Vox So whats happening with Kobo Vox?

[Lordvic]

Originally Posted by SCION

Yeah, don't understand the stealth release. It's priced right and has great features. Like you said, good for those who are tech-challenged and those who aren't.

I'm not entirely sold on $199

I know that that the Kindle isn't available up here in Canada, and this is Kobo's primary Market, being they're canadian,

But the Kindle specs far outweigh those of the Vox, and priced identically. I'm not entirely sure that $199 is the right price.

unless the tech spec's that have been reported by tech sites are wrong, it's only a single core, 800mhz cpu with 512mb ram. While the Kindle is sporting a dual core CPU, a bit more ram, custom UI and a much larger "marketplace" with videos, music, and books.

I think this HAS to be $20-30 cheaper. if you put both on the same storefront shelf for $199, the Kindle is a far greater deal. the "soft" backing, and bare bones Android aren't enough to justify the same cost for significantly lower hardware.

[dmacmart]

Totally guessing about the stealth - the Amazon announcement forced them to reconsider their marketing strategy (remember the Future Shop leak priced it at $249). So they couldn't do any pre-release information because they were busy changing horses in midstream and hadn't decided what their final game plan would be? (to mix metaphors)

[Psyke]

..and kobo just sent out a $10 discount if you purchase it through them before it goes on sale....man..decisions decisions...

[SCION]

Originally Posted by Lordvic

I'm not entirely sold on $199

I know that that the Kindle isn't available up here in Canada, and this is Kobo's primary Market, being they're canadian,

But the Kindle specs far outweigh those of the Vox, and priced identically. I'm not entirely sure that $199 is the right price.

unless the tech spec's that have been reported by tech sites are wrong, it's only a single core, 800mhz cpu with 512mb ram. While the Kindle is sporting a dual core CPU, a bit more ram, custom UI and a much larger "marketplace" with videos, music, and books.

I think this HAS to be $20-30 cheaper. if you put both on the same storefront shelf for $199, the Kindle is a far greater deal. the "soft" backing, and bare bones Android aren't enough to justify the same cost for significantly lower hardware.

But you said the Kindle (including the video/music/apps) isn't available to Canadians. The Kindle isn't an available option. Why isn't $199 appealing if there is no competition?

[taming]

Originally Posted by dmacmart

Totally guessing about the stealth - the Amazon announcement forced them to reconsider their marketing strategy (remember the Future Shop leak priced it at $249). So they couldn't do any pre-release information because they were busy changing horses in midstream and hadn't decided what their final game plan would be? (to mix metaphors)

The Future Shop announcement had various inaccuracies. The hardware was sealed with the FCC clearing. Did price change--maybe. FWIW, I did not see this on the Future Shop website when I checked about an hour ago. And now readers are available directly from Kobo, which should make it possible to sell it for less.

I saw a $129 Touch on the Kobo website, btw. That was also a pre-order, with the $139 one also on the site when I looked early this AM. Now only the $139 device is listed, so I would expect a price change for that model in about 10 days.

[Lordvic]

its appealing. But sort of Bitter sweet.

yes, 199 for an android tablet is good.
but no, it's not the same value as what the American's can currently get. We will eventually get the Fire, but we'll have to wait a little longer.

Its analogue to Canadian Television. a lot of times we can't get american broadcasting on initial release and some shows wont be shown till 1 or 2 seasons later. But meanwhile, the networks here will play "local" homebrew shows, where the production quality is 1/2 that of the american version. But it's all we get, till they decide to bring the better, american show northbound.

This is what it feels to me. we have no choice. if we want a sub $200 android tablet, this is basically the only option. Despite just a short drive away, a better option is avialble for the same price.

But in markets were both the Fire and the Vox are available, the Vox isn't priced right for the competition between the two. Especially with the Fire having Amazon's name and backing.

Also the kindle includes more than just ereader. its got the amazon cloud backing, the whispersynch and a ton of unique features.

I love how Kobo alays has been the "barebones" e reader. providing the base comfort levels. never the fanciest, not the latest, greatest hardware, and they did this at usually cheaper prices than anyone else. (not including the ad supported kindles).

