Kobo Wifi Forgotten?

[La Coccinelle]

Originally Posted by Nigol

You really think you will have better support from say Sony?

Where on earth did you get that? My point was about obsolescence. Most tech companies are guilty of the same thing. I think it's stupid, unwarranted, wasteful, and greedy. I don't like it.

That doesn't mean I'm pro-Sony.

Originally Posted by pokee

Chapters website says all Kobo Wifi's are UNAVAILABLE. Does that mean they are not making them anymore? If we need to do an exchange, does that mean we're stuck with a Touch whether we want it or not?

Probably. I'm going to take extra good care of my original blue-button Kobo because I do not want a Touch. (My thumbs are always touching the screen as it is. That's just the way I hold it. A touch-screen would be a nightmare...)

[pokee]

Originally Posted by La Coccinelle

Probably. I'm going to take extra good care of my original blue-button Kobo because I do not want a Touch. (My thumbs are always touching the screen as it is. That's just the way I hold it. A touch-screen would be a nightmare...)

I kind of agree about the nightmare of a touch screen. It would be a cool gadget to have, but I am thinking it won't be as functional as my 'button'. Do you think my Kobo will still last even with a separated button? I know I've seen people do a 'crazy glue' repair, but I am not sure if that will hold up. What do you think?

[Nigol]

Originally Posted by La Coccinelle

Where on earth did you get that? My point was about obsolescence. Most tech companies are guilty of the same thing. I think it's stupid, unwarranted, wasteful, and greedy. I don't like it.

That doesn't mean I'm pro-Sony.

I totally agree, that is the way of our economy, make more money and do not care about the environment or the customer and hype the product with the much needed feature that was lacking in the first place. What I was getting at is that even if it seems that the older model has been forgotten, they have done more than Sony would have ever done. I do think they may still do some update, maybe 1 final update to add features if the hardware permits it.

And coming from a OK I can say that the best thing that would happen is that you would be stuck with a touch. It is so much better than the original and the touch part was not what interested me in the first place, but it does seem more intuitive and it means that the can do thing with the interface that would not have been possible without it. It takes a little of getting used to but I am reading 2 times as much as before.

[robko]

I'm an interesting case with the Touch. I had ZERO interest in a Touch screen and that almost caused me not to go for it since it had no button option. I really don't like touch screens and they have tended not to work well for me. I did end up going for it for the faster speed and slightly better screen (of course with the 1.9.5 update WOW for lots of reasons). I've found the touchscreen used in the KT is actually really easy to use (IR vs capactive touch might have something to do with it) and now I don't miss my buttons at all. Since it's not backlit, fingerprints don't show up (and since I apparently have oily fingers by the number showing on the black frame) there are lots on it.

I started off with the Kobo Original which I bought strictly for carrying around some reference material. I had no interest in reading books on it. Of course after I got it and started reading on it I became an e-book convert and now I have a tough time with reading a hard copy book (so much easier to hold the KT ).

[msoulier]

Originally Posted by nikk

It seems that with each new hardware release, the old ones get forgotten. For all us that have bought the device just recently and prefer to stay with Kobo then buy a competitor's product only because of product support and performance, it would be nice to have some updates to Wifi too...

Seconded

[blueskywaiting1]

Originally Posted by nikk

With the ongoing firmware release frenzy for the Kobo Touch, the smart devices software updates and all the attention between these, it seems like the Kobo Wireless has been left in the dust, where its performance is less then acceptable. As an example - PDF viewing is horrible when page refreshes take 2 seconds. When devices on the market speed up their devices by selectively writing to the screen to improve performance, I find it hard to believe that this is a hard feature to implement, especially if it reduces the 'flicker' down to a more acceptable rate.

With the Touch getting firmware 1.9.5, when will this be available for the Wifi? There are much more Wifi devices on the market then the Touch. I haven't been able to find a single page where the updates are available for download and future releases are outlined.

It seems that with each new hardware release, the old ones get forgotten. For all us that have bought the device just recently and prefer to stay with Kobo then buy a competitor's product only because of product support and performance, it would be nice to have some updates to Wifi too...

