Kobo tries to spur new readers through free books

Kobo is trying a unique strategy to lure readers away from Amazon, Apple, and Barnes & Noble by promising regular free e-books. Anyone who buys a Kobo Touch and first uses it on or before March 31 gets a free e-book each month. The publishers include Harvard Business Review Press, e-Reads, F+W Media, Gooseberry Patch, and New Word City, as well as four independent authors.

The book choice comes from Kobo itself and will include two F+W titles and one from Harvard. All books are permanent, however, and aren't contingent on any minimum guarantees. They should work beyond the Kobo Touch and load on iOS, Android, and the BlackBerry PlayBook.

Its discount comes on the heels of the Kindle Fire, Kindle Touch, and Nook Tablet, along with the growing base of general tablet reading on the iPad and Android tablets. Kobo has faced an uphill battle in the US without Borders' help and is now selling itself to Rakuten, in part to get a level of scale that its rivals don't have. [via mocoNews]

By Electronista Staff

Post tools:

TAGS :  

Amazon, iPhone, industry, gadgets, digital imaging, Android, BlackBerry, iPhone apps, Kindle, Barnes & Noble, Nook, Kobo, iPad, iPad apps, PlayBook, Rakuten