04-24-2014, 06:03 PM | #1 | |
Grand Sorcerer
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Toronto-based e-reader Kobo lays off 63 people
From The Toronto Star
http://www.thestar.com/business/tech...63_people.html Quote:
Last edited by Dr. Drib; 05-02-2014 at 11:10 AM. |
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04-24-2014, 06:12 PM | #2 |
Nameless Being
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I think the only way they will strengthen their business is to hire programmers who can get the firmware working correctly on their readers. Otherwise they are a dead eReader company walking. I still find it amusing that Sony closed their eBookstore and turned it over to Kobo, a company on the edge of dying. No doubt Amazon is rejoicing.
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04-24-2014, 08:14 PM | #3 |
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It's never good news for a company to lay off its employees.
I hate to see Amazon Kindle be the only player in the ereader market. |
04-24-2014, 11:01 PM | #4 |
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That's bad news. I hope Kobo is still going strong.
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04-25-2014, 07:16 AM | #5 | |
Wizard
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Quote:
No good when people lose their jobs but a 15+% reduction in staff.....is this a restructure or the early stages of writing on the wall? |
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04-25-2014, 09:12 AM | #6 | |
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04-25-2014, 09:40 AM | #7 |
o saeclum infacetum
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I don't like Kobo; their devices are buggy and their customer service is atrocious. But the bulk of my elibrary has been purchased from them, for reasons everyone here will know. So, if Kobo's starting to look at the bottom line, does this mean the end of contests, generous discounts, multi-use coupons and even "traveling"?
I have a list of books that was awaiting the next 75% off coupon (and one that will only be purchased with a 90% one) and another list of books that are only available offshore. When/if there's another contest, I suspect I'll jump if the deal's good. Frankly, I had thought the gravy train would have ended already and now there's some evidence that things are trending in that direction. |
04-25-2014, 10:08 AM | #8 |
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I have not seen a Kobo in person in the US. I have not seen it at a store or being used. The only advertising I hear for it is on NPR which reaches a niche audience. A niche audience that probably already has e-readers and those who don't are part of the "I only read paper books" crowd. No problem with that attitude but not the best marketing. Toss in a wonky firmware and you have an e-reader that could be a competitor but is not really working all that hard at it.
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04-25-2014, 10:29 AM | #9 |
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Adds a bit of bite to their claims they can't survive in Canada without price-fixing; if their dominant market share and continuing price-fix regime can't keep them in business, then surely they must be protected even more, right?
As for their US operation, they might do just a wee bit better if Rakuten could be bothered to at least link them to their website and search results. Mostly I curious to see who got pink-slipped and where and who got reassigned. I do suspect we've seen the last Kobo tablet. I also expect we'll be hearing of a new Kobo educational initiative any moment now... |
04-25-2014, 10:37 AM | #10 |
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04-25-2014, 10:47 AM | #11 | |
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Then came the Arc which was not competitively priced, and as we all know now, was a black hole of support neediness with a crashing launcher and whatnot. (I love my original Arc, and still use it several times a week, but I personally opined to an indie bookstore owner that he should not even think about selling them, given the retail terms, the glut of 7" wonders on the market, and the caprice of consumers when it comes to simple things like not proving an SDcard slot.) |
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04-25-2014, 11:22 AM | #12 | |
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But getting into android tablets was simply unnecessary--overreach plain and simple. The resources that went into the Arc software should've gone into the Android app. |
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04-25-2014, 11:39 AM | #13 | |
Nameless Being
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04-25-2014, 01:08 PM | #14 |
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While I have Kobo readers that I'm fond of, I buy most of my books from Amazon. I'm very leery of purchasing a book from Kobo and not knowing if I'll be able to download it until after the purchase. There's also a limit on the premium that I'm willing to pay to support Kobo. The vast majority of the books that I've checked before purchasing were more expensive on Kobo's site, usually at least $2 more and sometimes twice as much. Very few of the books I've wanted to purchase recently allow the application of coupons (maybe I'm just incredibly unlucky). I'm not going through the hassle of "traveling" when I can just go buy the book from Amazon at a reasonable price.
I've come to prefer sideloading my books anyway, since I can replace the fonts, font sizing, and line height from the publisher. That applies regardless of the source of the book. It's not an issue of 'bad formatting', just what is easiest on my eyes for extended reading. |
04-26-2014, 04:14 AM | #15 | |
Wizard
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Publishers shooting themselves in the foot again. |
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