Kobo CEO Mike Serbinis is ready to take on some big names with his new e-reader device.Kevin Van Paassen/The Globe and Mail
The airy, exposed-brick Toronto offices of fledgling e-reader company are so new, they still don't have a receptionist. But the people behind Indigo's little challenger to the Kindle are already seeing it in very big terms: as the Apple of the digital book world.
What's behind that ambition isn't just the e-reader device that launches Saturday - a lightweight gadget the size of a small paperback, with the Kindle-like imitation ink screen and a $150 price, set to undercut competitors - but the software that launches alongside it. It's a hub that lives on a computer desktop, and Kobo chief executive officer Mike Serbinis hopes readers will use it as their digital bookshelf.
"It's like iTunes for books," Mr. Serbinis said. But unlike iTunes, which is designed to work with Apple devices, Kobo's software is open to content and readers beyond its own brand. "Our strategy is to power all devices."
Is it any good? Read our review of the Kobo ereader
It's a marked difference from Kindle's roll-out. Amazon's e-reader also has software that can be used to buy and download books, but only from Amazon's store, and no other devices (such as the Sony Reader or Barnes & Noble's Nook) can plug in and load titles meant for the Kindle.
"The Kindle's essentially a walled garden," said Heather Reisman, CEO of Indigo Books which owns roughly 60 per cent of Kobo. Indigo set out to "create the most joyful reading experience … the device, that's the choice of the user."
Kobo already has software for the iPhone, BlackBerry and other smart phones, and on the day of the iPad launch in the U.S., Mr. Serbinis said, Kindle and Kobo were the first reader applications (besides Apple's new app, iBooks) available for the device.
Those apps will work with the Kobo desktop hub to allow readers to access their books from their phone, for example, if they don't have the Kobo handy, or from readers like Sony's or the Nook, which work in the same "ePub" file format.
The company is also gearing up to announce partnerships, where Kobo's software will come pre-loaded on new devices. That could include the rumoured tablet computers that are being developed to compete with Apple's iPad. Mr. Serbinis would not confirm any deals, but said that "all the [manufacturers] we're working with them."
Mr. Serbinis certainly has the technology know-how to navigate the world of tablets, smart phones and other gadgetry where he hopes to implant Kobo. An early search engine developer who made his money in Silicon Valley, he started out as a teenager developing propulsion systems for NASA.
He's brought that background to work on a device with a deceptively old-fashioned look: There's no iPad touch-screen, no colour or shiny LED.
"What's been out there so far has been geared to the early tech adopters, mostly men," he said. "This is a great opportunity to offer e-books to everyone."
For now, it's just books on Kobo's virtual bookshelf. By the end of May, there will also be all of Canada's major newspapers, and a few American ones, including The New York Times. When the device launches through Borders in the U.S. in June, there will be more, and Kobo is working on publishing agreements with as many dailies as possible, as well as a pared-down version of some magazines.
Kobo is allowing each newspaper publisher to dictate the design so it's aligned with their branding. The New York Times looks like The New York Times - and unlike on some competing devices, includes black-and-white graphics and pictures along with the blocks of text.
"This is the cusp," Ms. Reisman said, "the very beginning of the world transformation into e-reading."