Kobo nixes tablets

[Willa]

Came across this and thought it might interest people.

[ottdmk]

Well, this doesn't surprise me. The tablet game is a hugely competitive market; even with Rakuten backing it up Kobo is still a pretty small player.

I shudder at the notion of Kobo acquiring exclusive content though. I really don't want a world where I can only get certain books from certain e-retailers. Bad enough that the situation already exists with some Amazon Publishing stuff... I'd hate to see Kobo fragment things further.

I appreciate the clarity on Kobo's e-ink plans. Three devices: Touch, Aura, Aura H2O. Makes a lot of sense. I feel sorry for fans of the Mini though.

[Willa]

I feel sorry for my little Glo ! Although I can understand why they have made the selection that they have!

But if you are thinking of getting a Glo now would be the time . .

[GeoffR]

I think the exclusive content approach is a bad idea too, it is yet another inconvenience for the reader to add to DRM and georestrictions.

But if I was King of Kobo the three devices in my lineup would be the Mini, Glo, and H2O.

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by GeoffR

But if I was King of Kobo the three devices in my lineup would be the Mini, Glo, and H2O.

Yes! The Mini and the Glo are superior to the Touch and the Aura, respectively. (In my opinion and I have all of them). Love the back of the Touch, though. It's not a bad device, if you want an unlighted screen.

The text on the Aura though....worst of the lot.

[Anak]

The Mini didn't sell very well, only at deep discounts (at a loss?). That's why this model is EOL. It is/was a bleeder.

Why would Kobo release a tablet under its own brand name as almost every major electronics manufacturer/brand offer similar or better tablets at competitive price levels and these models are often (about once a year) succeeded by a model that is faster and/or improved tech specs?
Trying to compete is throwing good money after bad.

It's all about the Kobo apps. If the Kobo apps are really good then I'm sure readers will install the app on their own tablets.
Even when there is no Kobo app installed, books can still be bought at Kobo.

[Ripplinger]

Originally Posted by booklover6

Yes! The Mini and the Glo are superior to the Touch and the Aura, respectively. (In my opinion and I have all of them). Love the back of the Touch, though. It's not a bad device, if you want an unlighted screen.

The text on the Aura though....worst of the lot.

I agree and I'm glad I picked up a spare Glo a few months ago. When there's nothing but capacitive screens left, not sure what I'll do at that point (which has me thinking about picking up another Glo, I hate capacitive touch that much).

[Anthem]

Originally Posted by Anak

It's all about the Kobo apps. If the Kobo apps are really good then I'm sure readers will install the app on their own tablets.
Even when there is no Kobo app installed, books can still be bought at Kobo.

I think their apparent developing strategy is the correct one for them: e-reading devices for hardcore readers, and reading apps for every platform that makes sense for them to be on.

This has to be the correct way for them to attack this problem. Amazon only owns about 3% of the tablet market, it is their app on other platforms that makes up a huge portion of their ebook purchases, I have to think. (And their dedicated readers, obviously)

[jrasmussen]

...well that's disappointing--just got my Arc7 HD a couple months ago. Does this mean there won't be any new firmware updates?

[Josieb1]

I had to laugh at the comments about WHSmith considering they aren't even selling the H20!

[Anthem]

Originally Posted by jrasmussen

...well that's disappointing--just got my Arc7 HD a couple months ago. Does this mean there won't be any new firmware updates?

They say that they are going to continue to sell what models they currently have available for the time being. This doesn't guarantee firmware updates, but it does make me think that they may continue to update for now, but I can't imagine they will push anything revolutionary at this point.

They are winding down, so I would think they will do the minimal to qualify as "support".

[EndlessWaves]

Originally Posted by GeoffR

I think the exclusive content approach is a bad idea too, it is yet another inconvenience for the reader to add to DRM and georestrictions.

As long as we're talking content that's exclusive to the Kobo store rather than content that requires a Kobo eReader/App to read then I don't think it's a particularly bad idea. There are some minor inconveniences to store exclusive content but if it helps compete against device-exclusive systems like Amazon's then it's well worth it.

[Anthem]

Originally Posted by EndlessWaves

There are some minor inconveniences to store exclusive content but if it helps compete against device-exclusive systems like Amazon's then it's well worth it.

"device-exclusive systems"? You mean how you can get the Kindle reading application on pretty much every computer or computing device, both mobile and not (including the web browser reader), in the world?

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Willa

Came across this and thought it might interest people.

If the Kobo Touch is one of the three models they're going to keep, then the fact that they only have two of their five colors (lilac and blue) in stock is kind of an odd way to go about it. I had come to the conclusion that the Kobo Touch was going to be dropped -- kind of like the Kobo Mini, which shows up for sale on Kobo's site but is never available. (Why do they advertise it if they no longer carry it?) I'm curious now if black Kobo Touches are going to show up again.

[EndlessWaves]

Originally Posted by Anthem

"device-exclusive systems"? You mean how you can get the Kindle reading application on pretty much every computer or computing device, both mobile and not (including the web browser reader), in the world?

Except the devices where you'd most want it, books bought from Amazon are not available on any dedicated eReader except Amazon's own.

You buy books for a kindle, you either have to engage in potentially illegal behaviour and break the DRM or go without them if future models don't measure up when your current kindle breaks.