Kobo review on CNet

techie42 · 07-09-2010, 10:08 PM

http://cnettv.cnet.com/kobo-ereader/...pi&tag=nl.e758

RedRoverJ · 07-09-2010, 10:38 PM

Not a bad review. Thanks for posting.

clintbradford · 07-10-2010, 12:43 AM

Yes, the kobo needs to come down a bit in price. I played with the nooks last night at my local B&N. On the WiFi-only unit, I could never get a pre-loaded book to go to a chosen chapter ... but I attribute that to the device being a "demo" and who knows what has occurred to it in our hands.

The color touch screen is cool - but battery-draining. And not as "responsive" as, say, the screen of my 3rd gen 32GB iPod touch.

But WiFi connectivity at US$149? And the kobo at the same price? The public won't eat up kobos at 150 ... even with double Borders Rewards points and a $20 gift certificate. It is the out-of-pocket up-front cost that consumers look at. The kobo needs to go to US $99.95 or $119.95 to sell in the US, IMHO.

Clint "Humble" Bradford

Thrasher · 07-10-2010, 02:40 AM

True. Kobo can hardly compete with the Nook in the States. In Canada it is still the best deal though. I had a Nook shipped trhough a friend to Canada and it ended up costing me almost $250 including a cover.
But it is a much better machine that offers a lot more. Some benefits of the Nook compared to Kobo:
- jump-to page feature
- search feature
- dictionary
- annotations
- mp3 player
- Wifi web browser
- faster page turning

I still love the Kobo weight though. It feels good in your hands. The Nook is noticeably heavier.

Too bad Nook is not sold in Canada. That could make the ebook market here all the more interesting...

Quote:

Originally Posted by clintbradford

Yes, the kobo needs to come down a bit in price. I played with the nooks last night at my local B&N. On the WiFi-only unit, I could never get a pre-loaded book to go to a chosen chapter ... but I attribute that to the device being a "demo" and who knows what has occurred to it in our hands.

The color touch screen is cool - but battery-draining. And not as "responsive" as, say, the screen of my 3rd gen 32GB iPod touch.

But WiFi connectivity at US$149? And the kobo at the same price? The public won't eat up kobos at 150 ... even with double Borders Rewards points and a $20 gift certificate. It is the out-of-pocket up-front cost that consumers look at. The kobo needs to go to US $99.95 or $119.95 to sell in the US, IMHO.

Clint "Humble" Bradford

nursedude · 07-10-2010, 11:07 AM

I think the kobo fills a niche for many readers who don't want bells and whistles. For example: I don't care if my kobo has wireless. I just want to be able to read a book on it. Other people have different needs/wants. There will always be a market for stripped down, easy to use devices just as there will always be one for feature laden ones.

RedRoverJ · 07-10-2010, 11:52 AM

I really did dislike all of the Kobo vs. Nook (or Kindle2) vs. iPad talk. In my mind these items fell into three completely separate classes and could not easily be compared. As such they filled three completely different needs. Almost all comparisons ended with the upsell.

"The Kobo is a nice little reader but you could spend a few more dollars and get something with more options."

As this was my first foray into the eReader market, I really didn't want to spend a few more dollars.

Of course, now that the Nook has dropped in price to compare with the Kobo, that line is starting to blur. Of course, the iPad, which isn't an eReader, isn't even in the picture as far as I am concerned. While I would love one, it isn't just for reading.

Either way, the eReader market is starting to heat up and it will be interesting to see what the future holds. As it is, I am almost thinking I should have waited and gone Nook after all. <shrug> Who knows?

mwlcarter · 07-10-2010, 12:34 PM

Good review. I watched the videos on the Nook as well... now I kind of feel like I bought an eReader a couple months too early. While the Nook looks noticeably bigger/thicker/heavier than the Kobo, it's got a replaceable battery (a huge feature!), tons more functionality (granted, I like a "just for reading" device), and wi-fi.

