WHSmith welcomes news that Asda will sell Kobo

It has been confirmed that Asda will be selling the Kobo ebook reader along with WHSmith in the UK, with the latter welcoming the move.

WHSmith has responded to the growing threat of Amazon's Kindle to its book selling by heavily pushing the low-cost Kobo device.

And it believes that Asda's decision to sell the reader will be a boon rather than a drawback as it looks to hold off Amazon.

Supportive

"We are very supportive of Kobo extending their UK retail presence, which will help them to establish themselves as a major UK brand," WHSmiths told The Bookseller.

Amazon, of course, has enjoyed huge success with the Kindle, and the ebook is growing exponentially on the back of the increased volume of low cost ebook readers – including the likes of the Nook and Kobo.

The online market giant is now expanding its Kindle brand into tablets with the Amazon Kindle Fire where it can bring in media sales for movies and TV along with Apps and also take advantage of those people who have built up Kindle libraries of books.

Asda's rival Tesco currently sells Kindles, and it's fair to say that the opening salvos of the ebook wars are becoming a distant memory.

WHSmith launches Kobo Vox tablet ereader

Hot on the heels of its Kobo ereader launch last month, WHSmith has unveiled the Kobo Vox, a colour touchscreen ereader complete with Wi-Fi connectivity and fairly palatable price tag.

It's almost impossible not to draw comparisons to Amazon's Kindle Fire; both big up their ereader credentials, offer a 7-inch screen, run on Android, have similar apps and come with relatively low tablet prices.

The Kobo Vox's 7-inch screen is touted as anti-glare, so you should be able to read comfortably even in bright sunlight and if your peepers get tired, there are 42 font sizes to choose between.

WHSmiths is also keen to point out that Kobo is Facebook's only official ereading partner so if you're desperate to share your love of Twilight or boast about how far through Game of Thrones you are, it could be the reader-cum-tablet for you.

From the ashes

It's not quite so heavily customised as the Kindle Fire, so you don't have to go through Amazon's curated app store and have access to more Android apps.

With 8GB of storage, expandable memory and Wi-Fi connectivity, it's not exactly going to take top spot in our best tablets in the world list (we do have one, you know), but the WHSmith Kobo Vox could be one of the best bargain slabs.

One thing the Vox does have over the Kindle Fire is its UK availability: the Kobo Vox UK release date is today and you can nab it from WHSmith shops or online with a UK price of £169.99.

brightcove : 1050812308001