Original Kobo users forgotten?

[digital_steve]

Yeah... the bluetooth function ended up being a bit of a fail.

I have to say that kobono has some valid points, but the manner and the username leaves a bit to be desired.
Let's at least have a decent discussion/debate without too much slagging and jabbing.

[mamasue]

Originally Posted by KoboNo

however to say that "Kobo has delivered everything it promised" is not keen observation on your part. You either have a connection with Kobo in saying that, or are not a smart buyer and observer of the products you buy.[/B]

sheesh! That's a bit rough!

[HamsterRage]

Originally Posted by mamasue

sheesh! That's a bit rough!

The whole, "you don't agree with me so you're obviously either a company shill or stupid", rubs me the wrong way. It's not really conducive to creating a dialogue.

[KoboNo]

Originally Posted by HamsterRage

The whole, "you don't agree with me so you're obviously either a company shill or stupid", rubs me the wrong way. It's not really conducive to creating a dialogue.

Please don't get offended. If someone makes a statement which is obviously wrong from the facts that we have, then yes, my conclusion is that either they're not a smart buyer (e.g., don't care what they invest in) or have a connection with Kobo.

It was not meant as an insult. Just an observation of over-complimenting something that has failed to keep promises to its original users.

I like my Kobo device. I read it almost daily. But I also expect a company to keep its promises. If they don't do that, should we not expect something in return as we did not get for what we were promised during the purchase?

I do. Others here do. But a handful don't, for whatever reason.

[SensualPoet]

My main issue, KoboNo, is you misquoted me simply to try to defend, in your apparently snarky (cute?) fashion, your point of view. I notice, btw, that though you claim to be a long-term Kobo user, you have only posted 4 times. A number of us here have been participating longer and helping others as well.

Originally Posted by KoboNo

So again, yes it is cute to have a small Canadian company competing against the giants (i.e., Amazon), however to say that "Kobo has delivered everything it promised" is not keen observation on your part. You either have a connection with Kobo in saying that, or are not a smart buyer and observer of the products you buy.

What I actually wrote was "Kobo has delivered everything it promised when I signed up" ... plus I laid out a dozen points ahead of that defining what the promise was.

For the record, I have no connection with Kobo other than owning a Kobo and having shopped at kobobooks. I may be an unsmart buyer and poor observer of the products I buy; I will leave that those, like yourself, who are obviously in a much better position to judge. You've read my 1,000+ posts here to make such a judgement?

Kobo isn't perfect; newspapers can't be delivered yet to the OK although for me the 6" eink screen is the wrong medium anyway (applies to Kindle, too); Bluetooth (I tested the Blackberry capability) doesn't matter to me. Oddly enough, I bought the Kobo to read novels, mainly, and in ePub. I am getting my money's worth, in spite of my alleged unsmartness and poor ability to observe my surroundings. Ignorance, as they say, is bliss ... wouldn't you agree?

[HamsterRage]

Originally Posted by KoboNo

Please don't get offended. If someone makes a statement which is obviously wrong from the facts that we have, then yes, my conclusion is that either they're not a smart buyer (e.g., don't care what they invest in) or have a connection with Kobo.

It was not meant as an insult. Just an observation of over-complimenting something that has failed to keep promises to its original users.

That's disingenuous, at best.

The one fact that we can agree on is that you accused SensualPoet of being a shill.

I'm not willing to concede any of the other "facts that we have" as actual facts, though. I can accept them, however, as your opinions and perceptions and that you consider them to be as valid to you as mine are to me. I won't stoop to calling you stupid, just because they are different from mine.

[sabredog]

Originally Posted by KoboNo

So again, yes it is cute to have a small Canadian company competing against the giants (i.e., Amazon), however to say that "Kobo has delivered everything it promised" is not keen observation on your part. You either have a connection with Kobo in saying that, or are not a smart buyer and observer of the products you buy.

That single paragraph has damaged your argument.

Calling Kobo owners who are basically happy with their device short sighted or company stooges is not the best way to further your argument.

When I purchased my Kobo here in Australia the Kindle 2 was priced at over $250 delivered. Alternatives sat at around $500.

Overseas purchase was the only other alternative. So for many at that time the Kobo, sold and supported locally and at at a highly competitive price was the best choice. Six months later that position has changed a little but not a lot. The K3 is being sold at a very cheap price, which comes in at about the same price as the now cheaper Kobo and Sony is back in Australia for those wanting to pay more.

[zoran]

Originally Posted by KoboNo

If someone makes a statement which is obviously wrong from the facts that we have, then yes, my conclusion is that either they're not a smart buyer (e.g., don't care what they invest in) or have a connection with Kobo.

He-he! May I ask kobo to pay me monthly to be their insider?

This topic is no more kobo related, but goes to psychology area.
Do we all buy only the best and what we need exactly? Nope. We
like to spend and we like to spend in fever. It is human. Ads are
for that purpose. "Smart buyer" is to me on the same level as "the
power user" is. Power User wants <this> or <that>. Don't
say! Finally, smart buyer is not someone who invests. He spends.

It is so easy to quote Kobono and write whatever heart wants.

[digital_steve]

Originally Posted by sabredog

Overseas purchase was the only other alternative. So for many at that time the Kobo, sold and supported locally and at at a highly competitive price was the best choice. Six months later that position has changed a little but not a lot. The K3 is being sold at a very cheap price, which comes in at about the same price as the now cheaper Kobo and Sony is back in Australia for those wanting to pay more.