I'll console myself with the fact that the Kobo is the lightest, most compact eReader out there of the major contenders, but it still kind of hurts to so quickly have the "great deal" price advantage of the Kobo evaporate, particularly when early Kobo adopters had to put up with two months of major bugs before a firmware update was released.

s2welee · 07-10-2010, 01:27 PM

My boss has a nook and I have a Kobo and a Sony Pocket. The big thing for me is the weight. The Kobo is miles lighter than a nook and the same weight as the Sony Pocket. I dont care about WiFi, I just want something light and comfortable to read on, and the kobo kills in that department.

clintbradford · 07-10-2010, 02:09 PM

>> ... For example: I don't care if my kobo has wireless ...

Agreed! But if you had $150 in your pocket, and saw the Kobo side-by-side with the Nook ... You'd be tempted by a little color touch screen ... user-replaceable battery ... free WiFI capability in thousands of locations ...

Or - for just the price of three or four books - save a little more for a Kindle2.

I am enjoying my Kobo - don't get me wrong. But pricing is going to make or break it.

sabredog · 07-10-2010, 10:14 PM

The Kobo is currently the hottest ereader item in Australia which the main reason Borders has such huge supply problems at least initially. Where the Kindle 2 was considered the only other option easily obtained by those wanting an ereader, the Kobo at AU$199 is a stand out. While they sell well here and demand is high, the price is not going to drop any time soon.

Maybe I am wrong here, but I do believe that most ereader purchasers simply want a device that reads ebooks. Other functions detract from the reading experience somewhat.

RedRoverJ · 07-10-2010, 11:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sabredog

The Kobo is currently the hottest ereader item in Australia which the main reason Borders has such huge supply problems at least initially. Where the Kindle 2 was considered the only other option easily obtained by those wanting an ereader, the Kobo at AU$199 is a stand out. While they sell well here and demand is high, the price is not going to drop any time soon.

Maybe I am wrong here, but I do believe that most ereader purchasers simply want a device that reads ebooks. Other functions detract from the reading experience somewhat.

Here in Canada our options were pretty sparse until the Kobo came out. You could get a Nook from the US if you jumped through some hoops, it really didn't seem worth it. I originally rationalized that I did not need any extra features of the other readers. For that reason, I was content to save a few bucks and buy the Kobo. However, now that the extra features can be had for the same price... Well, why not?

JPenguin · 07-11-2010, 01:22 AM

I'm a bit of a gadget geek so I can definitely see the appeal of the Nook and the Kindle at their reduced prices now. I think the Kobo in Canada can probably sit at $150 for another month or two since the Kindle is still more and is bought sight-unseen, for the holiday season I think it needs to be at most $125 but probably closer to $100.

I tried the Sony Touch and Pocket readers back in March/April (bought and returned at Futureshop), the touch was not so good IMO while the Pocket was definitely a good candidate but the Kobo's price seemed worth waiting for. I did mostly buy the Kobo (or would have bought the pocket edition) for the reader part, the Nook and Kindle were definitely too pricey. Today the Nook sans 3G would be very tempting (I'm not interested in the Kindle since it's as restricted as Apple products), it has a couple extra features and is not much more. I'm hoping the Kobo gets the jump-to-page and more sophisticated library management and then I think it is well featured enough to compete below the Nooks price point.

marleyfan · 07-11-2010, 02:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thrasher

True. Kobo can hardly compete with the Nook in the States. In Canada it is still the best deal though. I had a Nook shipped trhough a friend to Canada and it ended up costing me almost $250 including a cover.
But it is a much better machine that offers a lot more. Some benefits of the Nook compared to Kobo:
- jump-to page feature
- search feature
- dictionary
- annotations
- mp3 player
- Wifi web browser
- faster page turning

I still love the Kobo weight though. It feels good in your hands. The Nook is noticeably heavier.

Too bad Nook is not sold in Canada. That could make the ebook market here all the more interesting...

Jump to page - Definitely a desirable feature. Hopefully added by a future firmware update

Search - again, useful if you have tons of books to sift through

Dictionary - really? what for? I've never found myself needing a dicionary when I wasn't already near a computer

Annotations - again....something I'd never use

MP3 Player - I already have one of those which actually has GOOD sound quality

Wifi web browser - far from the greatest web browsing experience

Faster page turning - the kobo is not exactly slow at turning pages. How fast do you need it to be?

