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Responding quickly to Amazon’s Kindle Fire e-reading
tablet, e-book retailer Kobo is releasing Kobo Vox, a seven inch,
full-color, multimedia digital reading device for $200. Reminiscent of
both the Kindle Fire and B&N’s NookColor, the new device runs the
Android 2.3 OS and offers access to 15,000 free apps.
The new Kobo Vox
is available for pre-order and offers all the functionality—read books,
magazines and newspapers, play games and use apps, listen to music,
watch videos and movies—consumers expect from tablet devices. It also
looks like B&N’s NookColor has really set the standard for competing
in a tablet marketplace utterly dominated by the iPad. B&N’s notion
that a seven inch, reasonably priced tablet (half the price of an iPad)
with full multimedia functionality; designed for a targeted range of
media consumption, seems to have hit a sweet point in the digital
marketplace and is driving the development of these new reading/media
devices.
The new device supports Kobo’s Reading Life, a social media
application that lets you see what your friends are reading, keeps stats
of your reading habits, offers amusing badges for reading
accomplishments. The device also supports Kobo Pulse, a more recent
addition to Kobo's reading social media that allows readers to start
conversations with other readers on any page of any Kobo e-book. The
device also allows users to web browse and access their email.
In a phone interview, Kobo CEO Michael Serbinis said Kobo believes
in “open platforms” and the Android 2.3 operating system will support
standard Android apps—including other reading and selling apps. “We're
an open platform and the Android 2.3 OS we're using is not locked down.
Of course we expect people will use the Kobo reading app,” he said.
Serbinis said the devices can be pre-ordered right now and shipping will
begin late next week.
Kobo Vox will have a branded app store offering 15,000 free apps
optimized for the Kobo Vox, including pre-loaded apps from RDIO
(streaming music), Zinio (magazines, including 12 free promotions),
PressReader (newspapers) and social media (Twitter and a Facebook app on
the home screen). There are pre-loaded apps for games and an installed
dictionary as well as more content (including comics and graphc novels,
cook books and other color illustrated works) and more applications
through both the Kobo app store and Android Market. Serbinis said the
Kobo Vox app store will eventually offer more for-pay apps optimized for
the device and that developers can develop and submit apps for the
device.
Serbinis acknowledged that Kobo Vox also offers more opportunities
for self-publishing, a service which Kobo does provide although it is
not marketed. Currently Kobo does not offer the easy self-service
approach of Amazon or B&N’s self-publishing services.
“Self-publishing is an exciting category,” Serbinis said, “We do some
self-publishing and its growing but we don’t have a self-service
program. We’ll have more news coming on self-publishing but no
announcements today.”
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