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I'd say the differences between the new WiFi enabled and the older Kobo don't really justify the $150 price. I don't see the new WiFi feature making the new Kobo much more useful than the original, it will still be a fairly basic no-frills eReader (which is something many people are looking for, they don't want web-browser, IM apps, games, etc on their reader, they want something simple that gets the job done!).
Do I think the new Kobo is better than old, yes, WiFi will be more useful than the Bluetooth module that only works with [select] BlackBerry smartphones. If we had a Pearl screen then the price would be worth it and I'd be ordering one today. A faster processor is another great perk.
Is the new Kobo worth more than the old? Yes. Is the new Kobo worth more than a Kindle 3? No. But I'm not switching to a Kindle 3 or a new Kobo, I'm quite happy with my current Kobo. I don't think the current price of the Kobo in Canada is particularly competitive but it is still a fine eReader.
As to the keyboard, I personally would rather deal with klunky typing for book purchases or WiFi passkeys (especially annoying for me, 50+ random characters, I hate it on my smartphone with a full keyboard) than have a larger device to fit a full qwerty keyboard for the little use it really needs on a consumption device. There are plenty of methods they could use to get around editing text without resorting to the backspace button, even that would be a somewhat minor inconvenience the few times I needed it anyway.
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