ArsTechnica

Gear & Gadgets / Product News & Reviews

Borders’ e-book store no competition for dedicated devices

Borders has announced that it, too, is launching its own e-book storefront in …

Borders has decided to follow everyone else's lead and join the e-book party. The company announced Wednesday that it has partnered with e-reading service Kobo to launch its own store geared towards mobile devices. The problem, though, is that Borders is both late to the game and also appears to have no dedicated device in mind, meaning that its e-book store will end up grouped with the handfuls of others that the masses aren't even aware of.

Kobo's schtick is that it develops storefronts across a variety of mobile platforms, including the iPhone, BlackBerry, Pre, and Android (not to mention the Sony eReader). For example, Kobo already has a free storefront of its own in Apple's App Store, where you can buy all manner of e-books—the idea is that Kobo will create a branded version of its own e-book store for Borders to do pretty much the exact same thing, and across multiple devices. Borders hopes to launch sometime in the second quarter of 2010.

The obvious comparison to make would be to pit Borders against its real-life bookselling rival, Barnes & Noble. However, because B&N will soon offer its own e-reading device and not just a mobile storefront, it puts B&N much more in competition with Sony and Amazon, and Borders in competition with the plethora of other e-reading storefronts without an obvious home. On the iPhone alone, there are double digits of e-book applications that may diverge a bit in UI and usability, but all offer the same basic functionality. Classics, eReader, Eucalyptus, and Stanza are just a few that are already quite popular within that space, and there are plenty more that aren't that well known.

In that sense, Borders launching an e-book storefront in 2010 is kind of like me deciding to open an online music store tomorrow—everyone is doing it (or has already done it) and it's easy to fall into the background. Interpret, LLC VP of Strategy and Analysis Michael Gartenberg agrees, and told Ars that the e-book marketplace is already getting crowded and, like music stores, most won't survive in the long term. "The key will be differentiated marketplaces with the largest catalogs of tier one content—1 million public domain books that no one wants to read don't count—those who can differentiate on content price and finally those marketplaces that work with the most compelling devices that capture consumer attention," he said.

Expand full story

26 Reader Comments

  1. All this will be moot, when Apple comes in and creates the iTunes (egads...) Book Store.

    The Kindle might be the only thing that survives the onslaught, because of the mindshare it already has...
    2712 posts | registered
  2. Apple can just reuse their iBook name for that.

    "the idea is that Kobo will create a branded version of its own e-book store for Borders to do pretty much the exact same thing, and across multiple devices"

    Wow. Branding. That's something that could be tied in with that article about the internet 10 years ago. All the marketing peeps at my first .com would talk about was branding this and branding that.
    9356 posts | registered
  3. B&N isn't offering the Nook "soon." It's out now. They have sold them to people.
    651 posts | registered
  4. Won't buy ebooks. I'm getting really tired of "leasing" the things I used to buy. I really love the idea, convenience wise, but seriously. At least with the Nook you can lend books. But only for 2 weeks? And what's the price? Forget it. They're getting there. Let me know when I can GIVE MY BOOKS AWAY to another user. Then I'm good with these things. Also, I want a GUARANTEE that they can't remove/edit books I've purchased without my permission. And by that I mean a notification when the book is being updated/removed, not some line in the boilerplate legalese. :P

    (edited to clarify "my permission")
    298 posts | registered
  5. quote:
    Originally posted by joehonkie:
    B&N isn't offering the Nook "soon." It's out now. They have sold them to people.


    They are sold out of most stores but you can pre-order and get one in January or Feb. Its a really nice device, was wary of it at first but with some hands on use it is pretty cool, less annoying than reading on a PC screen, that is for sure.
    2675 posts | registered
  6. Um Ars, bad research!

    They've also announced they're working on reader hardware.
    2342 posts | registered
  7. If the e-Books are available across all hardware, the more storefronts the better.

