Amazon competitor Bookshop.org says Kobo e-reader support will happen this year after all

If you’re looking for an e-reader that allows you to bargain costly bestsellers from your section autarkic bookshops, your probe volition inevitably constituent you to Rakuten’s Kobo eReader. But, arsenic it turns out, this estimation is mostly based connected outdated methods for buying Kobo books, involving signing up for a Kobo relationship from bookshops’ websites.

While determination are a fistful of indie bookshops nationwide inactive supporting Kobo done this website method, astir of that benignant of enactment ended years ago. I’ve recovered it intolerable to bargain e-books for my precocious purchased Kobo from immoderate of my local, beloved bookshops.

I privation to enactment these bookshops, and I don’t privation to ain a carnal transcript of each publication I read. I besides privation to usage an e-reader alternatively than an Android oregon iOS app connected a telephone oregon tablet due to the fact that e-readers connection agelong artillery life, integer ink, and low-glare screens. These let maine to work comfortably for hours, adjacent outdoors, akin to a carnal book.

One solution for Kobo owners, primitively promised for 2025, was a concern with Bookshop.org, an Amazon rival that supports section bookshops with each order. Bookshop.org presently offers e-books done its mobile app for iOS and Android.

That partnership was astatine archetypal promised for 2025 and past delayed to 2026, and for a little clip earlier this year, looked similar it would beryllium delayed indefinitely.

After Bookshop.org changed the wording connected its webpage referencing Kobo support, removing “2026” and replacing it with “sometime successful the future,” I reached retired to get a presumption update.

Bookshop.org’s laminitis and CEO, Andy Hunter, told maine successful an emailed reply that advancement with Kobo has present been made. The webpage has been updated, saying erstwhile again that enactment is expected to rotation retired “later this year.”

“The Kobo integration is thing some Kobo and Bookshop.org want to marque happen,” Hunter said.

The hold-up has been some connected the concern broadside and engineering to guarantee it is “done successful specified a mode that respects steadfast requirements for integer rights management. It took america immoderate clip to hammer retired the concern presumption and allocate the indispensable engineering resources,” helium explained.

Hunter, whose institution besides competes with Amazon by selling carnal books, says his engineers person been focused connected improving the mobile instrumentality app, which launched astir 15 months ago.

Their attraction is present being returned to Kobo support, albeit the timing remains vague. “We person precocious settled connected concern presumption with Kobo, and we are assured the collaboration is going to happen, but can’t committedness a circumstantial motorboat day until the engineering enactment is further along,” Hunter said.

Obviously, whether oregon not Bookshop.org ever figures retired Kobo support, Kobo users don’t person to bargain each their books from Japanese-based e-commerce elephantine Rakuten. Kobo users tin work a ample enactment of integer rights absorption (DRM)-free books connected their readers, and a ample enactment (though not all) of library books offered done Overdrive. Independent e-book store Books.com besides delivers DRM-protected books successful a format that Kobo supports, it says.

Another solution, should your extremity beryllium to enactment section bookshops with e-book purchases, is to usage a antithetic e-reader. An Android scholar similar Boox oregon Meebook that supports the Google Play app store should beryllium capable to download Bookshop.org’s app, the bookseller says.

Still, similar countless different Kobo owners, I’m rooting for the Bookshop.org integration to materialize. Supporting section autarkic bookstores was my main information for buying this peculiar e-reader, misled arsenic I was by my online probe (and the assured proposal of ChatGPT).

Now that I ain a Kobo Libra Colour, I truly bash emotion its speechmaking screen, accelerated response, and agelong artillery life. I besides proceed to clasp onto my six-year-old Kindle for the aforesaid reasons.

But I besides emotion the local, small-business bookstores with their personalized recommendations, enactment of section authors, and sheer emotion of books. Here’s hoping that the apical e-commerce tract that supports section shops, Bookshop.org, volition soon really enactment the fashionable Kobo device, which claims 12 million users in 190 countries.