Quote:
Originally Posted by Lucifer
I just bought this, the KOBO ereader yesterday. It's $150, which is a good deal cheaper than the sony or the kindle. It has no backlit screen, which is easier on the battery life, is very lightweight and has a small footprint, which I find great for slipping into my pant's cargo pocket for reading at work. It has a 1 GB internal memory and will take an (up to 4GB) SD memory card. I can sync it to my laptop with a USB cable, download books either from the KOBO site, or from my computer in PDF format, or from my public library in either PDF or EPUB format.
The operating system is licensed under the GNU license, and is free to download to read on your desktop, or on your smartphone. I was reading KOBO ebooks on my blackberry for about a month before buying the ereader tablet. I can sync books between my desktop, the reader and my smartphone with bluetooth, so I'll always be able to pick up where I left off, which can be pretty handy. |
I bought this for my wife on mother's day. It was a pre-purchase from Chapters Bookstores, and is available from Borders in the US as of this month. The Kobo flexibility is a real popular point and the ereader is certainly the least expensive device on the market. My wife compares to her sister's touch screen Sony ereader (more expensive and bought for her also on mother's day by an obviously more loving husband!) and claims that the Kobo is lighter, feels better and has a bigger viewable screen. The lack of touch screen is an added cost savings that is soon not missed.
There are still software issues with this reader though, and I am awaiting the firmware upgrade that will allow me to adjust the font size of books that are obtained from non-Kobo store sources.
These readers are supposed to replicate the preading (paper reading) experience by using eInk, providing for soothing contrast of word on background and allows for reading in harsh lighting conditions. Backlit screens such as on a computer or ipad/itouch are said to strain the eyes and are hard to read in bright sunlight, such as when you take a book to the beach. Also, there is very little battery drain on the Kobo (as it is only a reader, with no extra functions such as MP3) so after 6 weeks or so of continuous usage, there has been no need to recharge.
Here's an ereading forum that is very useful:
Good E-Reader Forum - Ereader News, Ebook News and E-Book Downloads
the main site:
Good E-Book Readers - We have the latest Electronic Readers, Your source for the latest E-Reader Sales and Support