Register Guidelines E-Books Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Go Back   MobileRead Forums > E-Book Readers > Kobo Reader

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old 08-31-2010, 12:40 PM   #1
Paulc15
Member
Paulc15 has a spectacular aura aboutPaulc15 has a spectacular aura aboutPaulc15 has a spectacular aura aboutPaulc15 has a spectacular aura aboutPaulc15 has a spectacular aura aboutPaulc15 has a spectacular aura aboutPaulc15 has a spectacular aura aboutPaulc15 has a spectacular aura aboutPaulc15 has a spectacular aura aboutPaulc15 has a spectacular aura aboutPaulc15 has a spectacular aura about
 
Posts: 24
Karma: 4466
Join Date: May 2010
Device: Kobo Touch, Kindle DX , iPad 1, Kobo Vox
Kobo prices coming down? (via TechCrunch)

http://tcrn.ch/aWNca2

No news on the Chapters or Borders website.
Paulc15 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-31-2010, 02:13 PM   #2
clintbradford
Older ... slower ...
clintbradford once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.clintbradford once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.clintbradford once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.clintbradford once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.clintbradford once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.clintbradford once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.clintbradford once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.clintbradford once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.clintbradford once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.clintbradford once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.clintbradford once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.
 
clintbradford's Avatar
 
Posts: 450
Karma: 1924
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Jurupa Valley CA US
Device: Kobo, Kindles 2/3/Keyboard/Fire/Fire HD, HDX.
The Kobo simply has to come down in price here in the U.S. No matter its merits, no matter Kobo's commitment to excellent customer support, no matter that it has allowed folks to efficiently read and enjoy books ...

Long live Kobo.
clintbradford is offline   Reply With Quote
Advert
Old 08-31-2010, 02:20 PM   #3
GA Russell
Montreal wins Grey Cup!
GA Russell ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.GA Russell ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.GA Russell ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.GA Russell ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.GA Russell ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.GA Russell ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.GA Russell ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.GA Russell ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.GA Russell ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.GA Russell ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.GA Russell ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
GA Russell's Avatar
 
Posts: 7,578
Karma: 31484197
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Raleigh, NC
Device: Paperwhite, Kindles 10 & 4 and jetBook Lite
If I'm standing in a Borders and on a budget, I think I'd rather go for the Aluratek Libre for $99.

Last edited by GA Russell; 08-31-2010 at 02:26 PM. Reason: spelling
GA Russell is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-31-2010, 02:21 PM   #4
soondai
Guru
soondai ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.soondai ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.soondai ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.soondai ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.soondai ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.soondai ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.soondai ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.soondai ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.soondai ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.soondai ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.soondai ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
soondai's Avatar
 
Posts: 672
Karma: 1109784
Join Date: Aug 2010
Device: Paperwhite
I can't imagine they make it to Xmas at over 100 bucks. I'd buy today at 99. Thought I was going to get a K3, but now I think I'll end up seeing how the holiday pricing shakes out.
soondai is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-31-2010, 03:19 PM   #5
bill_mchale
Wizard
bill_mchale ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.bill_mchale ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.bill_mchale ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.bill_mchale ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.bill_mchale ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.bill_mchale ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.bill_mchale ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.bill_mchale ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.bill_mchale ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.bill_mchale ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.bill_mchale ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Posts: 1,451
Karma: 1550000
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Maryland, USA
Device: Nook Simple Touch, HPC Evo 4G LTE
Quote:
Originally Posted by GA Russell View Post
If I'm standing in a Borders and on a budget, I think I'd rather go for the Aluratek Libre for $99.
Since neither unit has user replaceable batteries (at least officially), I would say that paying slightly more for the Kobo might make the most sense in the long run.

The reason is pretty simple. I have (close to being had) a Jetbook which is more or less identical to the Libre. I found that when I first bought the unit, I was able to get about 20 hours or so of reading from the device. In practice, this meant I needed to charge it every 3 or 4 days.

The Kobo on the other hand, if it is at all similar to my wife's PRS-505 in terms of Battery Life (and since they both are basic e-Ink readers with no wifi or other battery draining features I expect it is), then you might well go two or more weeks between charges.