I know, at the same price why not get the one with all the additional features. But my point is if you are never going to use those feature, or if some of them will be added later anyway, then there's no point in getting them. The kobo is lighter and more comfortable to use. It does exactly what I want it to do. I have had NO problems finding, converting (when needed), loading and reading books. I have absolutely no buyer's remorse over selecting the kobo, even now that the nook is the same price.

Thrasher · 07-11-2010, 02:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marleyfan

Search - again, useful if you have tons of books to sift through

I meant searching for a word within a book. Might come in quite handy when reading textbooks or searching for a mention of a specific characted in a novel.

J. Strnad · 07-14-2010, 01:40 AM

"But if you had $150 in your pocket, and saw the Kobo side-by-side with the Nook ... You'd be tempted by a little color touch screen ... user-replaceable battery ... free WiFI capability in thousands of locations ... "

I agree with you that the Kobo needs to come down in price to compete in the marketplace, but honestly, I wish I could have compared the Kobo and the nook side by side and held each one, played with them. I've revisited the nook since buying a Kobo and have no buyer's remorse at all. The nook is half-again heavier and just clunkier.

It's hard to sell "less is more" in this country, though, so ultimately I think you're right.

07-09-2010, 10:08 PM	#1
techie42 Zealot Posts: 138 Karma: 76 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Toronto Device: KOBO and iPad	Kobo review on CNet http://cnettv.cnet.com/kobo-ereader/...pi&tag=nl.e758

07-11-2010, 01:22 AM	#12
JPenguin Connoisseur Posts: 90 Karma: 42 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo EReader, Kobo for Palm Pre	I'm a bit of a gadget geek so I can definitely see the appeal of the Nook and the Kindle at their reduced prices now. I think the Kobo in Canada can probably sit at $150 for another month or two since the Kindle is still more and is bought sight-unseen, for the holiday season I think it needs to be at most $125 but probably closer to $100. I tried the Sony Touch and Pocket readers back in March/April (bought and returned at Futureshop), the touch was not so good IMO while the Pocket was definitely a good candidate but the Kobo's price seemed worth waiting for. I did mostly buy the Kobo (or would have bought the pocket edition) for the reader part, the Nook and Kindle were definitely too pricey. Today the Nook sans 3G would be very tempting (I'm not interested in the Kindle since it's as restricted as Apple products), it has a couple extra features and is not much more. I'm hoping the Kobo gets the jump-to-page and more sophisticated library management and then I think it is well featured enough to compete below the Nooks price point. Last edited by JPenguin; 07-11-2010 at 01:22 AM. Reason: Correction

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07-09-2010, 10:38 PM	#2
RedRoverJ Zealot Posts: 125 Karma: 314 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Canada, Eh! Device: Kobo	Not a bad review. Thanks for posting.

07-10-2010, 12:43 AM	#3
clintbradford Older ... slower ... Posts: 450 Karma: 1924 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Jurupa Valley CA US Device: Kobo, Kindles 2/3/Keyboard/Fire/Fire HD, HDX.	Yes, the kobo needs to come down a bit in price. I played with the nooks last night at my local B&N. On the WiFi-only unit, I could never get a pre-loaded book to go to a chosen chapter ... but I attribute that to the device being a "demo" and who knows what has occurred to it in our hands. The color touch screen is cool - but battery-draining. And not as "responsive" as, say, the screen of my 3rd gen 32GB iPod touch. But WiFi connectivity at US$149? And the kobo at the same price? The public won't eat up kobos at 150 ... even with double Borders Rewards points and a $20 gift certificate. It is the out-of-pocket up-front cost that consumers look at. The kobo needs to go to US $99.95 or $119.95 to sell in the US, IMHO. Clint "Humble" Bradford

07-10-2010, 11:07 AM	#5
nursedude Zealot Posts: 131 Karma: 17102 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Ontario, Canada Device: Kobo (Original), KT, iPad 1, iPhone 4S, iPad 3rd gen	I think the kobo fills a niche for many readers who don't want bells and whistles. For example: I don't care if my kobo has wireless. I just want to be able to read a book on it. Other people have different needs/wants. There will always be a market for stripped down, easy to use devices just as there will always be one for feature laden ones.

