First Impressions

[emilikins]

Gah, I'm getting jumpy now and wondering if I should try to cancel my order before it ships. Maybe I should try to play the holiday shopping game and see if the higher end tablets drop into my price range. :-\ I've seen more frustration than good on here. I know this thing isn't going to be blazing fast, and I've accepted that. I just want it to work.

Is the Touch's issues getting worked out now? Is it just a Kobo (and other companies) tendency to release in "beta"?

[taming]

If you don't like the included browser, you have choices. Try Opera (fast because it caches pages on the Opera server) or Dolphin or FireFox. I like AppBrain for an app store, btw. And no, my Vox hasn't come yet, but it is not my first Android rodeo.

[emilikins]

Yeah, browsers are easy to come by. Although I saw this morning that Dolphin has a security breach in that it reports back to the developer what you're doing on the web (including accounts and passwords). So I'm going to be swapping to Opera (even though I don't do anything risky or secretive on my tablet - no buying or bank stuff).

taming, are you nervous about your Vox? The sensible part of me says I should wait, but after having my own tablet for a couple of months, I really miss having it and that pushed my order decision. I'm hoping I don't get a dud!

[dmacmart]

I bought 2 Voxes for my non-tech-savvy sisters. I have to say I am happy that I elected to set it up for them, because while the Kobo part is straightforward, the Android part is just a bit tricky and different enough from my iDevices that I am left wondering at times what to do.

So after about 2 hours playing I can read a book, see what all the menus do, navigate apps,

And I have:
* Found out how to do a forced reset (hold the power button > 10 seconds then hold it for 1-2 seconds to turn it on from OFF rather than sleep mode)
* Installed Kindle app and set up a Kindle account for them
* Installed Overdrive app (need an ADE ID so I will have to leave that till they can use email)

Disappointment:
* no dictionary in Kobo. What???
* one of them has an error that would require a factory reset but I am communicating with the developer to see if he can diagnose it. the other one works fine and will be gifted today.

[pokee]

It is definitely slow to browse on this thing...and I need to be really close to my wifi router to get a good signal. I am not generally a fan of tablets for surfing anyway...i need my keyboard!!!!!

I do like the size and weight...feels good typing right now...but too slow without my keyboard.

I have had quite a bit of freezing too. I can get everything done eventually...but it has been slow to figure it all out.

I bought a magazine from zinio and that took forever! Looks mighty fine though...

I already hate reading my normal books on this...too hard on the eyes. Good for my kids books and mags though...glad to have my Kobo wifi...

[taming]

No, I am not anxious about the Vox. It seems like the people having trouble are either not following the instructions for setup or did not understand when they bought it what the limitations are (in terms of things like file formats, software or hardware). Sensual Poet let me know that the screen was very good outside, and that was something I was looking for.

For me the choice was the Vox or the Acer Iconia, for 100 more here in Canada. For my purposes, short reading sessions, looking up stuff when I am sitting on the couch watching TV, the Vox will do just fine.

I've written elsewhere about this, but one of the big pluses for Kobo is that they actively develop their products after release. The downside is that there are problems with the updates from time to time that sure can be annoying. I love the fact that what you get will be so much better over time and I am willing to put up with the annoyances as they get there.

[pokee]

Originally Posted by taming

No, I am not anxious about the Vox. It seems like the people having trouble are either not following the instructions for setup or did not understand when they bought it what the limitations are (in terms of things like file formats, software or hardware). Sensual Poet let me know that the screen was very good outside, and that was something I was looking for.

For me the choice was the Vox or the Acer Iconia, for 100 more here in Canada. For my purposes, short reading sessions, looking up stuff when I am sitting on the couch watching TV, the Vox will do just fine.

I've written elsewhere about this, but one of the big pluses for Kobo is that they actively develop their products after release. The downside is that there are problems with the updates from time to time that sure can be annoying. I love the fact that what you get will be so much better over time and I am willing to put up with the annoyances as they get there.

Perfectly said!

I bought the Vox expecting some glitches and prepped myself to be ultra-patient. I am rather new to the tablet/android world, so I am happy taking baby steps along with Kobo...

[emilikins]

I've written elsewhere about this, but one of the big pluses for Kobo is that they actively develop their products after release. The downside is that there are problems with the updates from time to time that sure can be annoying. I love the fact that what you get will be so much better over time and I am willing to put up with the annoyances as they get there.

Good to hear. I want to support Vox's openness strategy, which is one reason why I'm okay with "last year's technology" in regards to the processor and not having some of the bells and whistles of my cancelled, pricier Ideapad. While I don't like the fact out-of-the-box appears to be glitchy, the fact Kobo doesn't abandon its products (issue with Android phones and the fragmentation, lack of updates and development post-purchase) it heartening.

I hope their customer service gets better, but I've only had good tech CS with Amazon and Dell, so I'm not surprised.

I had no real interest in Pulse, but now it might fit better into my professional development (my "justification" for pursuing a tablet) with "where is reading going" etc.

