Kobo's 2024 eReaders are user repairable - liliputing*

I think my claws would get in the way trying to fix it.

Today's trip in the Catosphere took Panzer to the Liliputing site. There our inquisitive kitty boy found a post about Kobo eReaders.

 

Brad Linder's post explains about Kobo's new user repairable eReaders. The post lists the eReaders which are user repairable and the countries/regions where user repairs are supported. The option appears to be primarily for eReaders which are no longer under warranty.

 

Panzer says, "How long will it take for others to follow with this option?" 

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of tea to drink while you read.

 

To read the post tootle over to Kobo's 2024 ereaders

 

 

*A tip of the kitty fedora to Nate Hoffelder's Morning Coffee  6 May 2024 post

Best Buy Will Now Haul Away Your Old TV, Appliances for $199 - C/Net

Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to the C/Net site. Boy is our kitty boy happy he went there. Just in time for Earth Day he found a post about a new service Best Buy is starting.

Earth Day.

According to Kourtnee Jackson's post, Best Buy will now come to your home to pickup TVs and large appliances for recycling for $199. There is a limit of two large items.You can also get pickup for smaller items like vacuums, ereaders and headphones for recycling for $30. There is no limit on the number small items. The post includes links to see what's on the list for pickup, to schedule a pickup and store locations.

Panzer says, "A few weeks ago Mom had What's His Name take an old printer and some empty toner cartridges for recycle to our local Best Buy."

Note: This is a long-medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for your reading. If you follow the ljnks in the post, you'll need to decide what to bring to eat and drink.

To read the post tootle over to Best Buy

Amazon's old Kindle 3G devices will lose internet access in December - Liliputing

 Today, Panzer was shaken from his nap on the back of the couch by crying and screaming coming from the Catosphere. Hopping in the Panzermobile,, our brave kitty boy followed all the chaos to the Liliputing site. There he found a post about Amazon Kindles.

 

Let's see what happens.

According to Brad Linder's post, Amazon is notifying owners of its older Kindles that the devices won't connect to the internet after December. The older Kindles use the 3G network which is being shutdown. The post lists the Kindle devises which are affected.The post contains links to information about the 3G shutdown and links to new Kindle device pages at the Amazon store.

 

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Mom gave What's His Name her old Kindle. I wonder if he's going to lose internet access."

 

Note:This is a long-medium post. Bring a large glass of lemonade for today's reading selection. If you follow the links included in the post, bring your credit card to purchase a new ereader.

 

To read the post tootle over to Amazons Kindle 3G devices

Coronavirus Worklife: Rakuten Kobo's Michael Tamblyn: Lessons from the Contagian - Publishing Perspectives

Today, Panzer stopped in at the Publishing Perspectives site. With a little digging and reading in the posts, our inquisitive kitty boy found one about Kobo and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Will this virus thingy ever go away?

Porter Anderson's post contains extensive quotes from Kobo's Michael Tamblyn's presentation at the Digital Publishing Summit. Turns out since Kobo was purchased by Rakuten a number of Kobo's employees were already working remotely before the Covid-19 pandemic hit. Because of this, the pandemic didn't impact a lot of Kobo's employees. What was impacted, however, was Kobo's ereader production. Their ereaders are produced in China and Taiwan. Both were hit hard by the pandemic. This caused a slowdown in ereader production. The post contains a lot of information about Kobo employees' work-from-home efforts and ereader and ebook sales during the pandemic.

Panzer says, "This little kitty likes Kobo."

Note: This is a humongous post. Bring a gallon of tea and six muffins for your reading selection today.

To read the post tootle over to Rakuten Kobo

Kindle is On Sale for $49, and the Kindle Paperwhite is $99 - The Digital Reader

It's supposed to be my day off.

Panzer had hardly crawled into his kitty bed when he was shaken out of it by clapping and cheering coming from the Catosphere. Dragging his tired body into the pilot's seat of the Panzermobile he headed off. Following all the noise took him to The Digital Reader site. With no digging at all he found a post about Amazon's Kindle and Kindle Paperwhite ereaders.

According to The Digital Reader site owner Nate Hoffelder, both basic Kindle and the Kindle Paperwhite are on sale. The Kindle is on sale for $49.00 and the Kindle Paperwhite for $99.00. The post includes links to both sales pages so you can check out the information about both ereaders.

Panzer says, "Of course, the base sale price for each ereader doesn't include the power adapter, cover, or screen protector which will add another $60+ to each."

Note: This is a very, very, very short post. Bring a third of a cup of tea for today's reading selection. If you plan to follow the links in the post, bring a cup of tea and a muffin.

To read the post tootle over to Kindle and Kindle Paperwhite

'Screen fatigue' sees UK ebook sales plunge 17% as readers return to print - The Guardian

I hate thunder and lightening.

We've been having thunder storms all afternoon, so Panzer's trip into the Catosphere was very short. Our brave kitty stopped in at The Guardian site. There he found a post about the decline in ebook sales in the UK.

