Borders deny ebook reader plans: "We're not a tech company"

By Satsuki Then/Dec. 23, 2009 8:45 am EST

Contrary to earlier reports that retailer Borders were planning to enter the hardware ebook market with a device of their own, the company has denied that an own-brand reader is on the cards. According to Borders Chief Executive Ron Marshall, both the cost and the time involved are dissuading the firm from such a plan; "We're not a technology company" the CEO told Reuters, "We're booksellers."

Borders have recently signed a deal with ebook download service Kobo, which will mean they can sell titles for most existing ebook readers on the market. Kobo offer "over two million titles" including $9.99 bestsellers and free ebooks, though their offering is skewed heavily by 1.8m Internet Archive ebooks.

[via MobileRead]