Why I bought the Kobo

[J. Strnad]

" There will be situations where you are stuck with your eReader, no wifi, and a bunch of books you've already read 20 times. What will you do then?"

OH MY GOD! THE HORROR! You mean, not having instant access to every book available on Amazon, I might have to...I don't know what! Raise my eyes from my ereading device? Look around me? Find something else to do? God, I might even have to APPROACH ANOTHER PERSON or...shudder...ENGAGE IN A CONVERSATION!

But what if there's no one around, or no one I want to engage? I might have to...have to...WALK SOMEWHERE! Start my feet moving along a sidewalk and move, and raise my eyes to see my surroundings! What if I cross paths with someone walking a dog...I might have to (Oh, the humanity!) stop and pet the dog!

Okay, I'm shivering in terror now! I feel my body curling into a fetal position! I'm going to the closet, now, the nice, cool, dark closet until this feeling of unnameable dread passes, if ever it does, if ever it does...but what if it doesn't? What if it passes...nevermore?

Oh, curse you, Ben Lee, for this horror you have visited upon my poor, damned soul!

[boswd]

Originally Posted by sabredog

I assume you are speaking for yourself in that regard? Assuming other people are shortsighted, as they do not measure up to your expectations of what people ought to have in their chosen device IS shortsighted and a little rude.

I carry my Samsung smartphone everywhere with me. It has all the bells and whistles imaginable. My chosen ereaders just display books. Both device types were chosen to suit my needs only. No one else's.

It is nice to have a little sanity in this fast moving world of instant communication. My basic ereaders provide the carriage for that. Sanity prevails.

But the point is with all things being equal in regards to price WHY would you NOT want the wireless connection. It's not email or twitter or any of that junk. and also you can still sideload manually you just now have both options for the same price.
the ability to buy a book online and then almost in an instant have it on your device. Or sitting somewhere and feel like buying a newspaper especially if you are out of town and have it no matter where you are in really a fantastic feature.

The point is it's not a case of having only one way to receive books or papers but to have the obtion to have both features for the same price.


To me it just doesn't make any sense.

[sabredog]

Originally Posted by boswd

But the point is with all things being equal in regards to price WHY would you NOT want the wireless connection. It's not email or twitter or any of that junk. and also you can still sideload manually you just now have both options for the same price.
the ability to buy a book online and then almost in an instant have it on your device. Or sitting somewhere and feel like buying a newspaper especially if you are out of town and have it no matter where you are in really a fantastic feature.

The point is it's not a case of having only one way to receive books or papers but to have the obtion to have both features for the same price.


To me it just doesn't make any sense.

I don't need wireless. Before I go on holidays or go anywhere, I take the time and effort to sit down and organise a list of books I want to read when away. Then it is a simple matter to connect my ereader (either one, does not matter) and transfer that list via USB.

I always take far more to read than I can actually read, a practice I have carried out since my paperback days.

Even when my PDA was the prime ereader I used, I did not use the bluetooth or wireless connectivity it offered. I want to read, not navigate through web pages to buy books. I will do that at home through a nice wide open DSL connection and a big colour screen which is precisely what my PC was purchased to do.

Why should extra wireless connectivity costs or time taken to configure the reader for free connectivity add to the burden of a holiday?

If others want to have all the bells and whistles, then fine, more power to them. Not me.

Reading is my periodic escape from the stresses of my job and the world around me.

[J. Strnad]

boswd,

For me, it isn't the feature itself that I don't want. If there were no downside, why not have it?

But most likely it will add WEIGHT, add BULK, add COMPLEXITY to the device and its menu screens, and probably require some kind of KEYBOARD to make use of the functions that wireless opens up.

Now, if there were some way to magically add wireless capability to the Kobo without making it costlier, heavier, thicker or more complex and they want to throw it in, fine.

[boswd]

Originally Posted by sabredog

I don't need wireless. Before I go on holidays or go anywhere, I take the time and effort to sit down and organise a list of books I want to read when away. Then it is a simple matter to connect my ereader (either one, does not matter) and transfer that list via USB.

I always take far more to read than I can actually read, a practice I have carried out since my paperback days.

