Here’s something I hadn’t noticed before. If you didn’t know that Kobo’s ereaders support Adobe DRM for ebooks, you certainly wouldn’t learn that fact by visiting Kobo’s website and reading their product pages and FAQs.
This morning I noticed that Kobo has redesigned the layout of the homepage on their website (it’s back to how it was previously now so I guess they’re just testing a new design), and I noticed something odd about the “Frequently Asked Questions” section at the bottom of the page.
One of the questions asks where you can buy ebooks that are compatible with Kobo’s ereaders, and this is the answer they give:
“The easiest way to buy a book that is compatible with your Kobo is to purchase the books directly from Kobo’s store. Once you have created a Kobo account (a prerequisite for using your Kobo), you can login to it and browse the storefront from any device, including the Kobo eReader itself.
If you would like to buy books from a third party and read them on your Kobo, you will need to make sure that the book is in a compatible format, and is free of DRM (Digital Rights Management).”
I can understand Kobo pushing their own ebook store over others, but that second paragraph is a blatant lie. Kobo’s devices support ebooks with Adobe DRM, which the DRM that a lot of ebook sources use.
It doesn’t stop there. Once I started digging deeper, I discovered that Kobo doesn’t specifically state that their devices support Adobe DRM anywhere on the main part of their website or on any of the product pages for their ereaders.
The only place you’ll find Kobo saying their devices support Adobe DRM is buried in the help section of their website for articles that were posted many years ago.
Considering most ebook stores other than Amazon sell ebooks with Adobe DRM, you’d think Kobo would advertise the fact their devices support those ebooks so people would know they can load past purchases onto Kobo ereaders.
Kobo just lists EPUB as a supported format for their devices, but they don’t say that Adobe EPUB is supported anywhere. Even with all their advertising of supporting library ebooks, they just mention OverDrive and Libby integration; they don’t say anything about being able to load library ebooks using Adobe Digital Edition for books with Adobe DRM, even though that’s the standard way to get library ebooks. That seems like a strange omission.
Is Kobo planning on dropping support for Adobe DRM at some point in the future? That would certainly be a terrible idea, but you never know what stupid things companies are going to do these days. I just find it odd that Kobo doesn’t advertise the fact that their devices support Adobe DRM when it’s the most common form of ebook DRM out there. Why wouldn’t they want people to know that?
You hit the nail on the head with your supposition that they REALLY want you to buy books from their own store, and borrow them via Overdrive on-device. Adobe’s ADE is too cumbersome for most non-technical folks, and the eBook market outside of the major gatekeepers (Kindle, Kobo, Nook, and to a much lesser degree, Apple Books and Google Play) is barely existent.
Having said that, Kobo’s support pages and manuals DO indeed list support for ADE and how to use it:
https://help.kobo.com/hc/en-us/articles/360017814074-Add-eBooks-with-Adobe-Digital-Editions
Amazon’s support site doesn’t list Libby integration at all, AFAIK. But it’s front-and-center in Libby, at least in the U.S., and supports multiple libraries, unlike Kobo’s integration.
I think the reason they are pushing their bookstore instead of Adobe DRM is that they probably have a very small profit margin on the Kobo devices themselves.
Also, the Kobo app is available on every platform (except Linux), allowing Kobo to reach a wider audience for its bookstore, even if those people never buy a Kobo ereader.
How odd. Especially since you can also get their own books as Adobe DRM epubs or just regular epubs if DRM free.
One, they probably don’t want to deal with any support questions on Adobe DRM from new Kobo users. Adobe isn’t offering much if any customer support for it, though they keep the servers running. It’s hardly cost effective to pay wages to customer support to deal with questions on using Adobe DRM that don’t really make Kobo money.
Two, probably VERY few Kobo users actually bother buying elsewhere.
Three, Kobo would prefer that users DON’T buy ebooks elsewhere.
Four, it’s entirely possible they are starting to consider a move away from supporting Adobe DRM in the future.
I would venture to say that MOST ebook consumers these days have little interest in ADE. For one thing, it’s easiest if you have a PC/laptop, and many have moved away from owning a PC to simply using their phones or a tablet. For another, many new Kobo customers have come over from Kindle, where they never needed to deal with Adobe Digital Editions before.
Let’s face it, while Adobe DRM, being easily removeable, and somewhat of a standard for non-Kindle ebook store is good for consumers, it does make ebook piracy very easy for those who are inclined. And Kobo is undoubtedly aware of that as an ebook seller.
My personal feeling is that eventually, Adobe DRM support will go the way of the dodo. I don’t like it, but I think that day will come.
I wonder if Bookshop is factoring into this at all. Bookshop is using Readium DRM for their books. And they’ve stated that they are working on making the books available to Kobo..