& more e-readers

Borders announced that it will be offering something called the Libre eBook Reader Pro as part of its "Area E" section come August. This comes from Aluratek, a company not heretofore known to me. So if Borders continues to sell the Sony, along with their major partnership with Kobo, and now the Libre, that's three eBook readers, and Borders is promising in their press release to be offering up to ten devices by the end of the year. And the Libre has the cheapest offering price yet of $119.

I'm beginning to like this approach. If you're too late, and Borders is too late by far to offer its own branded device, just like they were way too late with their own e-commerce site and way too late updating their IT and supply chain, this is probably the best way to go. While everyone else offers their own device, Borders is the place where you actually get to choose your poison. The best thing might be if Borders would come to an agreement with Apple to sell the iPad. It's not like Apple doesn't sell its products through third party channels, including iPods aplenty at Costco and a selection of things at Best Buy, why not Borders? I don't really think there's any chance of that happening, but that would kind of cover all choices to all people, instead offering whatever color of e-reader you want so long as it's another gray-on-gray E-Ink screen.

Here, Borders will be offering a clear choice to customers and differentiating itself in the market. The only question is whether it's kind of like having the other guy offering the Nestle cookie dough and the Pillsbury cookie dough and then you're offering six brands of cookie dough that nobody's ever heard of, wants to hear of, thinks they need to hear of.