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Old 08-21-2010, 11:24 AM   #31
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They should at least have a unit that the employees could borrow overnight and play with on breaks. And if they would add a $5 commission on each sale, they'd have knowledgeable, eager sales staff pushing them at every turn.
People tend to work as less as possible and have fun as lot as
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I made a way to get the reader against all circumstances. There
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Old 08-23-2010, 12:03 PM   #32
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I had a good experience at Borders this morning here in Chicago. I walked to the State Street store from my office and went looking to compare the Kobo and the Sony reader. They had (as shown above) plenty of eBook app advertisements, but no reader displays to be found on any of the three floors.

After hunting down someone who brought me to their "eReader guy" and waiting about 4-5 minutes for a manager to bring one up I got my hands on the Kobo. They popped it out of the box, demo'd it real quick and handed it to me and let me go. They were happy to answer questions but weren't hovering, he helped 2-3 people while I was looking at the device.

At one point I asked "Do you guys carry the Sony's as well" and he just looked at me and say "Yes." No offer to see one, or any mention past that point. I didn't push it as I was running out of time but I might stop back later to see the Sony.

The Kobo unfortunately is (IMO) outdated and overpriced compared to the Kindle 3, but the Borders eReader guy was happy to show it to me and give me a gentle sales pitch. Not super excited about the Kobo itself, but the service at Borders (at least at the Chicago store) was pretty good.
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Old 08-24-2010, 05:55 AM   #33
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Well, Borders are really pushing it here now. The prospect of price drops certainly doesn't look likely until the end of the year though.

The perfect gift for Dad ...

Daily demonstrations? I think I'll have to pop my head in, see how they're flogging it.
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Old 08-24-2010, 10:17 AM   #34
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The Kobo unfortunately is (IMO) outdated and overpriced compared to the Kindle 3, but the Borders eReader guy was happy to show it to me and give me a gentle sales pitch. Not super excited about the Kobo itself, but the service at Borders (at least at the Chicago store) was pretty good.
I am not sure I would go so far as to say that the Kobo is outdated. But I do agree that with even the Sony 300 often going for sale at $100, that the basic readers like the Kobo and the PRS-300 need to be at about $100 or less to be competitive with the Nook Wifi and Kindle 3.

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Old 08-24-2010, 10:21 AM   #35
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I am not sure I would go so far as to say that the Kobo is outdated. But I do agree that with even the Sony 300 often going for sale at $100, that the basic readers like the Kobo and the PRS-300 need to be at about $100 or less to be competitive with the Nook Wifi and Kindle 3.
I agree, I think I could have worded that less contentiously. What I was trying to imply is that, IMO, the combination of price/performance/quality of the Kobo feels a generation behind when directly compared to the Kindle 3 / Nook / Sony. The Kobo is certainly not outdated technology.
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Old 08-24-2010, 10:46 AM   #36
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No it is not outdated. The Kobo when first released in Australia was (still is) the only ereader available with local support and shop front sales. Most readers pushed past AU$280 (Kindle2 - locked to Amazon) up and over $600 for other 6" ereaders. Now that Amazon has reduced the price of and subsequently released a new Kindle model, that lower price has eroded somewhat. However There are indications the Kobo will fall to sub US$99 for Christmas.

The Kobo has sold exceptionally well here in Australia, with stock in stores and online often sold out. For the first time interested bookworms or casual readers could see an ereader "in the flesh" and try one out. Could not do that with a Kindle, Sony or Jetbook.

Remember the Sony PRS-300 is only a 5" reader.

Sony are releasing newer more up to date models shortly. In Australia, they are rumoured to return domestically this month, but I firmly believe that Christmas or just before is the target date now. As such the PRS-300/600 models are superseded and thus are being sold fairly cheaply in preparation for the new PRS-350/650 models.

The price war, so widely reported at the end of 2009, is just starting to begin. The real beneficiaries are us, the readers.
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Old 08-24-2010, 11:06 AM   #37
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No it is not outdated. The Kobo when first released in Australia was (still is) the only ereader available with local support and shop front sales. Most readers pushed past AU$280 (Kindle2 - locked to Amazon) up and over $600 for other 6" ereaders. Now that Amazon has reduced the price of and subsequently released a new Kindle model, that lower price has eroded somewhat. However There are indications the Kobo will fall to sub US$99 for Christmas.
Actually there is the Eco Reader (sold by DaDirect) for $299 IIRC. 6" reader, and they own www.readwithoutpaper.com (aussie ebook site). They were actually the first (and at the time they were $450 initially), but not really advertised at all and is sold retail through a few different places, mainly in Melbourne but not many. Kobo is the first Australia ereader that was actively advertised and sold retail throughout Australia and supported by a couple of big national chains. Additional to that is Kobo IS the first sold and supported ereader in Australia that for lack of a better phrase is a total solution ie: Kobo reader, desktop syncing software (for purchasing and syncing ebooks, firmware updates etc). They certainly made it easy for new people to the ereader scene.

