Register Guidelines E-Books Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Go Back   MobileRead Forums > E-Book General > News

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old 12-15-2009, 11:15 AM   #1
onewayherway
Enthusiast
onewayherway began at the beginning.
 
Posts: 46
Karma: 38
Join Date: Jul 2009
Device: Sony reader 505
kobobooks.com review

Just checked out shortcovers new name and site called kobobooks.com.
It is an improvement for browsing books. There are now sections like mystery, romance etc.
There is now a link to free books but all the free books appear to be web based or mobile. Not for ereaders. This is not an improvement to those who use ereaders. I can get the same books at manybooks, feedbooks, gutenberg all in epub format.
I am enjoying the 24 days of deals though and trying new authors because of it.
So out of 5 I would give kobobooks.com a 3. Meets my book purchasing needs but the fuss about the freebooks is not such a big deal.
onewayherway is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-15-2009, 11:43 AM   #2
ficbot
Wizard
ficbot ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ficbot ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ficbot ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ficbot ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ficbot ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ficbot ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ficbot ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ficbot ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ficbot ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ficbot ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.ficbot ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Posts: 2,409
Karma: 4132096
Join Date: Sep 2008
Device: Kindle Paperwhite/iOS Kindle App
I dislike the new name. There is a cellphone brand here called Koodo which sounds very similar. I think the name is silly. And I still would like someone to answer my question about wish lists. I posted it here and in an IM to the guy from Shortcovers who posts here and they have all ignored me.
ficbot is offline   Reply With Quote
Advert
Old 12-15-2009, 11:52 AM   #3
lunged
Enthusiast
lunged doesn't litterlunged doesn't litter
 
Posts: 44
Karma: 122
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Orlando, FL
Device: iPad
Just got this email today. The website is better, but very similar. I, too, dislike the new name. It seemingly has nothing to do with books and is just more pointless web 2.0 gibberish.
lunged is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-15-2009, 12:00 PM   #4
kovidgoyal
creator of calibre
kovidgoyal ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.kovidgoyal ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.kovidgoyal ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.kovidgoyal ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.kovidgoyal ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.kovidgoyal ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.kovidgoyal ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.kovidgoyal ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.kovidgoyal ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.kovidgoyal ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.kovidgoyal ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
kovidgoyal's Avatar
 
Posts: 43,771
Karma: 22666666
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Mumbai, India
Device: Various
kobo is just book re-arranged which sort of makes their new name bookbooks.com
kovidgoyal is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-15-2009, 12:11 PM   #5
JCKobo
Kobo Product Guy
JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.
 
JCKobo's Avatar
 
Posts: 244
Karma: 36848
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Toronto
Device: Kobo Vox
Thanks for the review of our new site!

We are loading 1.8M titles from the Internet Archive into our system right now, all of which will be available for download in ePub and/or PDF (depending on the title). That should help with your free book addiction

Jordan Christensen
Product Manager, Kobo

Quote:
Originally Posted by onewayherway View Post
Just checked out shortcovers new name and site called kobobooks.com.
It is an improvement for browsing books. There are now sections like mystery, romance etc.
There is now a link to free books but all the free books appear to be web based or mobile. Not for ereaders. This is not an improvement to those who use ereaders. I can get the same books at manybooks, feedbooks, gutenberg all in epub format.
I am enjoying the 24 days of deals though and trying new authors because of it.
So out of 5 I would give kobobooks.com a 3. Meets my book purchasing needs but the fuss about the freebooks is not such a big deal.
JCKobo is offline   Reply With Quote
Advert
Old 12-15-2009, 12:12 PM   #6
lunged
Enthusiast
lunged doesn't litterlunged doesn't litter
 
Posts: 44
Karma: 122
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Orlando, FL
Device: iPad
LOL, I just came back to post that Kobo is "Book." Still kind of stupid, but at least it DOES mean something.
lunged is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-15-2009, 12:13 PM   #7
JCKobo
Kobo Product Guy
JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.
 
JCKobo's Avatar
 
Posts: 244
Karma: 36848
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Toronto
Device: Kobo Vox
Sorry for the delay getting back to you ficbot - we've been swamped with switching to the new site. I replied to your PM, but consider emailing help@kobobooks.com if you want a faster reply.

