cheapreadersNot all Borders bankruptcy bargains are bogus. We actually mentioned this earlier, but I thought it worth mentioning again for personal considerations relating to me: Borders has Kobo Wireless e-readers on sale for $60, 57% off its original asking price of $140. The Sony Reader is marked down to $108 from $180—not quite as good a deal.

Also worth noting is that the 2-year e-reader protection plan package is marked down from $50 to $20. Ordinarily I wouldn’t buy those on anything less than a HDTV (and after having worked tech support for HDTVs, I definitely would recommend buying them for HDTVs, but that’s another story), but this protection plan also included a zipper case, screen protector, and screen wipes. The protection is provided by a third party so it will remain valid even if Borders goes under entirely.

img_0607After work today, I was curious to see whether the Borders in Springfield, MO had any of these readers in stock, so I nipped over to check it out. And I discovered that they actually had a good number of them. Perhaps bargain-hunters have not been attracted to more expensive items. At any rate, this bodes well for people in other areas with closing Borders that would like to get their hands on them. They did only have one of the protection plan packages left, and figuring that the case and screen protector were probably worth that by themselves, I went ahead and splurged.

I look forward to trying the reader out. I’m given to understand that it’s a pretty decent little EPUB-compatible gizmo (or at least the non-wireless one that Joanna reviewed is, so this one should be even better). I’m not sure how useful the wireless access will be—is it possible to browse the web with this thing?—but as a reader for all my unprotected EPUB files it might just prove first-rate. I’m thinking that after I’ve played with it a while, I’ll follow Joanna’s example and loan it to my parents to see what they think. Maybe I can get my Dad to write a guest review from his non-techie perspective.

4 COMMENTS

  1. I got one of these $60 readers, too. I have been buying books from Kobo for well over a year so I synced the reader to the Kobo desktop (rather than the Borders desktop) and it was very easy to sync the reader. I don’t think there is a browser, but buying a book via wireless is quite easy. Books look great on the device. I’m very pleased.

  2. The Borders near us (Emeryville, CA) is now closing too – but they only offer 20% off the Kobo. Wonder if it’s the region (more people buy such gadgets here so they can charge more) or if the price will go down as the sale progresses…

  3. be cautious – the company managing the warranty hasn’t been paid by Borders either.

    One vendor motion questions Borders’s commitment to selling e-readers as part of its future plans. SN Warranty, LLC, or Service Net, which provides extended service agreements (ESA) to customers who purchase Borders’s e-readers, is asking Borders to assume or reject their contract. By not remitting Service Net’s share of the ESA service fees pre- and post-petition e-reader customers have been “left in limbo,” according to the filing. “The activation of the ESAs attributable to these purchases is pending the Debtor’s transmittal of the required sales information and remittance of Service Net’s portion of the service fees.”

    http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/46604-borders-watch-distribution-center-switch-exec-incentives-new-terms-sought.html

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