Scrapking, thank you so much for your generous offer to pick one up for me! I will seriously consider it.
I fully agree: Kobo has a BIG chance. It's a big earth, and there's a lot more Free Market out there besides the U.S. Being a firm believer in the power of the free market (no desire to start a political argument there), I fully welcome all the competition that Kobo can bring to Amazon and B&N. Bring it on, I say! Kobo needs to bring in that capital and then attack the U.S. market. They have great hardware, now it's time to bring in some great software. Start hiring some software developers and get cracking! Stay nimble, and go for it!
With Amazon phasing out the DX in the near future, I think it would be wise of Kobo to come out with a 9.7" eReader one of these days, but only after its a safe bet to do so.
Quote:
Originally Posted by scrapking
You're having the opposite problem as Kindle fans have in the rest of the world. Amazon treats the rest of the world as second-class citizens: no Paperwhite release date outside the U.S.; the Fire wasn't released in any country outside the U.S.; the Fire HD is only coming to the U.S. and a couple of European countries (seemingly on the countries where Amazon's LOVEFiLM service operates), and only the 7" version, not the larger-screened model.
At least Kobo *wants* to release it in the U.S., they're simply having trouble because the market dominance of Kindle and Nook in the U.S. appears to be making things difficult for other parties.
I agree with you that Kobo appears to have the superior product here, and soon Kobo will be the only major player with a front-lit e-reader on the market outside the U.S. (and, eventually, the UK if/when the Nook gets released there). If you're in Canada, France, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Japan, etc., etc., etc., the Kobo Glo is going to be the only game in town for a while to come. This could be Kobo's big chance, internationally. They're already the dominant player in Canada and France. As for the U.S. market, I'm not sure what Kobo needs to do to get their footing back there. Borders' bankruptcy was a huge setback for them in that market.
Back on topic. Because of the broad availability of the Kobo Glo in Canada, I bet you'll be able to purchase a Canadian-sourced Glo (which will guarantee it supports all the right power standards, etc.) easily on eBay within days. For that matter, I'd be very happy to pick one up for you too, if you wished. You can pay my costs (including shipping) and pay me through PayPal, if you wish. I have one pre-ordered in-store, and would be happy to snag an extra one for you if they have extra units on launch day (apparently Oct. 5th, or so the staff told me today when I checked on my pre-order).
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