Borders is getting in on the action with its release of the Kobe e-reader. At a price point of $149, this is the most least expensive e-reader out there. While it does not dote the features present in the Nook or Kindle, its a great value for those those who simply want a no-trills reading alternative. Coupled with the ipad's release, e-reader manufacturers need to make lower-cost devices in order to continue to appeal to the public. Barnes and Nobles is expected to launch a $199 Nook Lite later this year and Amazon will almost surely follow suit.
The Kobe e-reader is simplistic in design and erogromic, making it feel more natural in your hands. The "quilted" back appears to double as a trademark selling point and extra grip. It sports a single usb and SD card slot, with an on-board memory offering of 1 gigabyte (about 1,000 books). Consumers can create a Kobe account to buy books for the device. However, there is an absence of 3G or wi-fi capability, instead offerring bluetooth as your wireless solution. It has an excellent expected battery life of 2 weeks or 8,000 pages.
Some of the cons for the device are that it only supports e-Pub and PDF formats. There is no web browser, games, apps, etc. that are found on devices such as the Nook. At this point in the e-reader market, you are getting exactly what you paid for. For consumers the Kobe is a step toward the right direction. It may even be worth waiting to see how the other e-reader giants respond to the Kobe. With its first pre-orders sold out till early July, the competition will need an answer...
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