07-10-2010, 11:52 AM	#6
RedRoverJ Zealot Posts: 125 Karma: 314 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Canada, Eh! Device: Kobo	I really did dislike all of the Kobo vs. Nook (or Kindle2) vs. iPad talk. In my mind these items fell into three completely separate classes and could not easily be compared. As such they filled three completely different needs. Almost all comparisons ended with the upsell. "The Kobo is a nice little reader but you could spend a few more dollars and get something with more options." As this was my first foray into the eReader market, I really didn't want to spend a few more dollars. Of course, now that the Nook has dropped in price to compare with the Kobo, that line is starting to blur. Of course, the iPad, which isn't an eReader, isn't even in the picture as far as I am concerned. While I would love one, it isn't just for reading. Either way, the eReader market is starting to heat up and it will be interesting to see what the future holds. As it is, I am almost thinking I should have waited and gone Nook after all. <shrug> Who knows?

07-10-2010, 12:34 PM	#7
mwlcarter Connoisseur Posts: 52 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2010 Location: St. Catharines, ON Device: Kobo eReader	Good review. I watched the videos on the Nook as well... now I kind of feel like I bought an eReader a couple months too early. While the Nook looks noticeably bigger/thicker/heavier than the Kobo, it's got a replaceable battery (a huge feature!), tons more functionality (granted, I like a "just for reading" device), and wi-fi. I'll console myself with the fact that the Kobo is the lightest, most compact eReader out there of the major contenders, but it still kind of hurts to so quickly have the "great deal" price advantage of the Kobo evaporate, particularly when early Kobo adopters had to put up with two months of major bugs before a firmware update was released.

07-10-2010, 01:27 PM	#8
s2welee Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: Kobo, Sony Reader Pocket	My boss has a nook and I have a Kobo and a Sony Pocket. The big thing for me is the weight. The Kobo is miles lighter than a nook and the same weight as the Sony Pocket. I dont care about WiFi, I just want something light and comfortable to read on, and the kobo kills in that department.

07-10-2010, 02:09 PM	#9
clintbradford Older ... slower ... Posts: 450 Karma: 1924 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Jurupa Valley CA US Device: Kobo, Kindles 2/3/Keyboard/Fire/Fire HD, HDX.	>> ... For example: I don't care if my kobo has wireless ... Agreed! But if you had $150 in your pocket, and saw the Kobo side-by-side with the Nook ... You'd be tempted by a little color touch screen ... user-replaceable battery ... free WiFI capability in thousands of locations ... Or - for just the price of three or four books - save a little more for a Kindle2. I am enjoying my Kobo - don't get me wrong. But pricing is going to make or break it.

07-10-2010, 10:14 PM	#10
sabredog Geographically Restricted Posts: 2,629 Karma: 14933353 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Perth, Australia Device: Sony PRS-T3, Kindle Voyage, iPad Air2, Nexus7v2	The Kobo is currently the hottest ereader item in Australia which the main reason Borders has such huge supply problems at least initially. Where the Kindle 2 was considered the only other option easily obtained by those wanting an ereader, the Kobo at AU$199 is a stand out. While they sell well here and demand is high, the price is not going to drop any time soon. Maybe I am wrong here, but I do believe that most ereader purchasers simply want a device that reads ebooks. Other functions detract from the reading experience somewhat.

07-14-2010, 01:40 AM	#15
J. Strnad Guru Posts: 915 Karma: 3537194 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Kobo, Kindle 3, Paperwhite	"But if you had $150 in your pocket, and saw the Kobo side-by-side with the Nook ... You'd be tempted by a little color touch screen ... user-replaceable battery ... free WiFI capability in thousands of locations ... " I agree with you that the Kobo needs to come down in price to compete in the marketplace, but honestly, I wish I could have compared the Kobo and the nook side by side and held each one, played with them. I've revisited the nook since buying a Kobo and have no buyer's remorse at all. The nook is half-again heavier and just clunkier. It's hard to sell "less is more" in this country, though, so ultimately I think you're right.

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