Yours,
Jordan Christensen
Product Manager, kobo

Quote:
Originally Posted by ficbot View Post
I dislike the new name. There is a cellphone brand here called Koodo which sounds very similar. I think the name is silly. And I still would like someone to answer my question about wish lists. I posted it here and in an IM to the guy from Shortcovers who posts here and they have all ignored me.
JCKobo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-15-2009, 12:17 PM   #8
anurag
Addict
anurag has a spectacular aura aboutanurag has a spectacular aura aboutanurag has a spectacular aura aboutanurag has a spectacular aura aboutanurag has a spectacular aura aboutanurag has a spectacular aura aboutanurag has a spectacular aura aboutanurag has a spectacular aura aboutanurag has a spectacular aura aboutanurag has a spectacular aura aboutanurag has a spectacular aura about
 
Posts: 236
Karma: 4066
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: California
Device: Kindle 1 and DX, iPhone
I see usability issues with their new name.

They don't own http://kobo.com, and their branding focuses only on 'Kobo', not on 'Kobo Books' - so I see a lot of people typing kobo.com into their address bars to get to their book store.

The same issue exists with search - a lot of people navigate to a website using Google, and they are going to type in Kobo ('Kobo Books' is longer to type) but Kobo Books won't be the top search result.

Why make it harder for people to find you? Shortcovers was a unique, easy-to-remember name. Longer to type, but hard to get wrong.
anurag is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-15-2009, 12:34 PM   #9
JCKobo
Kobo Product Guy
JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.
 
JCKobo's Avatar
 
Posts: 244
Karma: 36848
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Toronto
Device: Kobo Vox
I expect we'll be the top search result for Kobo pretty soon - takes a little while for Google to propagate our search ranking over from Shortcovers.

Quote:
Originally Posted by anurag View Post
I see usability issues with their new name.

They don't own http://kobo.com, and their branding focuses only on 'Kobo', not on 'Kobo Books' - so I see a lot of people typing kobo.com into their address bars to get to their book store.

The same issue exists with search - a lot of people navigate to a website using Google, and they are going to type in Kobo ('Kobo Books' is longer to type) but Kobo Books won't be the top search result.

Why make it harder for people to find you? Shortcovers was a unique, easy-to-remember name. Longer to type, but hard to get wrong.
JCKobo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-15-2009, 12:42 PM   #10
anurag
Addict
anurag has a spectacular aura aboutanurag has a spectacular aura aboutanurag has a spectacular aura aboutanurag has a spectacular aura aboutanurag has a spectacular aura aboutanurag has a spectacular aura aboutanurag has a spectacular aura aboutanurag has a spectacular aura aboutanurag has a spectacular aura aboutanurag has a spectacular aura aboutanurag has a spectacular aura about
 
Posts: 236
Karma: 4066
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: California
Device: Kindle 1 and DX, iPhone
Quote:
Originally Posted by JCShortcovers View Post
I expect we'll be the top search result for Kobo pretty soon - takes a little while for Google to propagate our search ranking over from Shortcovers.
I'm sure you're trying already, but you should probably purchase http://kobo.com as well, even if it costs you significantly more than $9.99

But as far as the new website is concerned, I like the new design and content. The category lists are nice, and I like that you now display more info (including the available formats) on the result list pages - major usability improvement.

Last edited by anurag; 12-15-2009 at 12:45 PM.
anurag is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-15-2009, 04:39 PM   #11
JCKobo
Kobo Product Guy
JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.
 
JCKobo's Avatar
 
Posts: 244
Karma: 36848
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Toronto
Device: Kobo Vox
Quote:
Originally Posted by anurag View Post
But as far as the new website is concerned, I like the new design and content. The category lists are nice, and I like that you now display more info (including the available formats) on the result list pages - major usability improvement.
Thanks - hopefully the new structure will help you crawl us easier as well!
JCKobo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-15-2009, 04:48 PM   #12
Elfwreck
Grand Sorcerer
Elfwreck ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Elfwreck ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Elfwreck ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Elfwreck ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Elfwreck ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Elfwreck ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Elfwreck ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Elfwreck ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Elfwreck ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Elfwreck ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Elfwreck ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Elfwreck's Avatar
 
