Today we all got our first look at another beautiful product from Apple. It will be a great device for reading and Kobo will be on it from Day 1. You will be able to use Kobo’s existing iPhone app, and I’m excited to announce that we are already working on Kobo for the IPad. We will launch tablet apps for all major platforms – Apple, Windows, Android – and you can start using them in February.
With Kobo for iPad, you will be able to read all the books you have already purchased, buy and read new ones, highlight, annotate, and leverage some very exciting new features we have in store for our new apps. I can’t wait for you to see Kobo for iPad when it ships in 60 days. In fact, we are so excited about it – we’ve included some screen shots of Kobo for iPad.
We also heard today that Apple recognizes that eBooks are going mainstream, and will launch an eBook store of their own. This is further validation that eBooks are the future, and will no doubt be good for the entire market. Welcome to eBooks Apple, and thank you for your support of the ePub standard!
We, of course, plan on building the best eReading service – apps, store, content – worldwide, in an open manner that gives consumers choice. We believe consumers want choice on the content they consume, where they shop for content and the devices that they use.
So here’s Kobo’s commitment to you:
- We will be insanely focused on delivering the best EXPERIENCE for readers including amazing browsing, searching, shopping, reading, and a library in the cloud to manage all your books, journals, newspapers, magazines, notes, and ideas. We even have some surprises in store…
- We will continue to build the biggest catalog of eBooks, newspapers and magazines. We have over 2 million eBooks with New York Times bestsellers at $9.99.
- We will be on ANY AND EVERY DEVICE that will be great for reading. Smartphones, Tablets, eReaders, Desktops….Kobo is already on iPhone, Blackberry, Palm Pre and Android. You can already download to an eReader with eInk screens, and very soon – you will be able to use our own eInk App! In February we will begin supporting Tablets running Windows and Android, and in 60 days, we will have Kobo for iPad. This means your books go with you wherever you are. You can bounce from device to device with a seamless reading experience. So, read on your iPad while you are at home. When you’re on your way to work, pick up where you left off on your iPhone or Blackberry. No device lock in.
- We will be EVERYWHERE you live, read, shop. We already have users in 200 countries and that’s a big advantage out of the gate. We have retail and device partners all over the world, and we will be announcing new partners in addition to Borders, Indigo, RedGroup shortly.
- We will be OPEN, in every way.
Today was an exciting day for the eBook market, but it won’t be the last. This market is white hot and we will continue to see more devices, more content, and more innovation coming from Kobo – that I can absolutely guarantee.
{ 4 trackbacks }
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
So, will iBooks be readable on Kobo and Kobo books on iBooks?
Hi Nic,
Apple hasn’t announced what formats iBooks will or won’t use – we heard Steve say ‘ePub’ in his presentation, but can’t be sure as we can’t find it documented yet. If Apple supports the open ePub standard and is open to both exporting their books and importing ours, we will all be playing nicely in the sandbox. We will be sharing information as we receive it – so please stay tuned!
Jordan Christensen
Director, Product Management
Kobo Inc
“We also heard today that Apple recognizes that eBooks are going mainstream, and will launch an eBook store of their own. This is further validation that eBooks are the future, and will no doubt be good for the entire market. ”
Isn’t this a big concern for Kobo? Apple is well financed machine with huge brand name recognition. Sure they may not have a long history with publishers, but their reputation from the music industry will surely bridge the gap.
As a current Kobo reader on my desktop and the Droid (yes, even though I’m in Canada, I got one for my dev work), I’m hyped about the mention of “no device lockin” for “a seamless reading experience.” I already use SugarSync to auto-sync files on my multiple desktops and the Droid, so it’s not much of a stretch to apply cloud technology like that to push epubs and bookmarks onto a bunch of devices. I can’t wait to try it out on the Kobo cloud!
More importantly will be able to only buy chapters of textbooks, instead of having to buy the whole textbook like on iTunes? Will we be able to write notes on the margins? Will this become an effective tool to use for all students alike?
You have to make sure that your reader is as full-featured as the other options out there. The absence of a progression bar & brightness control is the only reason why I still use Stanza.
Does this mean there will be a new app for Android phones in February as well as Android-based readers? I’d like to use Kobo, but the current Shortcovers has too many shortcomings to make it usable. Local download of the book and control over the font size and background color are a must.
Re: Andre
Ditto for me – No progression bar or brightness control keeps me using Stanza.
There’s quite a bit of speculation out there that Apple won’t allow 3rd party eBook apps on the iPad due to them conflicting with iBooks. In the past they’ve denied apps that duplicate their own apps functions. Plus why buy through iBook if you can buy from other stores via apps on the iPad? (such as Kobo) From Apple’s perspective they’d be better off banning all other eBook apps. So are you sure you’ll be able to release an app for the iPad? And if you can how about adding support for any adobe drm’ed (plus non-drmed) epubs so that a user can add the whole of their collection to the app. Not just books form Kobo. This would make the app far more useful.
Why, oh why, are ebooks STILL the same price as regular, printed books??? This is ridiculous! Until ebooks drop significantly in price, there’s nothing compelling in terms of price, for me to buy them. I’d much rather have a bound, printed copy at the same price and if you can’t deliver that, I will NEVER purchase ebooks from you or any other ebook company.
The screenshots of Kobo for iPad look very cool – can’t wait to see what you guys release!
My biggest concern is if Apple will be heavy handed with existing reader applications in the app store and decide that they ‘degrade the iPad user experience’. Since any other reader app could take potential sales away from iBooks.
A suggestion: could you please put some kind of “Share” link on this blog so we can easily share Kobo news on Twitter, Facebook and other social networks. It would be very helpful.
It’s a deal breaker if I’m unable to write, underline, scribble in iPad’s ebooks. So, I’m delighted to find Kobo! I’m very much looking forward to this app! Please inform me of developments.
I appreciate Kobo’s openness regarding other companies’ introduction into the ebook world. As you imply, Apple’s entre is good for everybody and I look forward to reading my Kobo books on my iPad. Keep up the good work.
One comment that is probably already obvious for Kobo: the Kobo bookstore needs to expand exponentially to become a full participant in ebook commerce. I typically will search Kobo first, but in most cases I can only purchase the book in the Kindle Bookstore.
I love Kobo! I’m new to eBooks and wasn’t sure if I would ever switch from reading traditional books. Since I joined Kobo, I have been reading more than ever and enjoy the ability to read on various devices! You certainly have a great product, and I love checking your website daily for new, exciting changes in the eBook industry. As a teacher, I am also exploring the idea of using eBooks with my high school’s students to improve literacy skills and manage the high cost of textbooks. eBooks are certainly the future for readers everywhere!
I really hope that you have read the incredibly informative review of Kobo at http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=71445 and will be taking steps to change the interface and options of your reader app!
At this point, Kobo is severely lacking in features compared to Stanza, and the deficiencies pointed out in that review and thread are ones that you really need to pay attention to fin redesigning Kobo for the iPad. (And for upgrading Kobo for the iPhone and IPT, too.)
I share your excitement over the iPad and Kobo’s potential as a great ebook reader!
Would Kobo be in the camp that fights DRM? And any ideas on making it possible for Linux users to read Kobo books offline?