[friktion]

I believe you have to tell the Kobo app to "import/export" them. It's in the settings. Menu - then "Import Content". After that, your books appear in your bookshelf.

BTW, if you ever want to try another epub app, the Aldiko app is amazing - and free! It keeps Collections and "tags" from Calibre!

Originally Posted by Annibronte

Well, here's an oddity- I downloaded the Kindle app from slideme.org, installed it fine, hooked the Vox up to the laptop and transferred a bunch of .mobi files to the G:Kindle folder, no problems. However, I can't get .epubs to appear in the library. I moved them to what seems to be the most logical folder, G:Kobopegasus:epubs, but they don't show up on the device. All right, so now I have a colour, Android Kindle!

[SensualPoet]

Yes, I agree with taming, whole-heartedly.

You need to start at the beginning: what Kobo Vox is is a colour e-reader on an open Android 2.3 platform, backed by the Kobo reading platform and bookstore. The screen is an absolute joy and, while not directly supported by Kobo obviously, you can add apps from locations other than the supplied free-only apps store. This open platform means you can install the Kindle Android app, the Nook Android app and the Overdrive Android app giving you a complete reading experience. There is also support for third party newspapers, magazine and streaming music services included in the box. And you can easily import your own ebook content or expand storage to 32 GB using an SD card.

All of the above works perfectly, as far as I can see, right out of the box, no tweaking (other than installing the third party apps). That alone makes this very good value at $199.

As far as I am concerned, everything else is gravy. I have been having some challenges with streaming video, which might be me or might be the current software or the limitations of this entry level tablet hardware. It's notable that there is no Netfllix-like service attached to Kobo Vox and that might tell you something. Having said that, video apps made specifically for Android -- YouTube and Al Jazeera for example -- produce perfectly acceptable on demand and live streaming at full screen.

I can see how lack of access to the Google Android Market is a big downside and, unless that can be addressed, the tablet-y aspects of the Kobo Vox will remain limited. However, as a colour e-reader environment, with lots of extras tossed in, it appears to be very strong value. Given Kobo's agile development model, we can expect additional tweaks and capability in the coming weeks.

[pilotbob]

I don't understand why if it is a vanilla andriod device it doesn't come with the Google Android Market app installed and working.

[blacknirvana]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

I don't understand why if it is a vanilla andriod device it doesn't come with the Google Android Market app installed and working.

Apparently Google is quite strict with what devices they let use the Android Market, I thinks its requires at least a camera in order to qualify (correct me if i'm wrong)

[emilikins]

Having said that, video apps made specifically for Android -- YouTube and Al Jazeera for example -- produce perfectly acceptable on demand and live streaming at full screen.

Good to hear! My dead Coby came with a YouTube app, but it wasn't the same YouTube app has found on the Android Market. There was a difference in behavior between the two. It would be sweet if I could get Netflix to work on the Vox, but it's not a high priority, and Cox likes to throttle our bandwidth the moment we open Netflix with the Xbox, anyway.

I've noticed that the loading of books or videos on my work Galaxy depends more on the app I'm using. Obviously, bigger file sizes will take longer, but the same file can load slower in one app than the other. I'm not sure if I'll stick with the Kobo reading app or not. I use Aldiko. Anyone know if you can delete the preloaded apps you don't want? My Coby wouldn't let me, which was annoying.

Looking forward to the Scrabble app. :-)

A camera might have been nice on the Vox, but I've only used the camera once with the Galaxy. It's awkward, imho, and my own camera is nicer. If you're wanting to Skype, yeah, a camera would be good. I've only done it once, on a family member's laptop, and wonder how Microsoft is going to bungle it up. ;-) Besides, if I spent more money on a nicer laptop, the man-boy I live with would always snatch it away!

[trek790]

Yes, but you were originally talking about the Kindle app, not about the Kobo Vox. The Kindle app will not read ePub files while the Kobo Vox should as you just discovered.

Anyways, are you having any of those memory issues that others have reported after transferring books over?

Originally Posted by Annibronte

It reads epub and txt according to the kobo list of file formats

Something else now- the calendar and clock keep resetting to midnight October 1.

ETA: figured out how to get the epubs to read: transfer them via drag & drop, then in the Kobo app, in the menu, 'import content'. One book wouldn't transfer, but it's a start!

[trek790]

This is what I am banking on because my Vox is on a slow boat to Singapore at the moment. (2 months supposedly!) If Kobo does not bring out firmware updates for this thing, it's not too big of a deal for me because I expect to replace this in about two years after the battery drops dead. Of course, it won't be replaced with a Kobo device then.

But, it is also disappointing to hear about the lengthening list of issues people are having with this product.

Originally Posted by taming

I've written elsewhere about this, but one of the big pluses for Kobo is that they actively develop their products after release. The downside is that there are problems with the updates from time to time that sure can be annoying. I love the fact that what you get will be so much better over time and I am willing to put up with the annoyances as they get there.