Archive for the ‘Kobo’ Category
Kobo gets Pottermore connection no comments
Kobo ereader users can now link their Kobo accounts to the Pottermore Shop so that any Harry Potter ebooks purchased there will download directly into their Kobo libraries. There is a new Harry Potter page at Kobo with details and links to purchase the books.
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New Kobo contest no comments
It seems a while since Kobo had a contest, but there is a new one starting today and running through April 29th. Every ebook purchased during this period counts as an entry and the number of entries increases with the number of ebooks purchased – buy 3 ebooks and get 5 entries.
The grand prize is a trip for two to Aruba. Five Kobo Touch eReaders will also be awarded. There is, as usual, a non-purchase route of entry is provided. The contest details can be found here.
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Free ebooks for Kindle & other ereaders – 4/21/2012 no comments
These are all free for the moment, but in order to avoid any rude surprises please make sure they still are before reaching for the Buy button.
The Saints Go Dying by Erik Hanberg (4 1/2 stars/17 reviews) Mystery.
The Bridgeman (An Emily Taylor Mystery) by Catherine Astolfo (4 1/2 stars/9 reviews) Mystery.
We All Fall Down by Steven Hart (5 stars/5 reviews) Suspense.
The Devil’s Cradle (Kendall O’Dell Series #2) by Sylvia Nobel. This Southwestern mystery is free at Barnes & Noble. This author is not available at the Kindle Store.
The Accidental Existentialist by Joshua Graham (4 stars/17 reviews) Spies. Also free at Kobo.
Trial of Honor: A Novel of a Court-Martial by David Norton Stone (5 stars/2 reviews) Military thriller.
The Cartel by A.K. Alexander (4 1/2 stars/9 reviews) Crime fiction; Fiction about the wives of South American drug lords.
Two Graves (A Kesle City Homicide Novel) by D.A. Graystone (4 1/2 stars/26 reviews) Police procedural.
Did Anyone Die? (Little Wychwell Mysteries) by Stella Stafford (4 1/2 stars/4 reviews) British mystery.
Eleventh Angel by T.D. Kaschalk (4 stars/4 reviews) Psychological mystery; Past life regression.
Jaded by Envy Red, Jenetha McCutcheon, Renato Norton and Ondre Hunt (4 1/2 stars/22 reviews) Suspense; Mental illness.
The Three-Eyed Skull (Global Crime Prevention Unit #2) by A.D. Vates (5 stars/5 reviews) Futuristic crime novella.
Rabbit in the Road by Oliver Campbell, Danika D Potts, Ryvenna Lewis and Katie Anne Kelly (5 stars/22 reviews) Paranormal thriller.
Fatal Cut (A Madison Keith Psychological Suspense Novella) by Cathryn Grant (4 stars/12 reviews) Paranormal suspense; Novella. Also free at Kobo.
Meeting Destiny (Destiny Series – Book 1) by Nancy Straight, Linda Brant and Dreamscape Covers (4 1/2 stars/58 reviews) Paranormal mystery. Also free at Barnes & Noble.
Bones: The Complete Apocalypse Saga by Mark Wheaton (5 stars/8 reviews) Post-apocalyptic fiction.
Bloody Little Secrets (a YA vampire novel) by Karly Kirkpatrick (4 stars/14 reviews).
The Wizard of Time (Book 1) by G.L. Breedon (4 1/2 stars/29 reviews) YA Fantasy.
Cry for the Moon (The Last Werewolf Hunter Series) by William Woodall (4 1/2 stars/36 reviews).
Endlessly by C. V. Hunt and Peter Heyrman (4 1/2 stars/12 reviews) Vampires. Also free at Barnes & Noble.
Indulge (Warm Delicacy Series, Book 2) by Megan Duncan (4 1/2 stars/23 reviews) Vampires.
When Darkness Falls by RG Porter (4 stars/8 reviews) Horror.
The Deliverer (The Marenon Chronicles Book 1 of 3) by Jason D. Morrow (4 1/2 stars/26 reviews) Epic fantasy.
Heartless (Tales of Goldstone Wood) by Anne Elisabeth Stengl (4 stars/57 reviews) Fantasy. Also free at Kobo and Barnes & Noble.
The English Legione (The Brood Chronicles) by Dale Jackson (5 stars/4 reviews) Fantasy.
