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Old 04-29-2013, 09:26 AM   #31
BWinmill
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That could be true, but there's a reason why many device makers maintain an annual schedule. It's to keep the newer device from cannibalizing sales of the model that was released 6 months earlier.
Fixed release schedules can also cannibalize sales from existing devices since people are left speculating about what's going to be released a couple of months down the road. (Take a look at the thread on Sony readers for one such example.) So maybe Kobo did things right by popping the news a week ahead and at a random time of year. Only time will tell.
 
Old 04-29-2013, 09:30 AM   #32
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You can add me to that list.
Has the Aura been officially released in the U.S.? If not, it is hard to place all the blame upon their shoulders. Some of the blame, sure. After all, it sounds like they accepted the orders when they weren't prepared to and it sounds like they aren't prepared to remedy the error properly. Yet consumers should also be aware that transactions with foreign companies don't always go smoothly due to the financial system and import/export regulations. So ordering anything from a foreign company that doesn't explicitly say, "we're ready for you," is risky at best.
 
Old 04-29-2013, 09:49 AM   #33
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Originally Posted by BWinmill View Post
Has the Aura been officially released in the U.S.? If not, it is hard to place all the blame upon their shoulders. Some of the blame, sure. After all, it sounds like they accepted the orders when they weren't prepared to and it sounds like they aren't prepared to remedy the error properly. Yet consumers should also be aware that transactions with foreign companies don't always go smoothly due to the financial system and import/export regulations. So ordering anything from a foreign company that doesn't explicitly say, "we're ready for you," is risky at best.
Kobo launched the Aura HD in the US on the same day as in Canada.

If they took orders that they weren't prepared to ship on schedule then it is on their shoulders, yes. They should have declined to take my money.
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Old 04-29-2013, 10:05 AM   #34
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According to the shipping email the current Aura HDs are being MAILED to US customers
from Canada. This demonstrates another problem with selling physical goods, as opposed
to digital. The normal thing to do is setup an importer, with a warehouse, and ship them
a bunch of your product for distribution in that country. NAFTA should have made all this
work easier, maybe not as much for Canada as for Mexico?

Does anyone really expect prompt service through the U.S. Government Delivery Service?
I expect the slowest delivery even when Newegg uses one of the Half and Half
services. "From Canada by mail", sounds like a good book or movie title, but not
something that fills me with confidence.

Luck;
Ken

Last edited by Ken Maltby; 04-29-2013 at 10:08 AM.
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Old 04-29-2013, 12:21 PM   #35
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken Maltby View Post
According to the shipping email the current Aura HDs are being MAILED to US customers
from Canada. This demonstrates another problem with selling physical goods, as opposed
to digital. The normal thing to do is setup an importer, with a warehouse, and ship them
a bunch of your product for distribution in that country. NAFTA should have made all this
work easier, maybe not as much for Canada as for Mexico?

Does anyone really expect prompt service through the U.S. Government Delivery Service?
I expect the slowest delivery even when Newegg uses one of the Half and Half
services. "From Canada by mail", sounds like a good book or movie title, but not
something that fills me with confidence.

Luck;
Ken
Shipped on Thursday, the release date, made it to my city yesterday, Sunday, should be here just after lunch.
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Old 04-29-2013, 05:20 PM   #36
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Got mine today.

Luck;
Ken
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Old 04-29-2013, 07:32 PM   #37
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nate the great View Post
Quote:
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I can (try to) put the conspiracy theories to rest

Can't say why the post was removed, but what I can say is that the rumour is false.

Kobo Aura was in development for more than a year during which time we worked very closely on ground-up R&D with our partners at eInk to bring this fantastic 6.8" 1440x1080 screen to market.
Can you shed any light on why Kobo followed up the September launch with a launch in April? It breaks the pattern of the previous launches.

Also, feel free to post a denial on the original story:
http://www.the-digital-reader.com/20...a-nook-glow-hd

I won't bite, I promise.
I guess Sameer is one of the Kobo folks that refuses to talk top me. Since he will not say anything, allow me.

I think he's being deliberately misleading.

I've read his comment carefully and he doesn't actually deny the rumor I reported. He did a very good job of tiptoeing around the rumor, but he does not actually make a statement contrary to the rumor.

He says that the Aura HD was under development for "more than a year" but he makes no statement about the intended launch date. He said nothing about whether B&N was going to buy the screens for a Spring launch. He also didn't say anything about whether Kobo changed their launch date.

At this point the only response Kobo has made is an obfuscation, not a denial. Absent any other statement I am going to conclude that they are avoiding an explicit denial because it would be a lie.

While I respect them for trying to avoid lying, at this point the lack of a denial is an admission that the rumor is true.
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Old 04-29-2013, 07:36 PM   #38
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nate the great View Post
I guess Sameer is one of the Kobo folks that refuses to talk top me. Since he will not say anything, allow me.

I think he's being deliberately misleading.

I've read his comment carefully and he doesn't actually deny the rumor I reported. He did a very good job of tiptoeing around the rumor, but he does not actually make a statement contrary to the rumor.

He says that the Aura HD was under development for "more than a year" but he makes no statement about the intended launch date. He said nothing about whether B&N was going to buy the screens for a Spring launch. He also didn't say anything about whether Kobo changed their launch date.

At this point the only response Kobo has made is an obfuscation, not a denial. Absent any other statement I am going to conclude that they are avoiding an explicit denial because it would be a lie.