But from what i can tell, the Vox is the same mentality on the hardware. Simple, easy to use, bare minimums to just do what it needs to do. But at the same price as the feature rich alternative


Edit:

also, kobo is giving you a chance to win a Kobo Vox if you buy ebooks off them. There will be 10 Vox's available to win. Thats, kind of ... cheap.

last i saw, Kobo books sales were pretty good. the Vox costs them < $200 (i'm asuming wholesale for them is a lot less). only 10 winners? come on. thats not enough odds to warrant me suddenly spending money at your bookstore. I'll continue to sideload and get my books elsewhere


This entire release has been quite underwhelming

[taming]

I'm betting I will be able to sideload the Amazon app onto the Vox, should I want to. I am also betting that when the Fire is released, the Kobo app will no longer be in the Amazon App store.

Whether people see this as a good deal or not may ultimately be about how much of a tablet folks want or need. I have a great cell phone and hot and cold running computers--so my needs were relatively modest. As I said earlier, the biggest differentiator for me was the promise of a screen that is usable outdoors and a price that made it an impulse buy.

[The Terminator]

I just got an Email a few seconds ago introducing it, it says that Kobo owners who buy it directly from Kobo get $10 off if they buy it before Oct 28.

[taming]

Humm, I did not get that yet. I wonder if I whisper in someone's ear I can get it anyway. It would be a shame to miss out on it for being so quick to jump on buying the Vox.

[3d0g]

Well, I just walked through the specs and I don't see the Vox as inferior to the Fire in any way. In fact, by the specs at least, there's some very distinct advantages. The AFFS+ screens are what's used in airline cockpit displays - specifically for their daylight visibility. And like all previous devices, Kobo's been smart by including the SD card slot. This means you can take your music and vids where there's no WiFi. Can't do that with a Fire. Vox also supports Exchange ActiveSync email. Fire is POP3 / IMAP only. And then of course, there's that EPUB support bit.

Oh, and don't be fooled for one second by processor specs. My Android HTC G2 has a 800 MHz CPU with 512 RAM and it plays HBO and Netflix flawlessly. 800 MHz is plenty for this device.

[The Terminator]

I just noticed this; "Popular apps like Facebook® and RDIO® come ready to go and the store offers over 15,000 hot music, video and game apps"

Does that mean that you don't get full access to the Android App Market? Android has over 150,000 apps (A few months ago when I read that at least) So why would it say one tenth of that?

[dmacmart]

Originally Posted by taming

Humm, I did not get that yet. I wonder if I whisper in someone's ear I can get it anyway. It would be a shame to miss out on it for being so quick to jump on buying the Vox.

Is this what you're looking for?

Kobo owners — save $10 »
As a loyal Kobo eReader owner, get $10 off
when you buy your Kobo Vox directly through
Kobo.com before October 28.

Discount code: kobovox10

[The Terminator]

And the Email they sent me says; Pre-loaded with top Android apps,
plus easy access to 10,000 more

[Psyke]

Originally Posted by The Terminator

I just noticed this; "Popular apps like Facebook® and RDIO® come ready to go and the store offers over 15,000 hot music, video and game apps"

Does that mean that you don't get full access to the Android App Market? Android has over 150,000 apps (A few months ago when I read that at least) So why would it say one tenth of that?

because they are touting an open android systems leads me to believe that you will be able to download any apps that are compatible with 2.3; I'd also guess they are mentioning the free apps because "free" is always positive trigger for people when making purchases.

[Lordvic]

Originally Posted by The Terminator

I just noticed this; "Popular apps like Facebook® and RDIO® come ready to go and the store offers over 15,000 hot music, video and game apps"

Does that mean that you don't get full access to the Android App Market? Android has over 150,000 apps (A few months ago when I read that at least) So why would it say one tenth of that?

could just be the way they've decided to market it. if it's the full google app store, there won't be any problem.
Could also be someone forgot a 0 somewhere

But yes, I wold be further concerned if they've decided to make their own "app store" with their own library of stuff. Kobo's always been good at supporting the "non locked down" mentality. Using their own app store instead of the global google would feel weird for them

Originally Posted by dmacmart

Discount code: kobovox10

just tried. Didnt work for me