Entangled (Myths and Dreams) by M. Modak (4 stars/2 reviews) Fantasy.
Beyond the Sea (Beyond the Sea Series) by Emily Goodwin (4 1/2 stars/5 reviews) Fantasy; Mermaids.
Flash Gold (a steampunk novella set in the Yukon) (The Flash Gold Chronicles) by Lindsay Buroker (4 1/2 stars/53 reviews). Also free at Barnes & Noble.
The Fourth Law by Paul Stein (4 1/2 stars/21 reviews) Science fiction. Also free at Barnes & Noble and Kobo.
Stone’s Kiss (The Avatars) by Lisa Blackwood (4 stars/15 reviews) Fantasy; Romance. Also free at Barnes & Noble.
Tears of the Broken (Dark Secrets) by A.M. Hudson (4 1/2 stars/18 reviews) Vampiric romance. Also free at Barnes & Noble.
Venice Vampyr (Venice Vampyr #1) by Tina Folsom (4 1/2 tars/27 reviews) Vampiric romance; Erotica.
For His Eyes Only by T. C. Archer (5 stars/6 reviews) Romantic suspense.
The Woman by David Bishop (4 stars/39 reviews) Romantic suspense.
Black Smoke (Agent of Mercy, Book One) by Robin Leigh Miller (5 stars/3 reviews) Romantic suspense; International intrigue. Also free at Barnes & Noble and Kobo.
Where Eagles Once Flew (revised) by DJ Morris (4 stars/5 reviews) Romantic suspense.
Rap Star by A Rozelle (5 stars/2 reviews) Urban romance; Music Industry.
Second Hand Heart by Catherine Ryan Hyde (4 1/2 stars/18 reviews) Contemporary romance.
Kiss Me Crazy (The Fitzgerald Family) by E. B. Walters (4 1/2 stars/28 reviews) Contemporary romance.
Causing A Commotion by Janice Lynn (4 1/2 stars/16 reviews) Contemporary romance.
Tempting Trace by Debra Webb (4 stars/3 reviews) Contemporary romance.
Sweet Cherry Ray by Marcia Lynn McClure (4 1/2 stars/3 reviews) Historical romance.
The Bride Wore Spurs (The Inconvenient Bride Series, Book 1) by Sharon Ihle (4 1/2 stars/17 reviews) Historical romance; Mail-order bride.
Wildblossom (The Matthews Novels, Book 2) by Cynthia Wright (5 stars/4 reviews) Historical Western romance.
Salt Bride: A Georgian Historical Romance by Lucinda Brant (4 1/2 stars/11 reviews) Historical romance. Also free at Barnes & Noble.
Chihuahua Karma by Debby Rice (5 stars/18 reviews) Humor; Fantasy.
This is Our Story by Wendi Adelson and David Rottman (5 stars/8 reviews) Contemporary fiction; Human trafficking.
Comfortably Awkward by Kenny Scudero (4 stars/8 reviews) Contemporary fiction.
Silver Lake by Peter Gadol (4 stars/10 reviews) Contemporary fiction; Gay & Lesbian. Also free at Barnes & Noble.
Touch by Envy Red (4 1/2 stars/22 reviews) Contemporary fiction; Erotica.
Indie Chicks: 25 Women 25 Personal Stories by Lizzy Ford, Donna Fasano, Mel Comley and Suzanne Tyrpak (5 stars/7 reviews) Short story collection. Also free at Barnes & Noble and Kobo.
Dont Get Mad…Get Even by J.L. Campbell (5 stars/6 reviews) Short stories; Jamaica. Also free at Barnes & Noble.
Tread Softly on My Dreams by Gretta Curran Browne (5 stars/8 reviews) Historical fiction; Ireland.
Madigan by R Howard Trembly (5 stars/5 reviews) Historical fiction; Western; Treasure; Outlaw gang.
The Heretic’s Garden (Historical Adventure Series – A Book of Past Lives) by Marilyn M Schulz (4 stars/1 reviews) Historical fiction; The Crusades.
Promise Me This by Cathy Gohlke (5 stars/51 reviews) Historical fiction from a faith-based publisher. Also free at Kobo.
