Borders gets in e-reader game with Kobo launch

ANN ARBOR, Mich. Borders has announced a new digital initiative and is taking pre-orders for its Kobo e-reader. The company said that it will debut its Kobo e-book store next month. The Kobo e-reader will be sold along aside other e-reading devices in special digital shops called "Area-e," launching in August.

The Kobo will retail for $149.99 and will come preloaded with 100 classic books, the company reported. Borders said that pre-orders will begin arriving in customers' homes on June 17.

"We're excited to offer the Kobo e-reader to our customers, the first of what will be a wide selection of e-readers we'll sell, along with an online store that supports a variety of devices, giving consumers freedom in the e-book world at the best possible value," said Borders Group interim president and CEO Mike Edwards. "We are giving consumers the flexibility to read the content they want on a variety of devices of their choosing. The Borders e-book store will be positioned as a device-agnostic, content-focused destination with expertise from decades of deep book knowledge and experience. We'll also have a strong in-store digital presence through our Area-e boutiques, which will launch in August.  It's a niche position within our industry and one where we fully intend to leverage our knowledge and products to serve the growing eReading needs of our customers."