Kobo and Borders release new touch eReader, drop price of original to $99


Amazon’s Kindle has been doing extremely well, with sales of Kindle books surpassing sales of all print books on Amazon.com combined. The Kindle itself has long been the single best-selling product on Amazon.com for years. With Barnes & Noble struggling, and Borders Books suffering as well, it’s clear eBooks are the future.

Kobo started out as a little known startup trying to make headway in the fiercely competitive eReader market. The company’s big break came when Borders Books inked a deal with them, initiating a partnership. Borders agreed to adopt Kobo’s readers as their own, and sell them in all Borders’ brick-and-mortar store locations. The Kobo reader has been a nicely designed, affordable alternative to the Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook since it’s introduction.


This week, Kobo announced the release of a new touch-based eReader to compete with the Kindle and Nook. Additionally, the company announced a drop in price for the existing Kobo reader to just $99, placing it in what is considered by many to be impulse-buy territory. As if that were not enough, the price of the new touch-based Kobo will be set at a fiercely competitive $129, which makes it a very tempting alternative to the severely touch-lacking Kindle and Nook.

All is not unicorns and rainbows, however. The Kobo Touch uses an e-ink display which still takes far (read: annoyingly) longer to refresh than displays found in tablets like the iPad. Because of this slower screen technology, the company also had to use a different touch-detection system, which is nowhere near as responsive as the one used in Apple’s offerings. Of course, this isn’t necessarily Kobo’s fault. E-ink in its current state simply isn’t capable of the levels of responsiveness iPad users are accustomed to. That said, Kobo may have just achieved the best e-ink eReader interface yet. Amazon and Barnes & Noble are still using physical hardware buttons on their e-ink-based readers and have yet to implement touch on e-ink displays at all.

Article Via Crunch Gear

Justin Lowery has been reading and writing about Macs and technology for nearly a decade. By day he is a web and graphic designer who creates powerful and beautiful solutions for companies and individuals worldwide. By night he writes passionately about all things Apple, technology, and design. Over the years Justin has worn the hats of writer, staff designer, art director, and freelancer.