Posts: 5,185
Karma: 25133758
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: SF Bay Area, California, USA
Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3 (Past: Kobo Mini, PEZ, PRS-505, Clié)
Quote:
Originally Posted by onewayherway View Post
Just checked out shortcovers new name and site called kobobooks.com.
It is an improvement for browsing books. There are now sections like mystery, romance etc.
There is now a link to free books but all the free books appear to be web based or mobile. Not for ereaders.
The first one I spotted says it's available in epub--but wants me to download ADE. Sigh. And maybe requires a kobo registration, but I suppose I should expect that, even for free ebooks.
Elfwreck is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-15-2009, 05:04 PM   #13
Elfwreck
Grand Sorcerer
Elfwreck ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Elfwreck ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Elfwreck ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Elfwreck ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Elfwreck ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Elfwreck ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Elfwreck ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Elfwreck ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Elfwreck ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Elfwreck ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Elfwreck ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Elfwreck's Avatar
 
Posts: 5,185
Karma: 25133758
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: SF Bay Area, California, USA
Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3 (Past: Kobo Mini, PEZ, PRS-505, Clié)
The FAQ has some problems.

"In order to read an eBook using Adobe ® Digital Editions, it must be an ePub."
Or a PDF. If you don't carry PDFs, that's fine (great, in fact), but I don't like false info in FAQs. Could be edited to , "In order to read an eBook from kobobookscom using ADE..."

"Our Gutenberg titles can be printed out using ADE. Other eBooks which are DRM-protected cannot be printed at this time."
I know what DRM is. Other readers may not. It's a good idea to define the terms in your FAQs.

A mention that the non-Gutenberg books on your site are all DRM'd would be nice; that'd let me know not to bother with the place. ADE is currently unavailable to me, and I'm not sure I want to bother having any DRM software on the shiny new computer.

From the About eBooks page: "eBooks come in a variety of formats, though most commonly they are found as PDFs or as ePubs."
What formats *do you carry*. Unless you're going to discuss the abstract concept of ebooks in PDF, ePub, Mobi, Lit, pdb, and so on... just say what formats are available through Kobobooks. Mention which of them are tied to specific devices.

Anyone who knows what a file format is, wants more info than "ebooks are commonly PDF or ePub."
Elfwreck is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-15-2009, 05:20 PM   #14
JCKobo
Kobo Product Guy
JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.JCKobo can successfully navigate the Paris bus system.
 
JCKobo's Avatar
 
Posts: 244
Karma: 36848
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Toronto
Device: Kobo Vox
Thanks Elfwreck - I'll see what I can do to get our FAQ clarified.
JCKobo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-15-2009, 05:41 PM   #15
Lilly
Guru
Lilly knows what time it isLilly knows what time it isLilly knows what time it isLilly knows what time it isLilly knows what time it isLilly knows what time it isLilly knows what time it isLilly knows what time it isLilly knows what time it isLilly knows what time it isLilly knows what time it is
 
Lilly's Avatar
 
Posts: 688
Karma: 2090
Join Date: Dec 2007
Device: Sony PRS-505, PRS-900 & PRS-950, Amazon Kindle2
I might be slow but most books says available for Web, Mobile. Why not tell me the format like other ebookstores (B&N being the exception). Is it an ePub, PDF, Lit, Mobi format?
Lilly is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
$2.00 off one kobobooks ebook through 9/19 bookratt Deals and Resources (No Self-Promotion or Affiliate Links) 5 09-19-2010 07:54 PM
Get $2.50 off books from Kobobooks.com Oogami Deals and Resources (No Self-Promotion or Affiliate Links) 3 03-19-2010 11:48 PM
kobobooks? parias1126 Amazon Kindle 6 03-09-2010 06:11 PM
20% off Kobobooks until Jan 31 rwillmer Deals and Resources (No Self-Promotion or Affiliate Links) 23 01-21-2010 10:19 AM
25% off coupon at Kobobooks.com Gummby Deals and Resources (No Self-Promotion or Affiliate Links) 2 12-29-2009 05:46 PM


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 06:01 AM.


MobileRead.com is a privately owned, operated and funded community.