Even when my PDA was the prime ereader I used, I did not use the bluetooth or wireless connectivity it offered. I want to read, not navigate through web pages to buy books. I will do that at home through a nice wide open DSL connection and a big colour screen which is precisely what my PC was purchased to do.

Why should extra wireless connectivity costs or time taken to configure the reader for free connectivity add to the burden of a holiday?

If others want to have all the bells and whistles, then fine, more power to them. Not me.

Reading is my periodic escape from the stresses of my job and the world around me.

i'm not understanding. there is no ultra complex equations to figure out. If it has 3G it connects automatically, you do nothing. You are now set to go.
If it also has wi fi, it either connects seamlessly or you do an "I agree" quick step. That is it. nothing burdon, no sitting down with an MIT Proffessor. Also you don't have to search the web on your device, the bookstore is comes to your device wirelessly. It's really easy and just is a great extra option to have.

It's really more about taking advantage of today's technology than a bell or whistle. There are no extra or hidden costs it's all free. It's easy, and actually makes your life less burdonsome.

[boswd]

Originally Posted by J. Strnad

boswd,

For me, it isn't the feature itself that I don't want. If there were no downside, why not have it?

But most likely it will add WEIGHT, add BULK, add COMPLEXITY to the device and its menu screens, and probably require some kind of KEYBOARD to make use of the functions that wireless opens up.

Now, if there were some way to magically add wireless capability to the Kobo without making it costlier, heavier, thicker or more complex and they want to throw it in, fine.

I understand but there really is not much weight or bulk involved. The Kindle and the Nook are fairly thin and light,

[sabredog]

Originally Posted by boswd

i'm not understanding. there is no ultra complex equations to figure out. If it has 3G it connects automatically, you do nothing. You are now set to go.
If it also has wi fi, it either connects seamlessly or you do an "I agree" quick step. That is it. nothing burdon, no sitting down with an MIT Proffessor. Also you don't have to search the web on your device, the bookstore is comes to your device wirelessly. It's really easy and just is a great extra option to have.

It's really more about taking advantage of today's technology than a bell or whistle. There are no extra or hidden costs it's all free. It's easy, and actually makes your life less burdonsome.

3G? Not in Australia it does not

I also disagree about making your life less burdensome. I only want to read. My smartphone provides me with the outside link if I chose to use it. I do not want another device to connect me to the outside world. My ereader reads books and it was the reason why I purchased it.

If I wanted the extra connectivity, I would have continued with my PDA or smartphone and not out laid money for a dedicated ereader.

So therein lies the rub. extra features only work if the local infrastructure supports it. If you go down the Nook route, import it to Australia and use it, 3G will not work here, then why have it?

The Nook is also heavier than the Kobo btw

[boswd]

Originally Posted by sabredog

3G? Not in Australia it does not

I also disagree about making your life less burdensome. I only want to read. My smartphone provides me with the outside link if I chose to use it. I do not want another device to connect me to the outside world. My ereader reads books and it was the reason why I purchased it.

If I wanted the extra connectivity, I would have continued with my PDA or smartphone and not out laid money for a dedicated ereader.

So therein lies the rub. extra features only work if the local infrastructure supports it. If you go down the Nook route, import it to Australia and use it, 3G will not work here, then why have it?

The Nook is also heavier than the Kobo btw

I gotcha now, it seems we were talking past each other. I hate seem like I'm putting down the Kobo, I'm not. I just think due to the latest price cuts it's biggest advantage was done away with. I just think it's now for them to be the first one to break the $100 mark.

Because for the majority of people who do live in areas that either the Nook is available or if outside the US the Kindle having wireless at around the same price, then the Kobo really doesn't offer any advantages.

Make it under a $100 then we're talking again.

[J. Strnad]

Originally Posted by boswd

I understand but there really is not much weight or bulk involved. The Kindle and the Nook are fairly thin and light,

Actually, they weigh half-again as much. And both have a "thing" (keyboard/lcd screen) at the bottom that I want not to have. In fact, the more I use my Kobo, the more I appreciate the "blank space" in the lower left for gripping and attaching a book light.

I really think that the Kobo can compete anywhere you can hold both devices in your hand. Not everyone will pick it, of course, but it really does feel better in my hand.

