Sony quits e-book business, will team up with Kobo

Sony will shutter its Reader e-bookstore, and will transition customers to the Kobo online library and store, with Reader and Xperia tablet and smartphone users needing to make the move.

The shuttered Sony store was made up of 4 million e-books, magazines, newspapers, mangas, and kids content available to customers.

"Kobo is the ideal solution for our customers and will deliver a robust and comprehensive user experience," said Ken Orii, Sony VP of Digital Reading, in a press statement. "Like Sony, they are committed to those most passionate about reading and share our vision to use open formats so people can easily read anytime and anywhere."

This isn't necessarily surprising news from Sony, as the electronics giant is currently restructuring to try and cut costs. Also, the traditional e-reader market has slowed down due to the drop in price of the tablet market, adding to growing list of issues facing e-reader supporters.