Yahshua’s Bridge (Iron and the Stone) by Sandi Rog and Wendy Chorot (5 stars/20 reviews) Historical religious fiction.
Rumors of Eden by Kathy Frias (5 stars/13 reviews) Religious fiction.
The Fitting Room: Putting On the Character of Christ by Kelly Minter (4 1/2 stars/17 reviews) Christianity. Also free at Kobo.
Seven Days of Surrender by Ryan A. Sturgis (5 stars/4 reviews) Christianity.
World War ll London Blitz Diary (A Woman’s Revelations Enduring War and Marriage) (1939-1940) by Ruby Alice Side-Thompson, Victoria Aldridge-Washuk and Adele Thompson-Aldridge (5 stars/22 reviews) History. Also free at Barnes & Noble.
The Everything Grow Your Own Vegetables Book: Your Complete Guide to planting, tending, and harvesting vegetables (Everything (Home Improvement)) by Catherine Abbott and Meghan Shinn (4 1/2 stars/5 reviews) Gardening. Also free at Barnes & Noble.
The Cups & Scales Everything Weighed & Measured Cookbook – 7 Sample Plans of Eating & 300 Recipes – No Sugar,Wheat, Flour – With and Without Starches and Grains – People & Groups by Anonymous Twelve Step Recovery Members (5 stars/4 reviews).
Sandwiches Cookbook (Classic Cookbooklets) by Gooseberry Patch (4 1/2 stars/5 reviews) Recipes. Also free at Barnes & Noble.
Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your Professional and Personal Life by Richard W. Paul and Linda Elder (4 stars/28 reviews). Also free at Barnes & Noble.
Presentations Skills That Will Take You to the Top (Collection) by Jerry Weissman (5 stars/1 reviews) Business. Also free at Barnes & Noble.
A course in happiness: Earth Day free book for well-being and personal development by Frank Ra (5 stars/149 reviews) Self-help.
The Thought Exchange: Overcoming Our Resistance To Living A Sensational Life by David Friedman (5 stars/9 reviews) Self-help.
Practically Green: Your Guide to Ecofriendly Decision-Making by Micaela Preston (4 stars/7 reviews). Also free at Barnes & Noble.
Memo: The Easiest Way to Improve Your Memory by Oddbjorn By, Siri J Egeland and Hakon By (4 1/2 stars/6 reviews) Memory improvement.
A Reel Cool Summer by Martha Rodriguez and Joey Rodriguez (4 1/2 stars/10 reviews) Children’s fiction.
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Kobo is offering a 30% discount on ebooks from Baker Publishing with the discount coupon code Baker30 to be used at checkout. With the discount some of these become cheaper than they can be had for elsewhere. Baker is a faith-based publisher. This offer expires April 23, 2012.
Kobo is also now selling the Kobo Touch with Offers ereader for $79.99 with free shipping. This is $20 cheaper than you can currently find it at stores like Best Buy.
DecalGirlhas a new coupon code – SPRING25 – that will give you 25% off any device skin, but only until April 22, 2012. DecalGirl has added some interesting new artists lately.
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WHSmith stores to include Kobo shops no comments
Over 100 WHSmith High Street stores in the UK will be getting Kobo ereading sections this year. A few ‘Kobo Centres’ have been set up in some of the bookseller’s larger stores on a trial basis and the results were good enough for Kobo and WHSmith to expand the program.
The various Kobo ereading devices and a selection of covers and other accessories will be on display at the Kobo Centres, which will be staffed with personnel trained to assist customers to choose and set up their new Kobo ereaders and activate their Kobo accounts. The WHSmith online store also features a Kobo section where the Kobo Wireless and Kobo Touch ereaders as well as the Vox tablet are offered along with various accessories. The Kobo Vox is now priced at £149.99 and the Kobo Touch ereader has been reduced to £79.99.
This is apparently just one more move in Kobo’s aggressive plans for international expansion in 2012. After its recent acquisition by Rakuten, Kobo says it now has the “resources, network and capacity to scale quickly around the world and to deliver a solution that meets and exceeds our customer and partner needs.”
Outside of the U.S. Kobo is pretty much in a two-horse race with Amazon for dominance of the international ereading market. Inside of the U.S., of course, that race is between Amazon and Barnes & Noble. B&N has indicated that it is considering taking its Nook business international, but I suspect it would be difficult at this point for B&N to be a serious contender for second place in the international market – even though the Nook line of ereaders and tablets are made of better stuff than their Kobo counterparts. Kobo just has too much of a head start.
