Quote:
Originally Posted by Parx
Does Borders have a greater B&M marketshare down there? I'd tend to agree with you that even a scaled down ereader at $99.99 is a threat to Amazon and B&N worth their attention; but I think it would only cause them to shave a $10-$20 off their baseline readers...and then harp on the bedrock nature of the ginormous content they can always offer (interestingly, Amazon really didn't latch on to the second prong of attack since they have continuously thumbed their nose at epub).
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No, not really. The big brick and mortar stores here are, Dymocks, Angus and Robertson and Borders. Of the three the former two have more stores and are owned by Redgroup. The Kobo is sold instore plus Redgroup have been gearing up online with ebook store shopfronts. Dymocks has not fully embraced the revolution.
The Kobo retails for AU$179 here. The more than mostly direct competitor is the Kindle, followed by the Sony PRS-350 at $229 and the PRS-650 at $299. There are other ereaders such as the Kogan sold locally and other less than stellar ones sold at Officeworks, Dick Smith and JB hifi.
Traditionally here, ereaders have been niche items that at one stage cost a keen player over AU$600.
When Kobo arrived at Borders and A&R at a sub $200 price in 2010, the momentum increase in a stagnated market grew quickly. By the end of the year, Sony even came back into the market with their new models.
There is no real reason why the Kobo should not be cheaper, at say $129. It is a big cut above the other cheaper offerings available.
The only true competitor for the Kobo in Australia is the Kindle but the Kobo has the distinct advantage of being able to be physically seen and trialed.