It is now more than a month since Sony announced their plan to close the Sony Reader Store in the U.S. and Canada and it is only a few days until the closure takes place. Here is a quick heads up for those who need to take any further action.
It is sad to see Sony bowing out, given that they were pioneers of ebook reading technology. They released ereading devices and an ebook store long before Amazon. Having said that, I guess the competition has been too strong in recent years especially from major ebook retailers including Amazon and Apple.
R.I.P., Sony Reader Store!
What happens to customers?
Sony explains on their site, "Although we’re sorry to say goodbye to the Reader Store, we’re also glad to share the new and exciting future for our readers: Reader Store will transfer customers to Toronto-based eReading company, Kobo - an admired eBook seller with a passionate reading community. We strongly believe that this transition will allow customers to enjoy a continued high-quality e-reading experience."
At Kobo, customers are receiving a warm welcome, "Starting in late March, you’ll be able to transfer your Reader Store eBooks to a Kobo library. This means you can continue to download, store and read your eBooks on your Sony device and on any Kobo app or device."
What happens to authors?
The impact for most authors will be minimal as the Sony store generally represented only a tiny percentage of most authors' book sales. There are still the major ebook stores in addition to many emerging ebook retailers around the world.
