Book retailer Borders Australia’s planned e-books operation is likely to charge something close to A$200 for its Kobo e-reader device when it launches its Australian service in June, according to Web reports.
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That gels with the US experience where Borders USA – now only loosely connected with the Australian operation – plans to charge US$149.99 for the e-reader.
While this is well below the price of Amazon.com’s Kindle ($300-plus, delivered to Australia) or Apple’s iPad (from $629), the Kobo has a major disadvantage.
Unlike either of those devices it cannot directly download books. Titles must first be ordered from Borders, then downloaded to a Windows PC or Mac, and finally transferred to the Kobo e-reader.
In the US, the Kobo will come preloaded with 100 “classic” books (you can safely bet on Pride and Prejudice and Tarzan of the Apes). Overall the US Borders e-book store will have more than one million titles, the company says.
Shoppers will be able to buy titles through the Borders Web site as well as via free apps available for the iPhone, Blackberry, Android, iPad and personal computers.