    Are these books from Borders going to be locked to proprietary reading software (and, as someone pointed out, eventually hardware)?
    18571 posts | registered
  8. I think e-books will take off when the publishers start including them with the dead tree versions, kind of like how "digital copies" are bundled with Blu-rays now.

    A DRM'd e-book is just a rental, but if it's included with the dead tree, it's a convenience.
    198 posts | registered
  9. B-but is it compatible with ReadsForSure? I've thrown my hat in with Steam for games, mostly because of their sale prices, but also because it's safe to figure that most games aren't worth revisiting much.

    For consuming music, text, and video - I don't know what portable I'll be using 5 years from now. It's safe to say that it won't be from all of these companies at once, so any data I buy from them is at risk.
    883 posts | registered
  10. Technically Borders' has a pseudo store through Sony. Any Sony Reader you purchase there goes through a Borders' branded version of Sony's store...
    5143 posts | registered
  11. Is there really a big enough market to warrant another competitor? I'm shooting from the hip here, but I'd imagine the sales numbers dictate that in order for any foray into the e-book market to be successful, you'd have to go big and capture a nominal percentage of the e-customers.

    If that's actually the case, entering the competition with a mediocre "same as everyone else" offering is a bad idea...it won't get anybody excited about your service, and thusly won't generate the free adverising buzz (magazines, blogs, word of mouth, etc.)
    177 posts | registered
  12. Maybe I'm dense when it comes to the e-book market... but what formats are available from the Border's marketplace?

    If it's an enhanced PDF and DRM free, I think they have an edge over some of the competitors already.

    As for the speculation to the cost/benefit of the e-book market penetration without a device - Borders could just be laying the groundwork. It would be a safer bet to invest in an e-book marketplace first instead of throwing all your eggs in the portable-device-basket right away.
    1016 posts | registered
  13. quote:
    Originally posted by burndive:
    I think e-books will take off when the publishers start including them with the dead tree versions, kind of like how "digital copies" are bundled with Blu-rays now.

    A DRM'd e-book is just a rental, but if it's included with the dead tree, it's a convenience.

    I'd like that as well. I think a lot of people would want the convenience of having a digital version of a book - like reading a great review and downloading the book instantly.
    However, I know a lot of people who either don't like the idea of getting only a digital copy that they don't even really fully control, or who like the idea of a physical Library where they can display the books.
    And physical books can be beautiful and great things.

    Being able to, for instance, buy a book online, get the physical copy shipped and download the digital version instantly would be a huge draw to a lot of people.

    Of course publishers so far (RIAA, I'm looking in your direction) haven't proven willing to price digital copies much lower than physical copies, and I don't see a lot of people paying twice the price, PLUS shipping to get a digital and physical copy.

    So either it'll never happen, or publishers need to understand that while $9.99 is fair for a new paperback, it is NOT really fair for a digital copy.
    Particularly when digital books can really take advantage of economics of scale, what with the variable cost being pretty much $0.

    Given that I already read a massive amount of digital books on my iPhone and don't really feel it inferior in any way to a physical book after the acclimatization period (which actually happened on my old Toshiba PDA which had a much worse screen), I really would like to see digital books take off in a format not linked to a specifik device or reader, and at a price that is proportionate to the product.

    I don't feel confident it will happen based on how music went digital.

    L.
    13949 posts | registered
  14. I agree with the bad research comment.

    a) No mention of the book format.
    b) Borders sells regular books online, but for some reason eBooks online is a crowded market and only a few will survive? What's the difference?
    c) Focus entirely on the iPhone as a book reader!?!

    The format will be ePUB. That means it should work on all eReaders except the Kindle. So they don't need "dedicated hardware," since non-dedicated hardware already exists (if they want a hardware link, they could easily sell the Sony Readers on their site).

    This is how it should be. You buy your reader of choice: Sony eReader, Nook, Illiad, (some day, maybe) Kindle, etc. You go to whatever store you want to buy your books: B&N, Borders, Sony, (some day, maybe) Amazon, etc. This fosters competition on both ends.

