Check it out. From John Biggs: "Borders just announced that they’re selling the Kobo eReader, an $149 ebook touted, by Wired, no less, as a Kindle killer. This device isn’t formally Border’s only ebook reader. Instead, they will sell multiple readers online and in stores and the real news is that they’re creating an ebook store that will act as their default spot on the interwebs for ebooks and content. If you pre-order – and you probably don’t want to – you’ll get your Kobo by June 17. While I doubt the Kobo will sell at all, the more compelling offering is Borders’ ebook store featuring 'a million titles' with apps for the iPhone, Blackberry, and Android as well as the iPad. While I’d prefer all my content in one place on each of these devices – an overarching umbrella ebook app, perhaps – having a bit of overlap is always fun and some stores – Apple’s for example – are missing large parts of the catalog due to rights reasons. Regardless, it’s nice to know Borders is no longer absolutely irrelevant in the world of ebooks."
This from the San Francisco Chronicle: "If black-and-white 'e-ink' e-readers have any chance to compete with more sophisticated tablets like Apple's iPad, they had better be cheap. And that's the best feature of Borders' new Kindle clone: At $150, Kobo is by far the cheapest of the bunch. But at first glance, that's about all that sets it apart from the Kindle. It's going to be hard for any of the e-ink rivals to come close to Amazon's leading brand recognition, especially as the Kindle starts to sell in retail stores like Target."