According to the post at The Guardian, 2016 ebook sales declined by 17 percent in the Uk. One of the main reasons mentioned in the post is consumers switching from ereaders to smartphones. Smartphone screens are not as easy to read on as ereader screens. Along with the lack of ease of use of smartphones is the fact children's books are more appropriate in printed form. The post includes other reasons for the decline as well.

Panzer says, "Sorry about the short trip, but the Panzermobile isn't soundproof."

Note: This is a v-e-r-y l-o-n-g post. Bring a thermos of tea and a half dozen cookies (biscuits) for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to ebook sales plunge

As E-book Sales Decline, Digital Fatigue Grows - PW (Publishers' Weekly)

Panzer's trip in the Catosphere took him to the Publishers' Weekly site today. There our adventuresome kitty boy found a post about the state of ebook sales.

According to the post by Jim Milliot, two interesting surveys have recently been done about ebook sales. The Association of American Publishers research study says ebook sales by trade publishers was down 14 percent. in 2015. In a research study by  Codex Group it was found readers are tiring of their e-readers, tablets and smartphones and are returning to physical (dead tree) books. There are graphics and charts included in the post to demonstrate the survey results.

They're always ahead of everybody else.

Panzer says, "I told you yesterday there was a reason why Amazon was opening more bricks and mortar bookstores. They already knew readers were going back to dead tree books."

Note: This is a long post. You will need a cup of tea and two muffins for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to sales decline

Kobo's Michael Tamblyn on the Age of E-Reading - Publishing Perspectives

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere and decided to make a stop at the Publishing Perspectives site. Our intelligent traveling kitty found a post about Kobo there.

It's worth looking at.

The post is an interview by Mark Piesing with Kobo's Michael Tamblyn. According to Mr. Tamblyn, Kobo is making a profit on their ereaders with 2015 being their best year. Kobo's ebook reader users are in the 50 - 70 year old range. Why? Younger people don't have the time, interest or money to read ebooks at the level people in the higher age group do. Mr. Tamblyn also says the company started a new program at Christmas called Kobo Welcome for people unfamiliar with ereaders and ebooks which was well-received by their target market.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Interesting ... I wonder ... Is Amazon looking at the 50 to 70 year old market?"

Note: This is a l-o-n-g-ish post. You'll need a cup of cocoa and muffin for your reading today.

To read the post, tootle over to Michael Tamblyn

Kobo CEO faces uphill e-book battle against Apple, Amazon

They're number two in e-readers.

Panzer made a trip into the Catosphere today looking for publishing news for you. His travels took him to The Globe and Mail site. After some digging around in the files, he found a post about ebook publisher and e-tailer Kobo.

According to a post by Shane Dingman, Michael Tamblyn Kobo CEO is making plans for the company to develop a bigger footprint in the ebook market in the coming year. Kobo's competitors Amazon (number one in ebooks) and Apple (number two) are both huge with divisions in more than ebooks. Mr. Tamblyn says he wants Kobo "to be the best bookseller." The company is already the second largest manufacturer of e-readers (outpaced by Amazon Kindle).

Panzer says, "You know, Kobo only does ebooks ... no housewares ... no TV shows ... nothing but ereaders and ebooks."

Note: This is an e-n-o-r-m-o-u-s post. You'll need a thermos of tea and at least a dozen muffins for your reading.

To read the post, tootle over to Kobo

Anne R. Allen's Blog: How to Get Your Indie Book Translated and Reach th...

Whew! Easy as can be.

Panzer was looking for information on getting his ebooks translated today. A quick search in the Catosphere brought our big brave kitty over to Anne R. Allen's Blog. Digging around, he found just what he was looking for in a guest post by indie author Mark Williams.

Although Mr. Williams' post is divided into fifteen sections and sub-sections, there are really only three parts to the information in the post. It begins with some of his publishing history and experiences with traditional publishing's translations of his work. He then moves through Amazon's history including the Kindle and other devices, including the translation market size. To wrap up the post he moves into the ins and outs of getting your work translated for foreign markets when you're an indie author. According to Mr. Williams, getting translations of your work done isn't as expensive or complicated as you might think. He lists (with links) the two services he uses.

Panzer says, "Now that I know how easy getting a translation done is, I'm ready to do it."

 Note: This is a v-e-r-y l-o-n-g post, so bring a a t-h-e-r-m-o-s of tea and a muffin.

To read the post, tootle over to Anne R. Allen's Blog: How to Get Your Indie Book Translated and Reach th...

Amazon Customer Billing Changes Coming To Germany

Where is my phone?

Panzer was over at the Slate site today. In a post by Alison Griswold he learned about Amazon's new plans for payments in Germany.

Plans are in the works to allow Amazon buyers to pay through Bango for their digital items (like ebooks) on their Telefonica Deutschland phone bills. The roll out of the new payment system is scheduled for next year.

Panzer says, "Don't be fooled. The beginning of the post is a review of Amazon's new ereaders and tablets. Just keep reading."

To read the whole post, tootle over to Amazon billing