    Vendor Lock-in sucks! Lookin' at you Amazon!

    quote:
    Originally JabberWocky:
    If it's an enhanced PDF and DRM free, I think they have an edge over some of the competitors already.

    PDF sucks on e-Ink sized screens, since it can't be re-flowed (99.9% of the time), and is typically layed out for 8.5x11. The Kindle Super Sized, and Sony 900 exist for exactly this reason! (As I said above, they'll use ePUB which is flowable.)

    DRM free isn't in the cards anywhere yet. Publishers are afraid of piracy, just like music labels were when the iTunes store opened. I suspect eventually they will be DRM free, as iTunes went, but it will take time. How long was it for iTunes?

    -Pie
    1781 posts | registered
  15. Wow.. Borders has apparently learned exactly nothing in the last decade. I worked for Borders when they first partnered with Amazon, and at the time thought it the best of a bad situation. They were years behind the other major book chains in getting an online presence.

    It's a pity, but I think Borders is doomed. They keep making the same mistakes, and the brick and mortar book market is unable to support as many chains as are out there. They'll either be gone in five years, or much smaller.
    70 posts | registered
  16. Borders seems to have other signs of not doing so well.

    The last few borders I've been in have large swaths of empty floor space. They're not putting as many books in their physical stores anymore..

    Why lease a gigantic space if you're going to leave it empty?
    1489 posts | registered
  17. quote:
    Originally posted by Dawn Falcon:
    Um Ars, bad research!

    They've also announced they're working on reader hardware.


    I've seen this thrown around a lot, but all I can find to back it up is Kobo saying *they* are working on bringing an e-reader to market. That doesn't mean it'll be Borders branded; Kobo is partnering with Borders in the US, but with other companies in other countries.

    Though I won't disagree with your "bad research" accusation. As many have pointed out, the Nook is already out (and in fact books purchased from Kobo can be read on a Nook).

    For those who asked, Kobo publishes in ePub format.
    88 posts | registered
  18. quote:
    Originally posted by EatingPie:
    I agree with the bad research comment.
    ...
    The format will be ePUB. That means it should work on all eReaders except the Kindle.
    ...
    Vendor Lock-in sucks! Lookin' at you Amazon!

    Actually, I use the FOSS Calibre http://calibre-ebook.com/ to convert ePUBs to TXTs that I then drag & drop onto my Gen1 Kindle. Calibre will function as an actual e-book library manager, but it can be used just to convert files.

    Here's the complete list of in/output formats Calibre handles: http://calibre-ebook.com/user_...t-conversion-to-from.

    Look who's showing the bad research now? ;-)

    (edited to remove bad link mark-up)

    This comment was edited by irishdaze on December 16, 2009 20:45
    22 posts | registered
  19. I like how the Sony Reader was one of the first on the market but for some reason people act like it doesn't exist...
    35974 posts | registered
  20. Standard Adobe hard DRM´ed ePubs are the second best choice for commercial eBooks
    "Social DRM" ePubs either via visible or hidden customer information are the best.
    Lock-in to a certain vendors reader or reader software on a smart phone is the worst imaginable.

    How in the world Ars thinks you get lost in the crowd when so few resellers are offering the two first solutions is beyond me. Amazon is the worst in this regard (no, removing DRM and screwing up the ePub format to get your book on the Kindl is not an solution, its a hack), at least B&N is offering a reader that will take ePub with or without Adobe DRM, including library books.

    It seems like it has become all the rage to be able to buy a book directly on the device. I am far from certain that will be regarded as such a great feature when people start to realize the vendor lock in that comes with that model.
    5778 posts | registered
  21. Well, if my experiences in a B&M Borders are any indication, it won't be duplicative of anything already available.