This difference is important because Li-Ion batteries (Which both units have) generally can be recharged 300-500 times before they stop functioning well. So, if we assume a minimum reharge cycle of 3 days for the Libre versus 14 days for the Kobo, at the end of two years, the Kobo has been charged between 50 and 60 times while the Libre has been recharged well over 200 times!.

In my personal experience after about 21-22 months with the Jetbook, the battery life had dropped by close to half and I was recharging every two days. Thus, I would expect to get about 3 years of life (at most) from a regularly used Libre.

Now, if we looked at merely the recharge cycles, we might expect the Kobo to last 10 years or more! In practice though, Li-Ion batteries do age independent of the charge cycles. Still, I would expect that the Kobo might well last 4 or 5 years before the battery made the device unusable (maybe longer, if the length a charge lasted dropped by 90% the Libre would need to be charged every 2 hours (i.e., not great if you like to read for an extended period) while the Kobo might still last more than a day of reading.

So, in the long run, if you choice is between these two devices, the Kobo might be the better value.

Just my thoughts on the matter.

--
Bill
bill_mchale is offline   Reply With Quote
Advert
Old 08-31-2010, 06:01 PM   #6
soondai
Guru
soondai ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.soondai ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.soondai ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.soondai ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.soondai ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.soondai ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.soondai ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.soondai ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.soondai ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.soondai ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.soondai ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
soondai's Avatar
 
Posts: 672
Karma: 1109784
Join Date: Aug 2010
Device: Paperwhite
speaking of practical price, almost everyone is going to have to pay sales tax on a Kobo at Borders, while Kindles are tax free most places. I have a hard time thinking the Kobo is the better buy for an 8 dollar difference.

Again, I'd consider them at sub-100, but my hunch is I'll get impatient and buy the K3 on impulse before Kobo makes me an offer I can't refuse.
soondai is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-31-2010, 06:05 PM   #7
taming
Trying for calm & polite
taming ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.taming ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.taming ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.taming ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.taming ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.taming ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.taming ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.taming ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.taming ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.taming ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.taming ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
taming's Avatar
 
Posts: 4,012
Karma: 9455193
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Mostly in Canada
Device: kobo original, WiFI, Touch, Glo, and Aura
At the moment, the Borders US website offers the Kobo with a $20 merchandise credit/gift certificate--not for $20 off. I would be very, very surprised if we did not see the price drop well before the holiday season.

As you may remember, Kobo readers were discounted $20 for a weekend, in Canada, not long ago. Here we can purchase Kobo readers at WalMart, Chapters bookstores, and over the web. The discount was good no matter how people bought them.
taming is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-31-2010, 07:43 PM   #8
Solicitous
Wizard
Solicitous ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Solicitous ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Solicitous ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Solicitous ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Solicitous ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Solicitous ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Solicitous ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Solicitous ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Solicitous ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Solicitous ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Solicitous ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Posts: 1,434
Karma: 1525776
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: TAS, Australia
Device: Astak Pocket Pro (Black), 2 x Kindle WiFi (Graphite), iPod Touch 4G
Borders Australia are still charging like a wounded bull. Doubt we'll see a price cut here in Australia. I personally think $150-$160AUS would be good price from the current $199AUS (a man can order a new Kindle and have it shipped to Aus for $185AUS). Not to get into an argument over which is better (as they both have their strengths and weaknesses) but for first time ereader buyers, or someone looking for a cheap second reader will buy on price.
Solicitous is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-31-2010, 07:53 PM   #9
sabredog
Geographically Restricted
sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
sabredog's Avatar
 
Posts: 2,629
Karma: 14933353
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Perth, Australia
Device: Sony PRS-T3, Kindle Voyage, iPad Air2, Nexus7v2
Very true. but the one advantage the Kobo has over the kindle is its availability locally. The Kobo is visible to shop customers within both Angus and Robertson and Borders. Interested customers can see, touch and use the Kobo in-store.

This is a huge advantage for Kobo to have and is something the Kindle (and the locally available Kogan) is not able to do.

