Kobo Arc owners should be very happy today. You'll be receiving Android 4.1 Jelly Bean the next time you connect to Wi-Fi. What does this get you? Well, it gets you Google Now, which I reviewed for GadgeTell in January. Although I said back then that I thought it was a bit creepy at times, I've grown to really like it and depend on it for my daily activities. My favorite Google Now feature is the card that gives me navigation information to my next appointment, including warning me of delays. In the Washington, D.C., area, that's extremely helpful. You'll also get...

From the Ontario Book Publishers Organization (OBPO) today comes a bit of interesting news about a ten-day e-book promo that kicks off today on Kobo's Canadian site, Kobo.ca, which apparently involves an opportunity to win either a Kobo Arc or a Kobo Mini. (More on that later in the post.) Dubbed the 1001 Canadian Nights Promotion, the scheme involves "almost 360 titles across eight different categories" from 16 different OBPA members, "including small independent presses, children's publishers, specialty publishers of poetry and plays, academic presses and general publishers," according to a release. (A full 125 of those titles are Young Adult...

The Kobo Arc has been selling well since its recent launch in Canada, propelled largely by its retail presence at Canadian book chain Indigo, where it undercuts the Google Nexus on price, and by a decently impressive spec sheet. I had the chance to speak with a few Kobo Arc customers, now that they've settled in with their tablet. What's working for them ... and what's not? Keep reading. 1. The Longing for Full Control Firstly, most of the Kobo customers I've spoken with are universally impressed with the Arc's sharp screen and front-loaded speakers. They compliment the form factor, and many...

By Joanna Cabot and Chris Meadows Our friends over at Good E-Reader have come out with their holiday shopping recommendations for the e-book fan. We here at TeleRead have some holiday shopping suggestions for you as well. What's the best e-book gadget for the reader on your list? Check out our recommendations below.  * * * For the aspiring tablet owner  Kobo Arc This is like a budget version of the Google Nexus---cheaper, but about on par in terms of weight and size, and with access to the Google Play store (unlike the Kindle Fire). Early reviews are favourable, with people nothing smooth operation and a...

Dictionaries: Finding Their Ideal Format (The Economist) Kobo Arc vs iPad Mini (Good E-Reader) Author Bryce Courtenay Dies Two Weeks After Finishing Final Novel (Reuters) Special Edition 100th Grey Cup eBook On Sale (Herald Online) Kindle Daily Deal: For Black Friday, 25 past Kindle Daily Deal favorites are available for just $1.99 each today. * * * ....

Amazon, Target Winning Black Friday Wars, Report Says (Los Angeles Times) Kobo Arc vs Kindle Fire {and} Kobo Arc vs Nook HD (Good E-Reader) Buyer Beware: Nintendo Nukes $400 Worth of Downloaded Content in DRM Migration Fail (BoingBoing) Open Access: Why Academic Publishers Still Add Value (The Guardian) Kindle Daily Deal: Porch Lights by Dorothea Benton Frank {and} four Thanksgiving-themed children's books * * *  ...

I got my hands on a Kobo Arc today! A co-worker bought one and wanted my help setting it up. She's a complete e-book newbie, and was persuaded to buy the Arc because she travels a lot, and wanted a device she could take with her for books, movies, light Web browsing and entertainment. The Kobo Arc is—in my opinion—a great little device for those needs, and it has something some of its competitors don't: a wide retail presence at every chain bookstore in Canada, and a comparatively bargain price, listing for $70 cheaper than the lowest-priced Google Nexus, which Indigo...

I learned an important lesson today about attracting readers who are new to e-devices: marketing matters. Case in point: A co-worker who came in this morning, and proudly told me she'd bought one of those "e-book things" over the weekend. Which one? The Kobo Arc! I guess that I, with my gadget-loving background, had forgotten that this was supposed to be the Arc's intended purpose. It looked, to me, like a somewhat cheaper version of the Nexus tablet, which I saw as more of a computer than a reader. But consider this newbie consumer's point of view: It's sold in the...

If Data is the New Oil, Don't End up Being BP (GigaOM) Why is the Book Market Different from the Art Market? (An American Editor) Lessons for Book Publishing from the Music Industry's Digital Street Fight (Digital Book World) Kobo ARC Unboxing Video (Good E-Reader) The Kindle Daily Deal: Against the Law by Kat Martin {and} Ralph Tells a Story by Abby Hanlon * * * * * *    ...

TeleRead did a great job bringing you all the news from the Kobo and Kindle press events yesterday. Now that the dust has settled a little, how are people feeling about the new stuff on its way? A few trends I feel are worth commenting on: GEOGRAPHY MATTERS I personally think the Kindle is a superior product to the Kobo, but in this area of technology, geography matters. The Kobo is a much, much bigger deal in Canada and many international markets than it is in the United States, and that should not be underestimated. Every single person I know who owns...

A fair amount of important news related to e-books broke today, but due to hoopla surrounding the Amazon press conference that took place in Santa Monica this morning, much of it didn't receive quite the amount of attention it probably would have on any other day. For starters, Kobo made a valiant effort to get a jump on today's all-consuming Amazon news by announcing a line of new e-readers--the Kobo Mini ($79.99), the Kobo Glo ($129.99) and the Kobo Arc ($199.99 and $249.99). Those prices are the same for both the U.S. market and the Canadian market, by the way. Wired's Geek Mom blog has a...