Feb 06
Sony recently announced they would be selling off the VAIO brand, however it seems that is not the only change in the works. A more recent announcement deals with Sony’s … Continue reading
Feb 06
Sony is not a company that is swimming in money these days, as the Japanese company has been going through the numbers and making the necessary adjustments in disposing off some of their assets to survive in the years ahead. Hence, it was not surprising to hear that the cost-cutting measures would also enter the e-reader business territory. According to Sony, they will be closing down their Reader store over in the U.S. and Canada sometime in “late March”, where the entire slew of Reader accounts, library content included, would be migrated over to Kobo’s platform in that period of time. Current users have nothing to lose sleep over though, since Sony touts that the entire migration process will be a painless affair. Those who are affected by this migration process will be on the receiving end of an e-mail walkthrough, while this particular deal would also see the Kobo app arrive pre-loaded on select Xperia devices.
Kobo Chosen To Be Sony’s Choice Of eBookstore For The Sony Reader original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Feb 06
If you are one of the remaining Sony e-reader customers we have good news for you. Kobo will take over the Sony Reader Store at the end of March for U.S. and Canadian customers.
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Feb 06
Sony Leaving The E-Book Business Behind, Will Transition Accounts And Purchases To Kobo
Posted in: Today's Chili
Sony is calling it quits in the e-book platform market, the company announced today (via Engadget). The move isn’t entirely unexpected: Sony has always occupied a relatively small portion of the market compared to the big kid on the block Amazon. And in light of recent revenue figures, and the decision to cut the much more recognizable VAIO brand, absolutely no one should be shocked by this decision.
The Reader digital storefront for purchasing e-book titles will be shut down as of next month in the U.S. and Canada. Owners of Sony Readers (I’m looking at you, dad) in those countries shouldn’t be worried about what happens to all their purchases, since Sony is generously migrating accounts and existing libraries intact to Kobo, which works on iOS and Android devices as well as Android hardware. The Kobo Android now will also ship pre-installed on Xperia devices as part of the arrangement.
Sony has yet to reveal exactly how users can switch their content over, but they’ll be sending an email to Reader account holders to detail the process ahead of the projected end of March dead date for the Reader store.
As for Reader hardware, it appears to have been doomed as far back as October last year, at least for the U.S. market, when the company removed the Reader section from its website entirely and listed existing models as discontinued. Moving e-book sales to a partner is probably a smart move, given its existing decision to pull away from that category of devices.
Jan 07
If you’re a digital reader, Kobo has a lineup of tablets you should probably take a look at. Their 7 and 10-inch devices are centric to reading, but also keep … Continue reading
Nov 20
Daily Roundup: Xbox One review, Toyota’s FV2 concept vehicle, an interview with Sony’s Michael Aragon and more!
Posted in: Today's Chili
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Filed under: Misc, Tablets, Transportation, Software, Sony, Microsoft
Nov 20
A tablet for readers has always been a tricky proposition. For starters, the manufacturers that have attempted to create such a thing also make dedicated e-readers — devices with longer battery life and screens designed to make text look as much like print as possible. Barnes & Noble has given the category a shot with its Nook Tablets, though there are lingering questions as to whether that line will even survive. Amazon, meanwhile, has gone the opposite route, with reading representing just one of many features. Kobo’s latest readers see the company doubling down on reading, with a trio of tablets built around a reading core.
The Arc 10HD is the top-of-the-line model, a slate that doesn’t skimp on the specs (or price, for that matter, at $400). Most notably, it maintains a clear focus, promising to be (in Kobo’s own PR speak) “the best 10-inch HD tablet for readers.” For Kobo, that means loading up on book-centric features, including one that turns off all of those tablety distractions so you can just read. What, precisely, does it mean to be “the best 10-inch HD tablet for readers”? Does Kobo even deserve that distinction? Most importantly, is it a category within a category that really needs to exist in the first place?
Filed under: Tablets
Nov 19
Welcome to Engadget’s holiday gift guide! Head back to our hub to see the rest of the product guides as they’re added throughout the month.
Weighing your e-reader options isn’t as difficult as, say, deciding on a new smartphone. There are fewer models to sift through, for one, and your allegiance to Amazon or B&N could further narrow things down. Still, you have a range of options in every camp — from barebones devices meant for reading and nothing else to full-fledged tablets with the higher-end specs to match. Below, we make the case for some of our top picks.
Oct 20
We did bring you word about the existence of the Kobo Arc 7 HD and Kobo Arc 10 HD at the end of August, and here we are, nearing the end of October, with word that both tablets have already made their way over to the FCC for approval. That can only mean one thing upon approval, that both devices are well on their way to hit store shelves. Majority of the details on the FCC site do seem to be concerned about regulatory tests that touch on the wireless capabilities of the tablets, although it is also not rare to find other interesting bit of details such as user manuals which are equipped with useful drawings and diagrams that depict just how you would do things such as to turn the tablet off, to enable airplane mode, or adjust other settings. Elementary stuff, really.
Just to refresh our memories, the Kobo Arc 10 HD happens to be a decent performer on paper, with a 10.1” 2560 x 1600 pixel display, an NVIDIA Tegra 4 quad-core processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB of internal memory, and up to 9.5 hours of battery life, carrying an expected price tag of $400. As for the Kobo Arc 7 HD tablet, it does seem to be geared more towards the budget oriented bunch, sporting a $199 price tag with a 7” 1920 x 1200 pixel display, an NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor, 1GB RAM, and anywhere from 16GB to 32GB of internal memory.
Kobo Arc 7 HD And Kobo Arc 10 HD Make FCC Appearance original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Sep 06
Daily Roundup: iPhone 5S and 5C rumors, Distro Issue 106, LG Nexus 5 at the FCC, and more!
Posted in: Today's Chili
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
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