iframe src=”http://player.vimeo.com/video/15337155″ width=”400″ height=”300″ frameborder=”0″>
Kobo with BBM from Kobo on Vimeo.
It’s looking more and more like eBooks are the “killer feature” for tablets. Everyone is bragging about ebook integration into their tablets, from the iPad and iBooks to Kobo being native on the Galaxy Tab and now on the Blackberry Playbook as well! Not to be outdone, Amazon also announced they’ll have Kindle for Playbook available on launch.
The Kobo news is very interesting. As I’ve said before, Kobo makes up for their smaller marketshare by striking deals with anyone and everyone they can. One of the ways Kobo (and RIM) are trying to bring a unique angle to the Playbook offerings is by making the reading experience more “social” in nature.
Kobo’s video, while without any detailed shots, gives a very good overview of how they imagine the service will work. Imagine a mashup of blackberry messenger, Amazon’s twitter/facebook integration, and Goodreads friend-driven reviews, and that’s what you get. If it works well, I can see this making virtual book clubs a snap to create, and could be a real boon to study groups in college settings.
Amazon also was very quick to announce a Playbook Kindle app. Details are thin, but it will offer the same whispersync integration as all of Amazon’s Kindle apps and devices. One other item that caught my eye in Amazon’s press release; they made a point of saying 108 of the 111 New York Times bestsellers are available on Kindle. Makes me wonder what the 3 holdouts are…In any case, check out Amazon’s full press release here!
Admittedly, neither of these announcements make me want to run out and buy a Blackberry Playbook right away, but it’s still a positive to see RIM pushing the ebook envelope. I also really want to see Kobo’s new software appear on more devices! What’s your take on the new offerings? Share your thoughts below!
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