I completely agree! As others have said, it's understandable they're working on bug fixes and such for the Touch first, but hopefully the Kobo Wifi will benefit from updates in the near future too. I had heard somewhere that they were planning to add the Reading Life capability to it, which would be interesting....

[coinín]

Originally Posted by pokee

Chapters website says all Kobo Wifi's are UNAVAILABLE. Does that mean they are not making them anymore? If we need to do an exchange, does that mean we're stuck with a Touch whether we want it or not?

I've been informed by a pretty reliable source in the know that the Original WiFi Kobo is going back into production pretty soon; there are still a metric buttload of accessories for that model kicking around and there's still a demand for a good, inexpensive, non-touch ereader.
Take heart & wait patiently is my advice.

[pokee]

Originally Posted by coinín

I've been informed by a pretty reliable source in the know that the Original WiFi Kobo is going back into production pretty soon; there are still a metric buttload of accessories for that model kicking around and there's still a demand for a good, inexpensive, non-touch ereader.
Take heart & wait patiently is my advice.

This is great news... I may wait to see if I can exchange my WiFi for a newly produced WiFi then (since my button is splitting away). I hope my button lasts till then!!!

[coinín]

Originally Posted by pokee

This is great news... I may wait to see if I can exchange my WiFi for a newly produced WiFi then (since my button is splitting away). I hope my button lasts till then!!!

I doubt you'll be able to do straight exchange at a store; you've had yours long past the store-covered portion of the warranty and at this point, the official stance is that you ought to be contacting Kobo.

Now, that said, there is a chance your local store might swap it for you out of a "warm-and-fuzzy customer service" standpoint (provided they either know you or you at least still have your receipts to prove it came from them and not Best Buy or FutureShop), but they don't have to, and most stores are sold out of the WiFi anyway. Basically, if they swap it for you, it's as a favour to you. It's probably just easier to send it to Kobo at this point. By the time the units are back in production & back in stores, you could've had a replacement already if you just get Kobo to fix you up directly... not to mention that you wouldn't have had to physically go to the store and have a conversation in which you leave empty-handed, either because they simply have no WiFi, or because you're into the manufacturer's warranty and long past the period which stores cover. From what I've seen so far, Kobo is pretty easy to deal with and pretty fast- I'd say just get Kobo to fix you up, it's likely to be simpler.

[pokee]

When you say Kobo is 'fast' - what does that mean? How long would I have to go without my Kobo if I sent it to them, they 'fixed' it or replaced it and then sent it back? I am thinking a month to 6 weeks?

[TonyToews]

Originally Posted by pokee

Chapters website says all Kobo Wifi's are UNAVAILABLE. Does that mean they are not making them anymore? If we need to do an exchange, does that mean we're stuck with a Touch whether we want it or not?

I'll be happy to sell you my Kobo Touch. For the same price I paid for it.

[coinín]

Originally Posted by pokee

When you say Kobo is 'fast' - what does that mean? How long would I have to go without my Kobo if I sent it to them, they 'fixed' it or replaced it and then sent it back? I am thinking a month to 6 weeks?

I suppose it could take that long, but historically has not done so, based on people's posts here. More likely less than 2 weeks, depending on how far away from Toronto you are and how backed up Canada Post still is from the lockout. Some folks here have reported new units within a week.

[nikk]

So does anybody have any news on any upgrades coming soon to the Wifi? Mine is currently sitting below some real books gathering dust. Decided to go ahead with an Android based tablet instead, which is feature rich and supports PDF reading with FAST zoom and scrolls...

[sabredog]

Originally Posted by nikk

So does anybody have any news on any upgrades coming soon to the Wifi?

I won't even try to imagine a firmware update for the original Kobo!

[kiwipippa]

Originally Posted by sabredog

I won't even try to imagine a firmware update for the original Kobo!

We haven't had a firmware upgrade on the original, but mine now has a dictionary which is a great feature.