Is a $99 Kobo on the way?

[techie42]

Originally Posted by redadept13

Now I really feel bad about pre-ordering mine at the end of last month. Just got it friday (was supposed to get it July 1)

So go haggle with them! You have nothing to loose; right?

:-)

[triffids]

I don't think the Kobo eReader price can go too much lower ... apparently it's already selling at a loss. (I guess it's like razors - the razor is cheap, but then you're buying the blades, where the money is made.)

[artificial]

Originally Posted by triffids

I don't think the Kobo eReader price can go too much lower ... apparently it's already selling at a loss. (I guess it's like razors - the razor is cheap, but then you're buying the blades, where the money is made.)

It makes me wonder about the future of eReader hardware. I imagine maufacturers that are not affiliated with a book store will find it very hard to match the low prices of the Kindle/Nook/Kobo.

Amazon, B&N and Kobo/Borders can afford to price their eReaders cheaply because they know they will recoup their investment from book sales. As you say, the real money is in books, and the hardware is a loss leader.

But what about other eReaders? Their future might be very bleak...

[kiwikobo]

Originally Posted by triffids

I don't think the Kobo eReader price can go too much lower ... apparently it's already selling at a loss. (I guess it's like razors - the razor is cheap, but then you're buying the blades, where the money is made.)

Nonsense, there's plenty of way to go on these. Kobo might be a number of things but they're not stupid, there is plenty of profit available on a simple e-reader manufactured in China. It's hardly an iPhone is it...

[sabredog]

Originally Posted by kiwikobo

The question is whether the stores can get enough demo models in when the Kobo launches in the US properly. Before I'd played with the Kobo I used to think that Wifi, touchscreen, and so on would be worthwhile. After having the Kobo for a while I now realise that I wouldn't pay a cent for those features. They are features, not benefits.

Charles

If the Australian experience is anything to go buy, the AU$199 Kobo sold like hotcakes and there is still a huge demand for them. If the price lowered in response to the recent price drop in the Kindle and Nook, demand would go even higher.

I am waiting to the dust settles, both firmware and and pricewise before I purchase one. In the meantime I got a cheap Jetbook Lite for my wife to test out.

Extraneous features like touchscreen, wifi and PDA/iPad bells and whistles just distract from what a reader does and that is to allow you to read. My smartphone handles the other stuff when I am mobile and my PC when at home.

[Metal Mick]

Hi all,

I think ereaders in general will drop markedly in price, and the Kindle/Nook pricing will force this, as well as forthcoming 'readers - there seems to be a rash of them on the way.

How low they finally go is difficult to predict. Perhaps we will see a minimum price level reached and then screen size, resolution, apparent quality of the unit as a whole, and the screen in particular, and so forth will become the selling points.

I tend not to see things like touch screen controls or wifi as extraneous, although I was skeptical about both until I got a touch phone and a notebook. To me touchscreen allows me to flick a page over when I am through reading, and not have to fumble for buttons. Why do we need all devices to operate differently?

Recently I was looking at some ereaders and swiped the screen a couple of times without thinking, to turn the pages, and was surprised when nothing happened!

Looking at the Kobo, I tend to feel USD$99 is a reasonable sum, given the prices of the Kindle/Nook competitors.

Cheers,

Michael P

[MeganJoan]

Originally Posted by the hatter

Hmmmm. I think with the new wifi Nook available, the Kobo price will have to drop to at least $129 if not lower. The nook has several features not available to Kobo: touch screen, replaceable battery, built in dictionary, wifi access.

To be honest, if I'd known that B&N were going to release a $150 nook then I don't think I would have got the Kobo. Unfortunately it's too late to return it too, since i bought it about 16 days ago.

Is there anyone else out there that genuinely doesn't want all those extra features?
I don't want a touchscreen getting in my way while I read, I don't want to pay for wifi I won't use (I can load 1000 books, it's not like a song where I get a sudden inkling for a certain one, I download and load them in advance when I'm nearing the end of my book), I have never used a dictionary while reading a book. Replaceable battery would be nice, but again I don't need it and I read for 3-5 hours a day.

And to me the Kobo is so much nicer looking than all the other readers I've seen. I love my Kobo and don't regret my purchase for a second.

[HamsterRage]

Originally Posted by artificial

It makes me wonder about the future of eReader hardware. I imagine maufacturers that are not affiliated with a book store will find it very hard to match the low prices of the Kindle/Nook/Kobo.

