Bookworms in the United States who are fond of e-books will have something to celebrate today as Kobo's all-you-can-read subscription plan, Kobo Plan, finally arrives in the country. Kobo Plus subscribers will have unlimited access to e-books and audiobooks from Kobo's library for as low as $7.99 per month, making it a potential rival to Amazon's Kindle Unlimited service.
Perks of Getting a Kobo Plus Monthly Subscription Over Amazon's Kindle Unlimited
As reported by Tech Crunch, those who are interested to apply for a Kobo Plus subscription can choose among three different plans. The lowest plan costs $7.99 per month, which offers access to either e-books or audiobooks for the "Read" and "Listen" plans, respectively. For $9.99 a month, the Kobo Plus subscriber will have access to both plans.
Users can access the books from the library through Kobo's iOS, Android and desktop apps. Those who own Kobo e-readers can access the library through their devices, although some units do not support audiobooks.
Kobo Plus subscribers can also read e-books from the library without connecting to the Wi-Fi 24/7 by switching to offline mode. Readers can enjoy reading a maximum of 15 books from their Kobo Plus subscription while offline for a 30-day period. Offline access is available for the iOS, Android and desktop versions of the Kobo app, according to The Verge.
The $9.99 subscription plan of Kobo Plus matches that of Amazon's Kindle Unlimited. There is also a Prime Reading plan from Prime subscription, which has a $119 annual fee, although with a limited library.
Kobo Plus first arrived in Belgium and the Netherlands in 2017. It eventually reached Canada in 2020. As of today, the only countries with Kobo Plus service are Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, and now the United States.
Aside from the Kobo Plus subscription plan, Kobo also launched the Kobo Elipsa 2E e-reader in the US. The device sports a 10.3-inch glare-free e-Ink touchscreen, extended battery life that can last up to weeks, 32GB internal storage, and audiobook support via Bluetooth earphones. The Elipsa 2E costs $399.99.
Related Article: 5 Amazon Kindle Alternatives For E-Readers
What Readers Should Expect From Kobo Plus
According to Kobo, its current library has 1.3 million e-books and 100,00 audiobooks, with more titles being added every month. However, The Verge noted that Kindle Unlimited subscribers have access to more digital books with Amazon's "over three million digital titles." With this, Kobo should work to add more e-books to its catalog to match Amazon's number.
Despite this, Kobo Plus does not have restrictions on the number of books that subscribers can download into their digital library, which is an advantage over the Kindle Unlimited subscription. The latter only allows readers to check out a limited number of books at a time, and they should return these books before they can check out new ones.
Kobo Plus subscription offers unlimited access to the e-book library. Readers can lose access to their downloads only by cancelling their subscription.
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