Agreed.
It was the right priced and featured item available at the time... however, more have come into Australia to compete; albeit some are more expensive than others.

I will say that KoboNo has a point that the company did repeatedly promise things and then failed to deliver - newspapers, on-time updates etc. That can cause a frustration.
I know i was frustrated when we had some feedback from a kobo rep saying that the firmware was looking to be released on the coming monday of the next week, only for that to come and go with no firmware or explanation why/how/where it is at.
To be honest, it is good to see a company have reps that visit various forums... but unless they're giving clear, credible info then they're just another forum member spouting off, as we all do. It would annoy me more if their 'rep' time on a forum is taking away from firmware and software development

In the end, small company = small results. Large company = large results or no results at all.
I have a Sony PRS-650 (calm down taming) and as far as i'm aware there is no firmware or software update addressing a couple of issues it has. There are also no reps to quiz about it on here either.

So, my rambling comes down to this - Kobo is a small company doing a good job, but they often let themselves down by promising things that they have yet to keep. Instead of having reps saying "we're sorry, we hope x will be here by x day" they'd be better off just addressing other various support issues or just post here on an unofficial capacity... you can't try and placate people and then expect them not to be pissy when you don't deliver on what you state.

[Pookeysgirl]

Originally Posted by digital_steve

Agreed.
It was the right priced and featured item available at the time... however, more have come into Australia to compete; albeit some are more expensive than others.

I will say that KoboNo has a point that the company did repeatedly promise things and then failed to deliver - newspapers, on-time updates etc. That can cause a frustration.
I know i was frustrated when we had some feedback from a kobo rep saying that the firmware was looking to be released on the coming monday of the next week, only for that to come and go with no firmware or explanation why/how/where it is at.
To be honest, it is good to see a company have reps that visit various forums... but unless they're giving clear, credible info then they're just another forum member spouting off, as we all do. It would annoy me more if their 'rep' time on a forum is taking away from firmware and software development

In the end, small company = small results. Large company = large results or no results at all.
I have a Sony PRS-650 (calm down taming) and as far as i'm aware there is no firmware or software update addressing a couple of issues it has. There are also no reps to quiz about it on here either.

So, my rambling comes down to this - Kobo is a small company doing a good job, but they often let themselves down by promising things that they have yet to keep. Instead of having reps saying "we're sorry, we hope x will be here by x day" they'd be better off just addressing other various support issues or just post here on an unofficial capacity... you can't try and placate people and then expect them not to be pissy when you don't deliver on what you state.

Well put, I agree 100%

[taming]

Originally Posted by digital_steve

Agreed.
I have a Sony PRS-650 (calm down taming)

Ah me darlin' Steve--thoughtful commentary is always a joy to read.

[sabredog]

Very true Steve

When I purchased my Kobo back in July, I had the advantage of knowing what many of the issues were. To me at the time (and now) they were not that important as it still would function as an ereader to me. I decided not to measure it against my superb PRS-300, which cost me almost as much.

My Kobo has performed well indeed, the SD card firmware upgrade was seamless and it does what it does even with the known issues it has. I have read 30 ebooks on my Kobo to date since purchase.

I am already looking at a new reader for the future but am not sure if the new Ko2 will be the one to choose.

I think some of the issue is Amazon released the Kindle 3 at such a low price. It seriously undermined Kobo's position of entry level reader merely on cost and this I believe, is why the Ko2 was released for purchase so quickly after the Ko1. Since the focus of late was on ironing out Ko2 issues, the Ko1 has sadly had to sit on the sidelines.

At least the staff is willing to answer questions and be active participants, even as the frustration of Ko1 owners grows.

[digital_steve]

Originally Posted by taming

Ah me darlin' Steve--thoughtful commentary is always a joy to read.

It's all love baby

[KoboNo]

SensualPoet, sabredog: it does not matter that some users may not use a feature. It does not matter that some feature may not be ideal for a given device. What matters is that if they promise something and not only promise it but market it prior to and during launch then it should be delivered to customers.

Some people bought the device thinking that in a few weeks, then a few months, then.. (some time in the future) there will be certain features available that were never delivered. To make things worse, their own reps, through these forums and through support have continuously said that these features are coming, yet have failed over and over. Their own Web pages said 'coming soon' for an entire summer.

This is my point. If you cannot see it, or don't understand it for whatever reason you may have, then you must understand why I concluded that you are either connected to Kobo or not a smart observer. You may not be using these features that were promised, but many were planning in doing so, and expect a company to be honest when selling a product. Is this wrong?

I am continuing to use my Kobo for reading e-books, and will continue to do so, but as this thread points out we do feel forgotten as another device has been released without the promises for our original Kobo coming. They've shifted thier focus from a device that we all supported from the start (and what defined their success) to a new device without so much as a concrete update to the original users.

From this point, Kobo has failed. Have they, other than complimenting themselves on their openness through their blog, tried to correct this? No. Is it not fair then to conclude, that yes, we have been forgotten?

[Duiker]

Originally Posted by KoboNo

SensualPoet, sabredog: it does not matter that some users may not use a feature. ...
From this point, Kobo has failed. Have they, other than complimenting themselves on their openness through their blog, tried to correct this? No. Is it not fair then to conclude, that yes, we have been forgotten?

Well put!