A poster outside Borders in Canberra's city centre alerts shoppers to the shortage. Photo: Charlotte Harper
Echoing the sentiments of many literary types, a Sydney friend lamented in a Facebook post today the gradual disappearance of bookshops in the city in contrast with the queues of shoppers waiting to buy iPads.
We’ve seen gadget fiends clamouring to buy the tablet and related accessories in department stores and Apple resellers all over town here too.
The camera connection kit has sold out everywhere, and many Canberra stores have only WiFi iPads left.
But it’s not just Apple cashing in on the ereader buzz.
Borders’ Canberra Centre store had sold out of Kobo eReaders when we dropped by yesterday (see main image). A visit to the Borders website tonight confirmed that they have run out of stock too.
“Due to very high demand we have temporarily sold out of Kobo eReaders,” a message on the site here reads.
“More stock is on its way although please note that new orders may take up to 4 weeks to be delivered.”
The Borders/Kobo launch was timed perfectly to cash in on the hype surrounding the iPad’s arrival, and at $199, the Kobo device offered an inexpensive alternative for would-be ebook buyers.
Add to that the fact that the Borders store offers more new Australian ebooks than anyone else (has anyone managed to buy a new local title for the Kindle yet?) and it’s no wonder the Kobo eReader has walked out the door.
Charlotte Harper