Borders expands partnership with Kobo no comments
Borders has just announced that it has expanded its partnership with Kobo. Borders customers will now have access to the free Kobo apps which will carry the Kobo brand name as will the Borders ebook store (which has been powered by Kobo all along). Borders will get to share in profits from sales of ebooks made on devices sold at all retailers in the US. This will allow Borders to capture a larger share of the ebook market without significant new investment.
Borders will also have a special preview of the new Kobo eReader Touch Edition at its Columbus Circle store in NYC. At the event the Kobo Wi-Fi ereader will be on sale to guests for $79.99. The new Kobo Touch is now available for pre-order at Borders.
More from the press release:
Under the expanded Borders-Kobo agreement, beginning June 1, both the Borders eBook store and Borders eReading app will be branded Kobo, providing Borders customers with more e-content selections than ever before, including newly available access to newspapers and magazines. Customers can download the content via Borders.com, Kobo.com and the Kobo apps, which will be regularly updated and enhanced to provide a superb eReading and content purchasing experience.
With the Kobo apps, customers can:
- Access more than 2.3 million books, newspapers and magazines available on Borders.com and Kobo.com;
- Enjoy Reading Life, including earning awards and sharing quotes and selections from the books they are reading with friends on Facebook and Twitter;
- Gift eBooks to others — in time for Father’s Day;
- Easy library access — Borders and Kobo eBooks will be safely stored in the customer’s library.
In addition to the Kobo eReader Touch Edition and Kobo Wireless eReader, free Kobo eReading apps are available for the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Android smartphones and tablets, Blackberry® smartphones and the Blackberry® PlayBooks as well as PC and Mac computers. Beginning June 1, customers with the Borders app will be able to easily move their Borders eBooks to their new Kobo eBook library.
"We’re excited that our customers can now enjoy the best eReading experience available today through eReading devices with state-of-the-art technology, apps that offer a first-to-market social reading experience and a knowledgeable customer service support team at Kobo available to answer their questions on devices and eBooks," said Borders CEO Mike Edwards.
"Our expanded partnership with Kobo is a seminal part of our overall digital strategy, which we believe positions Borders to compete effectively in the eReading market without a significant investment on the part of Borders. In turn, Kobo will be able to leverage our incredibly robust customer database, with more than 41 million Borders Rewards loyalty program sign-ups, as well as our Borders and Waldenbooks stores that will prominently feature Kobo devices," continued Edwards.
"Our expanded relationship with Borders will offer new eReading experiences for the growing American eReading community by bringing our third-generation eReader and massive Kobo content library to Borders customers," said Michael Serbinis, CEO, Kobo, Inc. "Borders customers are loyal and passionate about reading, and we’re excited to deliver our new eReader Touch Edition with a sleek, thin and elegant package that also offers the comfort and feel of a real book, but better — both in-store and online to Borders’ customers."