While I respect them for trying to avoid lying, at this point the lack of a denial is an admission that the rumor is true.
He said 'the rumour is false'.

Anyway, I just received my tracking number and so did many others. Looks like a new batch has come out of production at Foxconn.

Last edited by HansTWN; 04-29-2013 at 07:39 PM.
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Old 04-29-2013, 07:38 PM   #39
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He said 'the rumour is false'.
Which rumor? There was actually 2 rumors from 2 different sources.
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Old 04-29-2013, 07:41 PM   #40
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Which rumor? There was actually 2 rumors from 2 different sources.
My guess is the rumor implied in the thread title.
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Old 04-29-2013, 07:41 PM   #41
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I think when he talks about "conspiracy theories" he's referring to you. Does anyone even care? I'm not sure what the controversy is here.
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Old 04-29-2013, 07:48 PM   #42
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My guess is the rumor implied in the thread title.
That's not the comment he responded to, nor was he referring to my blog when he wrote that post.

And in any case this is something for him to discuss, not you. Kobo has a rep here and he can speak for himself.
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Old 04-29-2013, 10:35 PM   #43
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Originally Posted by SameerH View Post
I can (try to) put the conspiracy theories to rest

Can't say why the post was removed, but what I can say is that the rumour is false.

Kobo Aura was in development for more than a year during which time we worked very closely on ground-up R&D with our partners at eInk to bring this fantastic 6.8" 1440x1080 screen to market.
Since you are a kobo rep, could you please ask the devs to let users (namely, me) turn OFF the header and footer. Seriously, I don't need to see the title of the book I'm reading at all time, and I don't need the page number to take up a good chunk of the screen. It's great that you brought a 6.8" 1440x1080 screen to market. Please, let me actually USE it.
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Old 05-03-2013, 05:43 AM   #44
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It's worth remembering particularly in recent times, neither Amazon nor B&N and to most extents Kobo are aiming to sell devices. They're like game console makers, their primary purpose is to sell books, the devices are just a way to help that. Provided they haven't so screwed up their production and ordering so as they start to lose too much, canabilising sales between their devices isn't likely a big deal. The bigger concern would be annoying people who purchased an older device or slowing sales in general. In that regard, a fixed release schedule can help since people know when a new device is coming so they're less likely to be surprised by the introduction, but that also likely reduces sales in the lead up.

Either way, I do agree all this talk of fixed release schedules or unexpected releases for Kobo is bizzarre when 2012 was the only year Kobo didn't release something in the April to June period in the past 4 years.

I'm not even convinced eInk would have told Kobo that they tried to sell the screen to B&N, it doesn't generally make much business sense, unless perhaps they're trying to convince them it's cheap because they're desperate. Kobo may have heard rumours and perhaps could come to an educated guess but that's about it.

Spoiler:
I also don't get why anyone would think it would likely have used Android. The reason why no one has done so far is most likely because Android won't work well or offer much advantage over a specialised OS for a eInk device given the lack of colour and particularly the latency.
Edit: I should offer some clarification here. When writing the text in the spoiler tags I knew some eink ereaders used Android as the OS but they generally offer little or no extra app support not even in their own walled garden, basically they're just using Android as the OS and framework for their ereader, browser and whatever highly specialised apps offered. I wasn't aware Nook was one of those, since when the place I looked didn't mention Android. I realise now the Nook is one that uses Android and like many such devices can be rooted to allow app support. Sorry for any confusion or offense caused from my original comment. However this wasn't really what I was thinking of since while modding is cool, it's still the case that the maker didn't generally really intend it for this purpose most likely because they didn't think it would work well. Notably while some tablets do have their own walled garden without access to the Play store, they do generally have far greater app support. I do not believe this would change even if Nook had used the Aura screen, they probably would have used Android but they would still not offered much degree of extra app support. And I do stick by my point that Android is not necessarily any better for most users than some other customised OS (probably using the Linux kernel) like other ereaders use, which is why someone who is using a customised OS (as I thought Nook was but was mistaken) is not likely to switch to using Android (there is a chance if there is another reason, e.g. they want to unify the OS and app for their tablets and ereaders).

On a personal level, while I would have preferred a device with buttons, I'm mostly glad for the Aura if the alternative was a Nook device only. While it would be good to have competition or both and I may end up getting my Aura from the US anyway, ultimately B&N are way to US centric to be of any interest to me. I mean even Amazon sometimes acknowledges we exist, B&N never do so.

If you really want to talk about a Kobo oddity, consider the Mini which recently dropped drastically in price in many markets. A aggressive pricing strategy or as some speculate is it being discontinued perhaps for a Glo/front light version. If so, was the original device a mistake, or necessary/wise at the time due to market dynamics? Or is the line being completely discontinued, perhaps because the 5" market didn't work for them or they're afraid of others taking over there?

Last edited by Nil Einne; 05-03-2013 at 09:01 AM.
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Old 05-03-2013, 07:16 AM   #45
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That's not the comment he responded to, nor was he referring to my blog when he wrote that post.

And in any case this is something for him to discuss, not you. Kobo has a rep here and he can speak for himself.
Do please remind me why exactly you are a mod here ? Your tone is unbelievably rude, and very arrogant. HansTWN was not rude to you. He was not even criticizing you (God forbid!).
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