Amazon, B&N and Kobo/Borders can afford to price their eReaders cheaply because they know they will recoup their investment from book sales. As you say, the real money is in books, and the hardware is a loss leader.

But what about other eReaders? Their future might be very bleak...

Once the economies of scale kick in, the costs to make eReader hardware will drop like a stone. I'd bet you'll see Kobos settle in at well under $75 by the time that happens - unless they do an about face and start adding features instead of dropping the price. But their model does seem to be to get the users hooked on buying the content from them by having the lowest possible cost threshold for customers to get into the game.

Personally though, the way that prices trend for any technology hardware these days, I'm surprised that anybody gets into that kind of business without having some sort of content delivery business that actual gives them the profits.

[Turt99]

Originally Posted by MeganJoan

I don't want to pay for wifi I won't use

The only problem with this statement is that the Nook just dropped to the same price as the Kobo, so your not PAYING anything to get the additional features.

[HamsterRage]

If the Nook can go to $150 with the WiFi stuff in it, then the Kobo can go to $130 without it, and it will if Kobo thinks they are losing sales to it. As it is, the Kobo has pretty much sold out everywhere it was released (as far as I know) in its first weeks. So I don't see any pressure on them to drop the price just yet.

Once we get past the US release, then we'll see if there will be any price action.

[lchen]

I think a $50 price would make ereaders 'tip' and reach critical mass in the market.
With the recent price drop of the Nook and Kindle, the Kobo Reader sort of loses its marketing advantage.

I recently picked up the lower price Kindle2 and keep my Kobo on hand to read epub books. I still enjoy the Kobo reader but it's difficult to recommend the reader at the $150 pricepoint now.

For $30 more than the Kobo, Kindle users get some of the feature requests that many have asked on the firmware update thread. (ie. BrowseTo/Goto location, ability to click on ebook links, faster page turns, etc).

Some features that make it harder to choose the Kobo over the Kindle at the $150 pricepoint are:
+ the Experimental Text-To-Speech feature (no it won't replace audiobooks, but it's a convenient way of getting some 'reading' done when on the move).
+ 3G access -> to the bookstore and basic web browsing
+ Dictionary
+ There's an unofficial way of putting customized screensavers.

Things about the Kindle2 that are bad:
+ Non-user-replaceable battery (but that might be the case with the Kobo also)
+ Does not support Epub


For $50 I could even see schools purchasing the Kobo reader.

[HamsterRage]

I think that $50 is about the cost of the eInk screen, all by itself. So don't expect that price point for an entire reader in the very near future. If the technology goes the way that LCD displays did, though, you can expect the cost of the screen to drop to $5-$10 in a couple of years and then there's no reason why a Kobo couldn't go for $50.

[J. Strnad]

Is there anyone else out there that genuinely doesn't want all those extra features?

Yeah, me, as I've mentioned in other threads. It's not so much the features as it is the stuff that supports them, like the Nook's lcd screen and the Kindle's keyboard. The Kobo feels really good in my hand in a way that the Nook didn't, and I haven't had a chance to hold a Kindle.

I actually prefer downloading my books to computer first, then syncing with the Kobo. I'd rather surf and browse at the desktop machine, and I want copies on both the Kobo and the desktop (and its automatic backup) anyway, so there's no advantage to me in downloading straight to the reader and then to the desktop.

I'd rather do all the organizing (which I hope is coming with the firmware upgrade) on the computer, too, and just download the result as I do with iTunes and my iPod.

[Stinger]

I agree with you completely, Jan!

I look at the Kobo as a peripheral eInk screen (to my computer), not really a stand-alone device.... ya know, kind of like in Star Trek: they downloaded stuff to the cool tablets when they needed to

[artificial]

Originally Posted by J. Strnad

I'd rather do all the organizing (which I hope is coming with the firmware upgrade) on the computer, too, and just download the result as I do with iTunes and my iPod.

Yeah me too. I love Calibre, and enjoy browsing for books, reading reviews, orgainising my library and so forth on my computer.

My 2c about wifi/3G: It takes me about a week to finish a book. Plenty of time to sort out a new book to read and load it to the Kobo. My reading list is already overflowing. I don't find myself pulling out my Kobo on the train and going "Oh no! I don't have a book to read! I wish I had wifi access to a bookstore. Damn I wish I owned a Kindle."

I think that by dropping superfluous features like wifi and a web browser, Kobo have taken the obvious step in the evolution of eInk devices: make a cheap, no-frills reader that appeals to people who read books, not people who want an all-in-one portable media device.