Expanding the Nook internationally would also no doubt require a huge investment, which B&N would probably at this point find it difficult to make (and the DOJ agency model settlement has the potential to make it even harder for B&N to turn a profit and raise the capital for international expansion). Perhaps, as a commenter on the IBT article linked to above notes, Rakuten should buy B&N or preferably just its Nook business. That would not only extend Rakuten/Kobo’s number two position into the U.S. market, but also give it and its customers access to better hardware.
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New software for the Kobo Touch eReader – v1.9.17 no comments
Kobo has released a new software update for the Kobo Touch ereader. Besides assorted bug fixes and improvements, v1.9.17 improves the responsiveness of the touchscreen and fixes some connectivity problems. The new software also provides integration with Facebook Timeline.
The update can be installed by connecting the Kobo Touch to your computer and running the Kobo Desktop app. Presumably the update will also be available over the Wi-Fi connection at some point in the near future.
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New Kobo contest no comments
Kobo has started a new contest. This one involves answering movie trivia questions and will award instant prizes of 10% – 35% discount coupons for ebooks (as allowed by the publishers) and $25 cinema vouchers. There is also a grand prize package consisting of three Kobo Touch eReaders and a Bose SoundDock music system.
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Kobo Vox now at Best Buy stores no comments
Kobo announced today that its Vox eReader tablet is now available in-store at Best Buy locations across the US as well as online. The Vox is priced at $199.99 and currently the black model appears to be available at Best Buy stores, while the blue, green and pink models are available to order from in store or online.
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B&N and Kobo holiday sales results; Nook may be spun off & go international no comments
eReaders and ebooks were hot sellers this holiday season, and not just at Amazon. Barnes & Noble reports that sales of its Nook devices were up by 70% over last year, while digital content sales were up by 113%. B&N says that it sold more Nook Tablets than expected but that sales of the Nook Simple Touch were below projections.
B&N’s digital business may be surging but its brick and mortar stores are seeing little growth, even now that with Borders out of the picture there is less competition. B&N is forecasting a 1% increase in comparative store sales for 2012.
Barnes & Noble says that it is exploring options for separating its Nook business and expanding it abroad.
"We see substantial value in what we’ve built with our NOOK business in only two years, and we believe it’s the right time to investigate our options to unlock that value," said William Lynch, Chief Executive Officer of Barnes & Noble. "In NOOK, we’ve established one of the world’s best retail platforms for the sale of digital copyright content. We have a large and growing installed base of millions of satisfied customers buying digital content from us, and we have a NOOK business that’s growing rapidly year-over-year and should be approximately $1.5 billion in comparable sales this fiscal year. Between continued projected growth in the U.S., and the opportunity for NOOK internationally in the next 12 months, we expect the business to continue to scale rapidly for the foreseeable future."
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Kobo also reports a record breaking holiday season with a tenfold increase in new customers and a near doubling of total registered users as compared to the pre-holiday period. Kobo’s ereaders and ebooks are available internationally and some of its strongest gains were in Europe and parts of Asia.
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An internationally available set of Nook ereaders is not, of course, good news for either Kobo or Sony. The other smaller ereader manufacturers that have failed to compete successfully in the North American market will also not be overjoyed at this news.
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Kobo Touch update no comments
Kobo has a new software update for the Kobo Touch eReader. The new software version brings several improvements to the homescreen as well as faster page turns and search function. Text should be sharper as well.
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Kobo Vox gets software update no comments
Kobo has released a new software update for the Kobo Vox tablet. The update includes some bug fixes including:
- Fixed battery level misreporting.
- Improved Wi-Fi connectivity.
- Improved video streaming.
- Improved stability of device when waking from standby.
The reading app has also been improved:
- Reading menu has been improved.
- Built-in dictionary added.
- New background color – sepia.
- New font – Times New Roman.
Additionally, to help prevent accidental powering on of the Vox, the power button will now need to be depressed for 2.5 seconds to turn the tablet on.
The Vox will issue a notification when the software update is ready or you can check for it manually by going to the tablet’s Settings > About Kobo eReader > System Update.
