Kobo/WH Smith UK tie up now live!

[kiwipippa]

I wonder what this means for those people outside the UK who buy from WH Smith using addresses that may be...umm... not quite right? Kobo checks IP addresses but WH Smith never used to. They are/were useful for buying books that aren't available here in the colonies.

I'd guess that it's another closed door.

[Gilmartin]

Originally Posted by kiwipippa

I wonder what this means for those people outside the UK who buy from WH Smith using addresses that may be...umm... not quite right? Kobo checks IP addresses but WH Smith never used to. They are/were useful for buying books that aren't available here in the colonies.

I'd guess that it's another closed door.

Isn't it possible to connect via a proxy to get around the IP check?

[lecoeur]

An interesting article in today's Bookseller on e-book reader selling.
http://www.thebookseller.com/blogs/h...-e-reader.html
Looks like WHS are still struggling to perfect selling the devices which is a pity.
As an aside, I love the B&N guy's snide remark that integrated bookshops should be a place where peeps could take their defective Kindles for repair.

[murraypaul]

Also important for people outside the UK to realise that WHS is not really a bookstore in the sense that B&N is. It sells books, magazines and newspapers yes, but it also sells sweets, art supplies, office supplies, back to school supplies, board games, toys, electronics, and so on.
While B&N may sell non-book items, they are primarily a book store, who also sell other things. WHS is primarily an other-things store, who also sell books.
You aren't going to get specialist book, let alone ebook, knowledge from WHS sales people.

[Gilmartin]

Some of the staff in my local WHS look as if their lips would move if they did try to read

[Bertolt]

Originally Posted by murraypaul

Also important for people outside the UK to realise that WHS is not really a bookstore in the sense that B&N is. It sells books, magazines and newspapers yes, but it also sells sweets, art supplies, office supplies, back to school supplies, board games, toys, electronics, and so on.
While B&N may sell non-book items, they are primarily a book store, who also sell other things. WHS is primarily an other-things store, who also sell books.
You aren't going to get specialist book, let alone ebook, knowledge from WHS sales people.

It should not be so surprising that WHS staff are a bit amateurish. I'm sure they don't get paid as much as the staff in Harrods. My Kobo Android reading app lets me download and pay for UK ebooks from Spain with no problems. With Kindle Amazon will not allow us to buy ebooks or digital music from the UK, we have to buy from the USA. This is better than nothing but means that Amazon is feeding us an exclusive diet of culturally inappropriate books.
I like WHS and I'm also looking forward to buying my first Kobo.

[lecoeur]

The people in the stores may or may not be up to speed at WHSmith, but you really can't fault the marketing Dept.
The WHSmith Xmas ads are on the TV nightly-pushing Kobo( a big change from kindle all the way) and I was gobsmacked when I went to buy a train ticket this am and found even the WHS at my train station was pushing kobo with posters and when I checked in store there were a few on display-ergo: in stock. Because you live in the UK you forget the reach of WHS, its part of the everyday fabric of the high street and of course, travel. As our local station is now heralding Kobo, I suspect that they'll be available in all their mega busy airport stores as well as all major train stations giving them huge daily visibility which cannot be a bad thing.

[PeterT]

But does the Kobo support Welsh? I'm not at all sure how well it will handle the double f's and l's :P

[lecoeur]

Originally Posted by PeterT

But does the Kobo support Welsh? I'm not at all sure how well it will handle the double f's and l's :P

Ha! I'm sure it does, having said that I seem to recollect that some places in Quebec have equally as 'difficult' spelling.
In this age of abbreviations and speaking of Welsh I'm reminded that the oft used lol is actually a word in Welsh and means balderdash or nonsense.
See ya learn sumfing every day.

Roy

[lecoeur]

http://www.thebookseller.com/news/wh...-e-reader.html
As the kindle fire is not avail as yet in the UK, Kobo have fleeting chance to steal a march on Amazon.

[murraypaul]

That is quite a significant advantage, as neither Kindle Fire nor Nook Color are available, so they have a real market opportunity.
The competition is either cheap (and nasty) no-name 7 inch tablets, or the considerably more expensive BlackBerry PlayBook and Samsung tablets.

[winspiration]

Originally Posted by Witty Username

I hope WH Smith customers are aware that in the Kobo store it is not possible to buy more than 1 book in a transaction. Each book purchase has to be processed individually as there is no 'basket' to hold items until you choose to checkout.

I have emailed WH Smith customer services to voice my frustration and to point out that I am unlikely to buy any more ebooks from them as this purchasing system is tedious in the extreme.

Thanks for that - I have just been trying to add more than one book at once and getting no joy from the less than helpful Kobo help system - I knew I'd find the answer much quicker here

What a daft system, fancy discouraging multiple purchases! I haven't actually bought any books for ages as I've been reading library e-books for most of the year, but I used to buy quite a bit from the WH Smiths ebook store, generally several at a time.

[Conor]

Originally Posted by lecoeur

http://www.thebookseller.com/news/wh...-e-reader.html
As the kindle fire is not avail as yet in the UK, Kobo have fleeting chance to steal a march on Amazon.

Now being sold for £189.99, so I'm glad I bought mine 10 days ago. I'd be interested to know why the £20 increase so soon after launch.

[lioslaith]

Originally Posted by Conor

Now being sold for £189.99, so I'm glad I bought mine 10 days ago. I'd be interested to know why the £20 increase so soon after launch.

I'm glad I bought mine before the hike in price as well. It's probably just greed, I can't find anything to say that the price I paid was just an introductory one.

Kobo Vox overseas hasn't increased from the $199 price tag since launch so it only seems that the UK price has increased.

So, nothing unusual there ....

[Conor]

Originally Posted by lioslaith

I'm glad I bought mine before the hike in price as well. It's probably just greed, I can't find anything to say that the price I paid was just an introductory one.

Kobo Vox overseas hasn't increased from the $199 price tag since launch so it only seems that the UK price has increased.

So, nothing unusual there ....

It could be greed. Normally competition keeps prices down, but as far as I know there are no competing 7 inch tablets running Android 2.3 on sale in the UK.