    They were great at stocking tons of books no one ever heard of and very few wanted (100 copies of "Bolts Used on WWII Flying Machines" or "Chicken Soup for the People Who Love Angels and the People Who Don't Understand Them" or "The Chocaholics Diet").
    37644 posts | registered
  22. I'm not that adverse on the price of the readers at the moment, especially with all the newly announced models around $200. What's stopping me (and probably many others) from jumping in is the absurd prices of the ebooks themselves. Considering that almost the only cost to the publisher for the ebook is their payment to the author, I see no reason for them to be more than $5 for new ones, and $2-3 for older titles. They no longer have to operate large "factories" that can print, collate, bind, and ship millions of copies of thousands of different books. Online stores won't need massive warehouses throughout the country to keep stock in.

    For the $6-10 to buy an ebook, I'd rather have the stack of paper sitting on my shelf. I'd be willing to spend an extra $1-2 with every hardcover book I buy if it allowed me to log in and download the ebook if I wanted it later. Treating them as a bonus item would probably create more sales and possibly lead to more customer lock in because they won't want to have to try and remember which store they bought which book from if they wanted to read it and weren't at home.
    2091 posts | registered
  23. quote:
    Originally posted by Jim Z:
    I like how the Sony Reader was one of the first on the market but for some reason people act like it doesn't exist...


    I think it's because it is actually one of the more open devices in the market, which is mind-boggling for a Sony product. Heck, it accepts SD cards and supports pretty much all of the major ebook and document formats.
    2611 posts | registered
  24. Does this have anything to do with Borders closing it's doors on December 22nd unless they find a buyer?
    http://www.thebookseller.com/n...r-comes-forward.html
    133 posts | registered
  25. quote:
    Originally posted by burndive:
    I think e-books will take off when the publishers start including them with the dead tree versions, kind of like how "digital copies" are bundled with Blu-rays now.


    Baen has been doing this for years, with CDs of a bunch of e-books in the back cover of many of their hard covers. You can also download them.

    This is why I have a bunch of Baen titles on my Aztak Pocket Pro. Some I bought, some are free.

    I welcome more competition. I have a nice, linux-running e-reader that will work with all the formats except for B&N's proprietary format. There are tons of books I can download, free or pay, legally. This is a Good Thing.

    Hardware and store lock-ins are just foolish.
    81 posts | registered
  26. phatbhuda - Nope! That article is confusing, they're actually referring to Borders UK, which is a separate company.

    irishdaze - You forget to mention the DRM stripping, which is illegal in some countries.

    EatingPie - Well, it does depend on the PDF. Technical manuals and such, yes, but the Sony's do reasonably well with novels and so on. The best reflow is on the Iliad, mind you. And occasionally you'll come across a PDF optimised for ereader screen sizes, which looks fine.

    qibhom - you mean http://baencd.thefifthimperium.com/ ? Smile (yes, legal)
    2342 posts | registered

You must to comment.

   
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2009/12/borders-to-join-rest-of-universe-with-e-book-storefront/?comments=1&post=83456
arstechnica.com
crawl=CC-MAIN-2015-27
111339
application/http; msgtype=response
sha1:3UJYDX65MHO4GPIJWAQ7RFLYWDWNUIZC
<urn:uuid:ae53f419-93c9-43d8-9568-c8985f6102b9>
2015-07-03T08:51:01Z
50.31.151.33
sha1:Q2IDJYSXB3GWQM7YMGVTQMY74ORSXUF2
<urn:uuid:3aa36b4b-5e1b-45c1-a084-4c5af1436fc6>
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2009/12/borders-to-join-rest-of-universe-with-e-book-storefront/?comments=1&post=83456
length
response
<urn:uuid:9b93dc43-e257-4de5-8d46-23a9cdeb95d9>
robots: classic
hostname: ip-10-179-60-89.ec2.internal
software: Nutch 1.6 (CC)/CC WarcExport 1.0
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2015-27
operator: CommonCrawl Admin
description: Wide crawl of the web for June 2015
publisher: CommonCrawl
format: WARC File Format 1.0
conformsTo: http://bibnum.bnf.fr/WARC/WARC_ISO_28500_version1_latestdraft.pdf