It's a good time to avoid investing in bloodied booksellers, but their battle remains interesting to watch from afar. Borders Group
With Kobo's help, Borders will peddle e-books on its website. Interestingly, Borders has set the ambitious goal of reaching 17% market share by 2011. Barnes & Noble
Through its relationship with Kobo, Borders seems to be pursuing the "ease" and "discount" segment of the e-book market. The Kobo e-Reader costs $149.99 -- until recently, a fairly cheap price tag.
But Barnes & Noble recently lowered the Nook's price tag to $199 from $259, and then launched a WiFi-only version for the same price as Kobo. Amazon.com
These breaking developments are bad news for Borders, since Kobo was considered a cheaper, no-frills e-reader. Now rivals' products (with more features!) are selling for comparable prices. The next stage may be that Borders pursues bargain hunters by offering rock-bottom prices on its titles, which wouldn't be good for the bookseller's margins. (It might not go over so well with some publishers, either -- just ask Amazon.)
Borders has already been offering compelling e-book deals. Last week, I received an email from Borders' mailing list, proclaiming, "Learn How to Go Digital. IT'S EASY!" As a Kindle owner, I'd vouch for its ease of use; perhaps Borders is trying to lure outright technophobes. Then again, Kindle recently started showing up on Target's
Needless to say, Apple's
You could argue that this push is better late than never for Borders. Ignoring the growing e-book market would have been suicide. Then again, Barnes & Noble's recent downer quarter may suggest that duking it out in the digital realm is little more than an expensive battle to the death for big-box booksellers. I'd still say "buyer beware" regarding Barnes & Noble and especially Borders right now.
Who'll rule the e-book business? Take our poll, then explain your choice in the comments box below.
