An Open Letter to My Canadian Friends, and Kobo

[fbrII]

since I've ordered from some place else and paid a hellacious premium Best Buy will get their Kobos by the end of next week.

Well, I did my part as well, so don't take all the blame. I just returned from BestBuy where I bought a Paperwhite basing my decision on a blog report I read earlier this morning stating that the Kobo would not have Glo's available anytime soon in the U.S.

However

They (BestBuy) do have a thirty day return policy and I am leaning heavily towards returning the Paperwhite. Not because of the news of Kobo's imminent arrival, but rather, not being impressed with the light distribution of the Paperwhite, it is blotchy, or at least my unit clearly is. There is a large gray shadow on the bottom center of the screen and it is quit noticeable. The contrast is there, it's plenty bright at it's highest setting and it also has a much whiter background than a traditional e-ink screen. But, the gray area at the bottom of the screen is too obvious, and takes up too much of the screen.

So I hope your source is correct, because I am pretty sure I will be headed back to BestBuy with a Kindle to return and well before next Friday.

Edit

I just re-read your post and noticed i had misread the part about them getting there next week. Disappointing, cause I'm still headed back to BestBuy

[tnforpaul45]

fbr, can you point us to that blog post? I would be interesting in hearing about a timeframe. . .

Originally Posted by fbrII

Well, I did my part as well, so don't take all the blame. I just returned from BestBuy where I bought a Paperwhite basing my decision on a blog report I read earlier this morning stating that the Kobo would not have Glo's available anytime soon in the U.S.

However

They (BestBuy) do have a thirty day return policy and I am leaning heavily towards returning the Paperwhite. Not because of the news of Kobo's imminent arrival, but rather, not being impressed with the light distribution of the Paperwhite, it is blotchy, or at least my unit clearly is. There is a large gray shadow on the bottom center of the screen and it is quit noticeable. The contrast is there, it's plenty bright at it's highest setting and it also has a much whiter background than a traditional e-ink screen. But, the gray area at the bottom of the screen is too obvious, and takes up too much of the screen.

So I hope your source is correct, because I am pretty sure I will be headed back to BestBuy with a Kindle to return and well before next Friday.

Edit

I just re-read your post and noticed i had misread the part about them getting there next week. Disappointing, cause I'm still headed back to BestBuy

[fbrII]

tnforpaul45 - I am pretty sure I read it on "The e-Book Reader" blog. I say pretty sure because they have some strange thing going with their server in the afternoon and I almost get an error message when trying to access the site in the PM. Early mornings, never seems to be a problem. I checked the other sites I normally read and it was not them.

The gist of the article was to not expect access to any of Kobo's new product until mid-November but as I recall that was even sketchy.

I will try again in the morning and if I find it. I will post a direct link.

[Cdesja5]

Have you considered a mailbox/forwarding service like this one?
http://www.canadianaddress.ca/rates.html

[tnforpaul45]

Here you go fbr:

http://blog.the-ebook-reader.com/201...-anytime-soon/

Originally Posted by TheE-BookReaderBlog

It seems that whenever Kobo launches a new ereader device, it takes longer for it to become available in the United States than other countries, but this year with the Kobo Glo they are taking it to a whole new level.

The Kobo Glo was released at the beginning of October. Right now it is readily available both online and in stores in Canada and the UK from retailers like Indigo and WHSmith.

In the US, however, the Kobo Glo has yet to see the light of day. It’s not currently available anywhere, and hasn’t been all month. And Kobo still isn’t selling them from their website either. Yet I went back and looked at the press release and it clearly says the release date for the Kobo Glo is October 1st. Something isn’t adding up…

Today I decided to dig further into this to see when the Kobo Glo is expected to become available in the US because I really need to review it and compare it to the Kindle Paperwhite and Nook Glow (as people keep reminding me), and quite frankly it’s not looking very promising.

My contact with Kobo was nice enough to look into the matter and according to the info received from Kobo’s supply chain, Fry’s Electronics isn’t expected to get them in until “later in November” and Best Buy is supposedly only going to be carrying the Kobo Mini, which doesn’t make sense because they’ve had the Kobo Glo listed for several weeks now, saying it’s “coming soon”. Maybe they will get some in soon after all.

The most promising option is they are supposed to be arriving on October 27th to independent bookstores thanks to a new partnership with the American Booksellers Association (ABA). The only problem with that is it doesn’t exactly tell me where I can go and pick one up and I doubt all Indie Stores will carry them and the ones that do will probably have an erratic supply—they aren’t exactly electronic superstores.

As for availability from Kobo’s website, it sounds like that isn’t going to be happening until later in the year. There was no mention of WalMart, Target, or other retailers.

Hopefully some Kobo Glos start trickling into the US soon.

P.S. One of the reasons I really want to get a Kobo Glo in my hands to review is I was able to get a Kobo Mini from Best Buy last week and it has turned out to be a pretty nice little ereader. I’ll get the review posted next week.

Originally Posted by fbrII

tnforpaul45 - I am pretty sure I read it on "The e-Book Reader" blog. I say pretty sure because they have some strange thing going with their server in the afternoon and I almost get an error message when trying to access the site in the PM. Early mornings, never seems to be a problem. I checked the other sites I normally read and it was not them.

