Rakuten to Show Off Kobo Touch in Japan

The Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten has recently acquired Kobo, a manufacturer of electronic devices such as eBook readers.

Kobo has already broken the news several months ago when it made an announcement stating the same. But it is only this month that the said sale had been finalized. Rakuten bought the company for $315 million. At present, the electronic commerce retail company is already getting ready to unveil Kobo Touch, the newest product from the manufacturing company.

Rakuten has not revealed the exact date of the said launch, but it might arrive as early as the first quarter of 2012. To anticipate the release and to sharpen the appetite of the consumers, the company has already opened an e-bookstore from which future users of the Kobo Touch may acquire reading materials. The bookstore, which had been named Raboo, was launched in July 2011. It carries support for popular readers such as Sony’s Reader Wi-Fi as well as Panasonic’s UT-PB1. It also allegedly received support from the public, rivaling even the earnings of another retail magnate, Amazon.

The Kobo Touch will be sold for around $130, which will delight Japanese eBook enthusiasts as it is much less than the cost of the Panasonic UT-PB1 and the Sony Reader Wi-Fi.

via thedigitalreader