I've read myself about the hint that the Kobo may drop to $99 by xmas, but I'd be very surprised if the pricing drop filters down to here in Australia. Perhaps when (if) Sony release their readers and ebookstore here in Aus things might change. $199AUS is still a damn good price for an electronic reader. $299 like the Eco Reader is pushing the boundaries and for that price I'd want something more than a simple reader.
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Old 08-24-2010, 01:16 PM   #38
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Remember the Sony PRS-300 is only a 5" reader.

Sony are releasing newer more up to date models shortly. In Australia, they are rumoured to return domestically this month, but I firmly believe that Christmas or just before is the target date now. As such the PRS-300/600 models are superseded and thus are being sold fairly cheaply in preparation for the new PRS-350/650 models.

The price war, so widely reported at the end of 2009, is just starting to begin. The real beneficiaries are us, the readers.
Just a couple of thoughts on this. I read almost exclusively on a 5" reader for two years (A Jetbook), it was more than up to the task. The two strikes against the 300 that really count in my mind are the limited support for ePub (Full Justification anyone?) and a relatively small, non-expandable memory.

I agree that the price drops for the PRS-300 might be to help clean out old stock, but in the modern competitive eBook Reader market, Sony might find it very difficult to rise the price... especially if the only thing the 350 really brings to the table over the 300 is a touch screen.

Over all, I think $100 or so is about right for ereaders without wifi; regardless of whether they have 5" or 6" screens.


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Old 08-24-2010, 06:17 PM   #39
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Actually there is the Eco Reader (sold by DaDirect) for $299 IIRC. 6" reader, and they own www.readwithoutpaper.com (aussie ebook site). They were actually the first (and at the time they were $450 initially), but not really advertised at all and is sold retail through a few different places, mainly in Melbourne but not many. Kobo is the first Australia ereader that was actively advertised and sold retail throughout Australia and supported by a couple of big national chains. Additional to that is Kobo IS the first sold and supported ereader in Australia that for lack of a better phrase is a total solution ie: Kobo reader, desktop syncing software (for purchasing and syncing ebooks, firmware updates etc). They certainly made it easy for new people to the ereader scene.

I've read myself about the hint that the Kobo may drop to $99 by xmas, but I'd be very surprised if the pricing drop filters down to here in Australia. Perhaps when (if) Sony release their readers and ebookstore here in Aus things might change. $199AUS is still a damn good price for an electronic reader. $299 like the Eco Reader is pushing the boundaries and for that price I'd want something more than a simple reader.
The Ecoreader has come down in price a great deal but only dropped in price well after the Kobo was released. Prior to that, it was virtually double the price as you mentioned. The Illiad sold by Dymocks online, even more at around AU$670 IIRC.

I purchased overseas due to the high costs of ereaders here in Australia, with the only alternative being the Kindle 2.
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Old 08-24-2010, 06:40 PM   #40
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The ECO Reader's rather odd pitch is that it's got a 400 MHz processor, as though the target market would care. It then points out the new 64 Gb SDRAM.

The whole thing that got me interested in ereaders, and ultimately the reason I chose a Kobo over other ereaders, is those shop displays in Borders. I got to pick one up, feel it, use it and weigh it. (Size and weight are crucial: I'm on a long and remote holiday soon and have a tight luggage limit. Without those demo units I would still be working out which two books I could get in my pack.)

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Old 08-24-2010, 06:46 PM   #41
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The Ecoreader has come down in price a great deal but only dropped in price well after the Kobo was released. Prior to that, it was virtually double the price as you mentioned. The Illiad sold by Dymocks online, even more at around AU$670 IIRC.

I purchased overseas due to the high costs of ereaders here in Australia, with the only alternative being the Kindle 2.
DaDirect were selling one of the iRex units for around the $1300AUS price. I doubt many were sold at that price. The Bookeen Gen3 was $500 IIRC.

The Kobo most certainly did initiate the price drop of the Eco Reader. IMHO the Kobo is far better value (justifying the extra $100 for essentially a cover and headphones and losing the simplicity of ebook store integration is damn hard to do). I bought my Pocket Pro last year (5" reader) and it is great, but had the Kobo been around then I would have gone that path instead. Better unit IMHO.
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Old 08-24-2010, 07:31 PM   #42
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Could not agree more with you.

I love my Sony, but that still cost me just under the cost of my Kobo. In contrast and nine months later, my wife's new white JBL only cost me US$110 delivered.
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