In that regard even at AU$199, the Kobo is still priced competitively within the Australian market.

Last edited by sabredog; 08-31-2010 at 07:59 PM.
sabredog is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-31-2010, 10:52 PM   #10
3d0g
I make fjords.
3d0g can tame squirrels without the assistance of a chair or a whip.3d0g can tame squirrels without the assistance of a chair or a whip.3d0g can tame squirrels without the assistance of a chair or a whip.3d0g can tame squirrels without the assistance of a chair or a whip.3d0g can tame squirrels without the assistance of a chair or a whip.3d0g can tame squirrels without the assistance of a chair or a whip.3d0g can tame squirrels without the assistance of a chair or a whip.3d0g can tame squirrels without the assistance of a chair or a whip.3d0g can tame squirrels without the assistance of a chair or a whip.3d0g can tame squirrels without the assistance of a chair or a whip.3d0g can tame squirrels without the assistance of a chair or a whip.
 
Posts: 304
Karma: 11192
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Colorado
Device: kobo 1 (retired), kobo 2, iPad, G2, Galaxy Tab 7+
Quote:
Originally Posted by soondai View Post
speaking of practical price, almost everyone is going to have to pay sales tax on a Kobo at Borders, while Kindles are tax free most places. I have a hard time thinking the Kobo is the better buy for an 8 dollar difference.
At a glace (and particularly with kindle @ $139) it's temping to think it's the better buy now but it's really not quite that simple. Buying a kindle is buying into Amazon for your sole book source, essentially. Yes, their selection is great and prices are often good, but you're still locked in. No library e-loans. No EPUB. On the other hand, the kindle is clearly more polished hardware - it has several years head-start on the kobo.

Really, it comes down to the individual reader's requirements. I admit to being tempted by the kindle 3's new high-contrast screen - it's frigging gorgeous. Still, I'm a strong believer in the EPUB format and have a substantial (and growing) collection of EPUB books, so for now, I'm willing to wait and see what new devices kobo brings to market. They may be the underdogs but I like their philosophy and am willing to support them.
3d0g is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-31-2010, 11:34 PM   #11
bill_mchale
Wizard
bill_mchale ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.bill_mchale ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.bill_mchale ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.bill_mchale ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.bill_mchale ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.bill_mchale ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.bill_mchale ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.bill_mchale ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.bill_mchale ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.bill_mchale ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.bill_mchale ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Posts: 1,451
Karma: 1550000
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Maryland, USA
Device: Nook Simple Touch, HPC Evo 4G LTE
Quote:
Originally Posted by soondai View Post
speaking of practical price, almost everyone is going to have to pay sales tax on a Kobo at Borders, while Kindles are tax free most places. I have a hard time thinking the Kobo is the better buy for an 8 dollar difference.
The fact that Amazon does not collect sales tax does not mean that you do not have to pay it. Technically, you still owe the sales tax. Currently there is no practical way for the states to track what taxes are owned, but you are still suppose to pay the taxes on the honor system. In practice no one does pay the taxes but that isn't the same as not owing them.

--
Bill
bill_mchale is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-01-2010, 03:26 AM   #12
soondai
Guru
soondai ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.soondai ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.soondai ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.soondai ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.soondai ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.soondai ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.soondai ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.soondai ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.soondai ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.soondai ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.soondai ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
soondai's Avatar
 
Posts: 672
Karma: 1109784
Join Date: Aug 2010
Device: Paperwhite
Quote:
Originally Posted by 3d0g View Post
At a glace (and particularly with kindle @ $139) it's temping to think it's the better buy now but it's really not quite that simple. Buying a kindle is buying into Amazon for your sole book source, essentially. Yes, their selection is great and prices are often good, but you're still locked in. No library e-loans. No EPUB.
I like the underdog, too, and it was actually the initial wave of Kobo hype that hooked me on the idea of buying an ereader. But then B&N and Amazon both undercut them on price while offering more features. The Kobo price cut still leaves it more expensive than the K3 when you count tax.

And as a practical matter, it seems far easier for an unscrupulous tax dodgin' type to get library EPUBs over to the Kindle than it is to get cheap Amazon mobis Kobo-ready.

