When it come to e - lecturer , Amazon ’s Kindles have become so prevailing that the brand often gets used interchangeably with the generic term , much like you see with Kleenex for tissues and Frisbees for vanish disc . But that does n’t mean there are n’t viable Kindle alternatives , because for years , Kobo ’s einsteinium - readers have been lurking in the shadow , often brag more tractableness and better feature film than Amazon ’s ubiquitous equipment .
And now , Kobo might have its chance to take exception Kindle in the US , thanks to a partnership between Kobo ’s parent company , Nipponese retail giant Rakuten , and Walmart , which will become the exclusive retail merchant of Kobo devices and depicted object in the States . The partnership ispart of a larger dealthat will also see Walmart launch an on-line grocery delivery service in Japan sometime in the 2nd one-half of 2018 . Additionally , there will be unexampled co - branded Kobo and Walmart e - referee apps for buy content online ( both ebooks and audiobooks ) , with Walmart also offering digital book cards in its computer storage .
The move could be a big step forward for Kobo , as it has often been out ahead of Amazon ’s Kindle when it descend to feature such as H2O - resistance , which debut back on the original Kobo H20 in 2014 , years before Amazon impart it to the newKindle Oasis . Kobo ’s east - reader are also generally a bit more relaxed than Kindles when it occur to DRM , enable people to upload their own ebook files to their gadget . However , it ’s concentrated to say if that will still be the case follow this hatful .
The partnership between Walmart and Rakuten comes just day after Googlestarted deal audiobooks on the Play Storefor the first time , which suddenly has Amazon attend at some serious competition in one of its most entrenched categories .
Consumer TechebooksereadersKindleKoboWalmart
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