nook displays, not matter if you had come there for paperbacks, magazines, DVDs or hard cover high profile releases. Kobo is now cast adrift without that anchor and without the online selling power of Amazon. They almost have to make a deal with a new partner.

[MattBerry08]

I don't like rank speculation over the demise of businesses that employ many people and who have many loyal customers out there.......

... Kobo is now cast adrift without that anchor and without the online selling power of Amazon. They almost have to make a deal with a new partner.

Not disparaging Borders - nor is it speculation. I feel for their employees and will really miss their local store which I use and shop at regularly. I do agree though - it requires a move by both Kobo and hopefully RIM. Clearly based on amazon and B&N sales and products, its a huge wave of the future. My point was more aimed at RIM - they clearly hitched to Kobo and now may be a point to consider if that's the EReader/Epub platform that they want to continue using. Were it not for playbook, I wouldn't have even considered them. They're clearly no better than 3rd in a market that doesnt seem to have much room at the bottom with the plethora of devices that one can read on. The loss of their major business partner seems like a pretty big obstacle to overcome.

[MattBerry08]

I don't think Kobo will be going out. However, if Borders is going out of business it is partly because Amazon sells books and is not required to pay taxes. That gives them an unfair advantage over brick and mortar stores. To add insult to injury, a customer can go look at a book, magazine or other thing in a Barns and Noble or Borders store and pull out their smart phone and order the book from Amazon. Since they don't pay taxes and don't pay for a beautiful store they can undercut the competition. Great right? But what happens when they kill the competition.
Because if this I've cancelled my audible.com account and don't use my amazon account. As long as Kobo (or BN) provide books for the playbook, I'll avoid Amazon. It may make sense in the short term to just go with the flow of Amazon but in the long term we are going to get less choice and that is why Amazon will always be my last choice. I even buy my music from 7 digital. By the way, this is another reason (besides the fact that I absolutely love my BlackBerry Torch) why I'm not an iPhone user. Their closed ecosystem gives me claustrophobia. I want choice. Blackberry is the last of the independents (unless you really think that Motorola is a contender).

I get your point - but the power of the internet makes shopping more than a local option. Taxes is only one part of that calculus, and I'm super happy with Amazon for standing as firm as they have. I want choice too, but if a store wont compete on price, that's their loss. Sometimes I buy at B&N (or formerly at borders) as I love to walk out with my purchase, but more often than not, its far cheaper INCLUDING shipping and handling and or taxes from Amazon. And sometimes - I dont actually want or need to go to the store. I was a latecomer to the e-reader thing, and found that getting books that way is a wonderful thing. Amazon has shifted power there dramatically (and glad for it) - the NY book publishers are cut out of the equation. (with a savings for consumers). That's the power of e-commerce and the web - and its a fact of life. Look at the industries changed over the years - movies, DVDs, Music - all have fundamentally had to change, and adapt. Bookstores are no different.

The existence of Kobo as a "choice" doesn't affect Amazon/B&N much at all.

[lipstick_pusher]

i haven't tried either yet but i just bought my parents a set of kobo readers. i hope they remain useful.

[Erandhawa]

Also Borders is being liquidated not burnt to the ground. Different investment companies and book stores will be buying their assets. As someone else stated Kobo is only selling ereaders through borders but even if there was any financial connection between them the new investors would buy the rights and take over operations for that specific portion.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[vicks80]

Ive been reading kobo for the past month and i am really impressed with it. Its better than kindle for ipad

[acdcrocks]

I am actually waiting for Kindle simply because Kobo does not have the most exhaustive list of titles.

I love the E-Reading concept and frankly allows me to read in bed without having to keep the night light. I hope Kobo improves their catalogue when they do find a new partner and that would be perfect for me.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[pkcable]

You can get Kindle RIGHT now if you want, thru the leaked Android Player and loading the Kindle apk.

[Barefoot_Kevin]

I don't think Kobo will be going out. However, if Borders is going out of business it is partly because Amazon sells books and is not required to pay taxes. That gives them an unfair advantage over brick and mortar stores. . . .

It's hardly "unfair", it's just their business model. Borders could've reorganized their business the same way, if they'd had the foresight. I get so tired of folks implying that just because a business is successful they are doing something shady. When the government mandates that all business act in exactly the same way and hold to the same models, it will stifle innovation even further and be the death of business in America.

[lipstick_pusher]

i'm enjoying the kobo reader. it's a nice app

[Phil DeLong]

Blackberry is the last of the independents (unless you really think that Motorola is a contender).

They make the flagship droid series and the droid x series. You have pretty strict definitions of "contender" don't you?

[GoldenJoe]

However, if Borders is going out of business it is partly because Amazon sells books and is not required to pay taxes. That gives them an unfair advantage over brick and mortar stores...

This was an issue before the first internet purchase was ever made, back in the days of mail order catalogs. The supreme court ruled that inter-state commerce law prevents states from imposing taxes on out of state businesses like Amazon.

Instead of MORE taxes and government control, why not suggest that the states make things "fair" by eliminating their sales tax on brick and mortar businesses? That would certainly eliminate the "look at something in a store, then go home and buy it online" problem.

[mogwai99]

It would be nice to have alternatives though and not just be stuck with Kobo.