I just don't see how Kobo competes unless they cut their price to under 100.
soondai is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-01-2010, 03:41 AM   #13
zoran
himself
zoran can tame squirrels without the assistance of a chair or a whip.zoran can tame squirrels without the assistance of a chair or a whip.zoran can tame squirrels without the assistance of a chair or a whip.zoran can tame squirrels without the assistance of a chair or a whip.zoran can tame squirrels without the assistance of a chair or a whip.zoran can tame squirrels without the assistance of a chair or a whip.zoran can tame squirrels without the assistance of a chair or a whip.zoran can tame squirrels without the assistance of a chair or a whip.zoran can tame squirrels without the assistance of a chair or a whip.zoran can tame squirrels without the assistance of a chair or a whip.zoran can tame squirrels without the assistance of a chair or a whip.
 
Posts: 576
Karma: 11226
Join Date: May 2010
Device: Kobo
Quote:
Originally Posted by soondai View Post
I like the underdog, too, and it was actually the initial wave of Kobo hype that hooked me on the idea of buying an ereader. But then B&N and Amazon both undercut them on price while offering more features. The Kobo price cut still leaves it more expensive than the K3 when you count tax.

And as a practical matter, it seems far easier for an unscrupulous tax dodgin' type to get library EPUBs over to the Kindle than it is to get cheap Amazon mobis Kobo-ready.

I just don't see how Kobo competes unless they cut their price to under 100.
As far as I know, kindle does not support epub. I may be wrong.
To me, the only option I want is to read without thinking all about
underlying hardware. And I do, except looking at battery indicator
often. Other matter is that almost every manufacturer tries to lock
you into the silo. You accept it or not.
zoran is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-01-2010, 04:57 AM   #14
sabredog
Geographically Restricted
sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sabredog ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
sabredog's Avatar
 
Posts: 2,629
Karma: 14933353
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Perth, Australia
Device: Sony PRS-T3, Kindle Voyage, iPad Air2, Nexus7v2
Kindles do not support ePUB in any form. Amazon uses its version of Mobipocket with DRM. Both Kindle 2 and Kindle allow display of non DRM MOBI/PRC ebooks.

So there is a glimmer of the other side through the walled garden approach Amazon dictates.
sabredog is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-01-2010, 10:11 AM   #15
bill_mchale
Wizard
bill_mchale ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.bill_mchale ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.bill_mchale ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.bill_mchale ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.bill_mchale ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.bill_mchale ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.bill_mchale ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.bill_mchale ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.bill_mchale ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.bill_mchale ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.bill_mchale ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Posts: 1,451
Karma: 1550000
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Maryland, USA
Device: Nook Simple Touch, HPC Evo 4G LTE
Quote:
Originally Posted by zoran View Post
As far as I know, kindle does not support epub. I may be wrong.
To me, the only option I want is to read without thinking all about
underlying hardware. And I do, except looking at battery indicator
often. Other matter is that almost every manufacturer tries to lock
you into the silo. You accept it or not.
Actually, I would say that Amazon and Apple are the really the only ones that try to lock you in. Yes Barnes and Noble has its own DRM scheme, but they license it to other manufacturers (Jetbook and Pandigital Novel so far) and their reader supports Adobe's DRM scheme as well meaning you can buy from multiple book stores (Not just B&N) and use B&N books on other devices. Most other dedicated readers and book stores support Adobe DRM, so they are the closest we have to a standard.

--
Bill
bill_mchale is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Book prices, Ebook prices - Value stustaff News 78 12-16-2011 07:33 PM
Kobo/Borders E-Book Prices Vs Amazon JBlyth Kobo Reader 13 11-04-2011 05:55 PM
new kobo coming soon letmenburnstars Kobo Reader 109 10-09-2010 10:15 PM
Kobo is coming in black ronjon13 Kobo Reader 48 07-27-2010 10:27 PM
How long until Connect prices reflect paperback prices? Kilarney Sony Reader 13 09-16-2007 09:25 PM


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 06:58 AM.


MobileRead.com is a privately owned, operated and funded community.