Go, Kobo

Kobo's strategy is making waves: Join with the indie bookstores, who should be very happy. Until now Mom and Pop bookstores -- some of them not so small -- have been left out of the device game, and, inherently, given the cold shoulder by the ebook onslaught. Now they are joining in, partnering with Kobo. (In the past their only option was to sell Google books, without a device on hand.) The Kobo devices will be sold at indie bookstores, after a deal helped by the American Booksellers Association. Barnes & Noble is no longer the primary source of print books and ebook devices at one venue. Digital Book Review today notes this, however: While Kobo ebook (sic) way outsold Google ebooks, the overall numbers aren't inspiring. The most successful bookstores have sold a few hundred devices and a few hundred ebooks. At the profit margins Kobo is offering bookstores, that doesn't add up to enough profit to pay bills or salaries.