While Kobo may not get the attention that the Kindle or Barnes & Noble Nook apps get, it has been doing some cool things. We covered its Reading Life social sharing features with the iPad and those features are now available on the Kobo e-reader iPhone app and for the iPod touch.
The Kobo e-reader iPhone app now has some deep ties to Facebook. You can now share quotes and books that you’re reading with the world’s largest social network.
Another interesting thing is that the Kobo e-reader iPhone app will let you check-in to books that you’re reading. You don’t have to worry about it giving away your real location like the revamped Google Maps, as you’ll be checking in to fictional places like Hogwarts and then sharing it with friends.
The Reading Life feature also includes multiple challenges that gives the user badges for things like completing books and reading everyday. For the stat lovers out there, the Kobo e-reader iPhone app also includes a wealth of statistics including how many pages you get through and how fast you can read.
The Kobe e-reader iPhone app is free and you’ll have access to more than 1.8 million free books. You can download it here (iTunes link).
These features are nice and help it stand out from the crowd but make no mistake, this is still quite an uphill battle. The Kindle is undoubtedly the leader in the e-reader space, as the hardware is selling well, the app is on every platform of note and Amazon just announced that it has sold more digital books than physical ones last quarter.
Barnes & Noble is also taking the multi-platform approach and its Nook Color has become a hacker’s delight. The Android device is positioned as a digital book reader but a few, simple tweaks can turn it into a full-on tablet.
[Via Kobo]