The Kobo ereader will retail in New Zealand for NZ$295 and is available from Whitcoulls stores and online at http://www.whitcoulls.co.nz/. As with Borders in Australia, Whitcoulls is offering ebooks via its Kobo ebook platform.
New Zealand Digital Publishing Forum founder Martin Taylor was positive about the device itself, but admitted that local New Zealand content was ‘thin'; REDgroup said it was committed to working with local publishers to increase the offering of New Zealand titles as quickly as possible.
Random House Australia and Wakefield Press are the latest publishers to announce their Australian ebook lists, while a small number of Penguin titles by Australian authors have begun to appear on the Borders site. The range of titles from local publishers is expected to continue to expand in coming weeks.
Neil told the Weekly Book Newsletter that sales of the Kobo ereader in Australia had significantly exceeded the retailer's expectations. 'We see sales continuing to climb all the way through to Christmas,' he said.