I think that Borders is cheaping out in offering a $20 gift certificate instead of cutting the price by $20. Yeah, they save a few bucks, but a $20 gift certificate doesn't have the same psychological impact as $20 cash. The $20-gift-certificate decision smacks of a committee decision, a compromise, "group-think," which isn't always wrong...it's only wrong most of the time. At $129, the Kobo would compete with the wi-fi nook.

There truly is a "Zen" to not being connected all the time, but that's too tough a sell. You're right that the price of the Kobo needs to come down if it's going to compete, and I mean the price, not the-price-minus-a-gift-certificate.

[Pagali]

One factor nobody's mentioned... if you're an impulse buyer, like me, you don't benefit from wireless making it so easy to buy on impulse. One reason I chose the Sony Touch 600 is because it does NOT have wireless connectivity, which protects me just a little bit from myself.

I'm retired, and almost all the books I read are free, or from the local library's eBook collection. How would wireless benefit me? I don't think it would. But for those who want it, and can afford to buy ebooks, it's great.

(To stay on-topic... I tried the Kobo also, but preferred the more solid substantial feel of the Sony. The Kobo felt a bit flimsy to me.)

[corona]

Originally Posted by Pagali

One factor nobody's mentioned... if you're an impulse buyer, like me, you don't benefit from wireless making it so easy to buy on impulse.

Well said! I get my ebooks from the public library, mainly. When I buy a book, I have no problem doing so from my laptop, and then loading it onto the Kobo.

I bought the Kobo because it was simple, cheap (relatively), and made by a Canadian company. I like all of these things. The only functions I've missed are PDF reflowing and bookmarks. The former I've dealt with by converting PDFs to ePub with Calibre (which usually works okay), and the latter... well, that's truly missing.

And bookmarking is the only function that real books have that the Kobo doesn't. So basically, it's like a book. It's light and simple, and good for reading and not much else. But that's fine by me.

[JimMcLaren]

Originally Posted by boswd

i'm not understanding. there is no ultra complex equations to figure out. If it has 3G it connects automatically, you do nothing. You are now set to go.
If it also has wi fi, it either connects seamlessly or you do an "I agree" quick step. That is it. nothing burdon, no sitting down with an MIT Proffessor. Also you don't have to search the web on your device, the bookstore is comes to your device wirelessly. It's really easy and just is a great extra option to have.

It's really more about taking advantage of today's technology than a bell or whistle. There are no extra or hidden costs it's all free. It's easy, and actually makes your life less burdonsome.

Every reader has compromises. The Nook and Kobo are no exception. I looked at the Nook but the weight and dismal battery life discouraged me from buying it. Kobo users can get easily 2 weeks between charges, compared to two days for the Nook.

As for loading books, sideloading your books is so much easier than ordering pbooks online or getting them at your local bookstore. Getting classics at places like Gutenberg is no more difficult on the Kobo than the Nook.

There are lots of reasons to buy the Nook over the Kobo. But saying it's a no brainer is certainly not true. There are reasons to prefer the Kobo over the Nook.

[clintbradford]

JIM >> ... Kobo users can get easily 2 weeks between charges, compared to two days for the Nook ...

Let's be fair, now - that "horrid" battery life is for someone who leaves WiFi "on" all the time ....

[boswd]

Originally Posted by clintbradford

JIM >> ... Kobo users can get easily 2 weeks between charges, compared to two days for the Nook ...

Let's be fair, now - that "horrid" battery life is for someone who leaves WiFi "on" all the time ....

True story, with Airplane mode on I get up to 8 days.

[JimMcLaren]

Originally Posted by clintbradford

Let's be fair, now - that "horrid" battery life is for someone who leaves WiFi "on" all the time ....

It seems that the battery life experience for nook owners varies wildly. Over on nookboards.com I've read of some who get 8 days but the more general experience is much shorter. It seems their quality control is lacking a little. I almost got a nook, even with the short battery life and figured if I got one that didn't last long on a charge I'd just return it. If it had rendered PDFs better I would have. I ended up getting a pocketbook 302 and if I turn everything off (accelerometer, bluetooth, wifi) I can get close to three weeks. If I don't do any power management I can get about a week.

All I'm trying to say is that different features are more important to some people than some other features. If always on connectivity is important, get the nook. If other features are important, some other reader (e.g. Kobo) may be better.