Quote:
Originally Posted by jswinden
Kobo tries to build readers that are closer to what customers want. The hardware is nice. Unfortunately they don't seem to know how to program the firmware though. Nor do they seem to understand the retail market, at least as far as the USA goes.
Amazon puts its main focus on having a second to none bookstore and reading experience. Want book, find book easily, buy book, read book, buy another book. They can get away with lackluster Kindle updates using that model because customers can find and read what they want and when they want. Kobo puts its main focus on the hardware. But MOST people don't want to have to convert book formats, use an app like calibre to manage their library, etc. Geeks here at MR do, but people most don't! Without a great bookstore and library capability, Kobo will remain on the edge of failure, much like B&N and Sony did with their eReaders.
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I would disagree that Kobo does not understand the USA market. They seem to understand that there is little profit in competing with Amazon in that market and concentrate their efforts in markets where they have a better chance of success.
Convert ebooks for my Kobo? Given that I purchase most of my ebooks from Baen, Kobo or Google, they already come in epub format. No conversion necessary. I want to borrow an ebook from a local library? Again epub format (or the rare choice between epub and pdf)—no Kindle format available. OTOH, I rarely use the ability to sync my ereader to my Kobo purchases over the air. I prefer to download and sync offline.
Using Calibre to manage my library? You bet your sweet bippy! Exactly what does Amazon offer that matches Calibre's ability to handle thousands of ebooks? How does Amazon do at handling metadata and cover image updating? Placing books into series collections? For the majority of people who own ereaders and read—perhaps—12 books per year, Calibre would be overkill. For me, 12 books is a very slow month. There is nothing to be ashamed of in being a statistical outlier.