The gist of the article was to not expect access to any of Kobo's new product until mid-November but as I recall that was even sketchy.

I will try again in the morning and if I find it. I will post a direct link.

[fbrII]

Have you considered a mailbox/forwarding service like this one?

No, I have not but thanks for the tip. I plan to hold off until November, at that time, if no Kobos are to be found in the U.S. this looks like a reasonable way to go. As I side note I notice your signature is Chantal. My sister's name is Manon Chantal (Chantal is her middle name) as you may guess it's not a common name in the U.S. and she has to endure many strange pronunciations of her name. Now she just goes by Mo.

tnforPaul45 - Yep, that's the one. I tried our largest local independent here and was told their current agreement with Google is through the end of the year and they did not expect to be dealing with Kobo until next year. However, my impression was he was talking about purchasing e-books rather than hardware.

[Cdesja5]

Originally Posted by fbrII

No, I have not but thanks for the tip. I plan to hold off until November, at that time, if no Kobos are to be found in the U.S. this looks like a reasonable way to go. As I side note I notice your signature is Chantal. My sister's name is Manon Chantal (Chantal is her middle name) as you may guess it's not a common name in the U.S. and she has to endure many strange pronunciations of her name. Now she just goes by Mo.

Here, we use the middle name as first name, my full name is Marie Chantal. If we all went by the first name everyone would be called Marie! and yes, Chantal can get massacred.... I lived in the Toronto area for many years and heard all kinds of odd improvisations for both my first and family names!

Hopefully you get your Glo soon! Good luck!

[MDK]

Originally Posted by fbrII

Dear Canadians,

I would like to sincerely apologize for any failed attempts by the United States to invade Canada. I want you to understand, we never meant anything personal, we just didn't understand why you liked the British better than us. And, I certainly don't condone the outrageous behavior displayed by Kindle or Barnes & Noble holding their products back from the Canadian market. In fact, I stand ready to join you in any responsible protest (or rowdy for that matter) aimed against companies engaged in those despicable practices, now that I fully understand how really hateful they are.*

So why can't we let bygones be bygones and stop this infernal delaying and just go ahead let me buy a Kobo Glow ..please?**

I mean seriously, it would really make me happy and I promise I won't act arrogant, anymore.

Sincerely Your American Neighbor and Friend,
fbr





*I am also, ready to stand shoulder to shoulder with my European, Australian, and Asian brothers and sisters suffering from the effects of these same shameful practices, although, I will require airfare and either an Onyx or Icarus e-reader as a sign of solidarity (also,please note the exception for pink colored e-readers below).

** I really prefer the black one but I would be willing to accept a white one (with the silver or blue back, no pink please.), and some people think we are arrogant ..go figure?

I think it suffices to say, we will conquer the US, one way or the other:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0R5DTHcmGU

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by fbrII

Dear Canadians,

I would like to sincerely apologize for any failed attempts by the United States to invade Canada. I want you to understand, we never meant anything personal, we just didn't understand why you liked the British better than us.

That's okay. You invaded Mexico and the Hawai and we burned the White House to the ground. Anything to resist Amazon

[fbrII]

I think it suffices to say, we will conquer the US, one way or the other

:

Well before I decide to fight or surrender I would like to know - Does Kobo sell to residents of Canadian colonies?

That's okay. You invaded Mexico and the Hawai and we burned the White House to the ground. Anything to resist Amazon

Yes, but you left out the part later where you lost an entire Army to Jackson in New Orleans only to find out later that the peace treaty had already been signed - oops

Here, we use the middle name as first name

Thank you - you actually cleared up a family mystery for me. When I doing genealogical research on my family. I would frequently find records, where the first and middle name of a family member appeared to have been swapped. The birth certificate would read Jean Pierre but the Marriage certificate would read Pierre J. I told my wife, I had found a whole generation where everybody in my family had appeared to have dropped their first names, based on looking at their birth certificates and I subsequently spent a lot of time wondering why?

[Cdesja5]

Originally Posted by fbrII

:

Well before I decide to fight or surrender I would like to know - Does Kobo sell to residents of Canadian colonies?

You're out of luck! Canada has no colonies...not part of our national psyche...

[fbrII]

You're out of luck! Canada has no colonies...not part of our national psyche...

Really, I thought the Carribean was mostly a Canadian colony. I mean, they have invaded every winter - haven't they?

[ottdmk]

"My Canada includes Florida" - Popular bumper sticker. (It mimics the famous "My Canada includes Quebec" bumper stickers from the '95 referendum campaign.)

[tnforpaul45]

MDK, it has been years since I saw that movie. Thank you for posting that clip. Oh I've not laughed that hard in weeks.

"The blood of the innocents, ooozing down down like so much Maple Syrup"

LOL


In other news, my Glo is SLOOOWLY making its way east across the U.S., in the back of some USPS truck. May God have mercy on my soul

Originally Posted by MDK

I think it suffices to say, we will conquer the US, one way or the other:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0R5DTHcmGU

[NNolan]

In other news, my Glo is SLOOOWLY making its way east across the U.S., in the back of some USPS truck.

If you don't mind my asking, tnforpaul45, who did you order it from, when did you order it, and what type of shipping did you ask for? I'm trying to figure out if my Glo order from shopereaders.com is really going to take 3+ weeks to get to upstate New York.