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Tomac10000 · 06-13-2011, 04:12 AM

First post.

The new Kobo Touch is a disappointment. Picked one up on Saturday (Chapters) and returned it the following day. ePub support/E Ink Pearl display/low-price/access to more Canadian content played a part in initial purchase decision making, even though I already own a US purchased Kindle 3G+WiFi.

Why am I disappointed by the Kobo Touch?

- The touch feature does not always activate. Unreliable. It's unfortunate that no hardware page-turn buttons are on the Kobo Touch; every time I "click" to a different page on the Kindle 3, I am 100% confident the device will respond -- it has never failed. The Kobo Touch introduces a will-it-or-won't-it-turn-the-page issue, which interrupts reading flow.

- Grease and grime build-up on the screen. No hardware buttons, aside from a home-screen button and power switch, results in oil/fingerprint build-up on the display. Using a stylus reduces these issues, but for some reason, I found that touch accuracy -- registering -- actually declined.

- Font rendering and choices are nowhere near as legible as text found on the Kindle 3. It doesn't matter that the new Kobo Touch and the Kindle 3 share the same E Ink Pearl tech. Each character does not render completely black, which also interrupts flow. Additionally, some lines of text appear darker compared to others on the same page.

- Ghosting. Newer processor (or other hardware) allows quicker page turns but flashing the entire screen -- complete refresh -- happens every six page-turns or so. Depends. Quicker speed is great for marketing purposes, but remnants of text and pictures from previous pages linger (faintly) until the flash occurs. I have had zero issues with page turn speeds on the Kindle 3.

- Glitches. Sometimes text would be illegible due to fine white lines appearing sporadically. Sometimes a page-turn, or menu option change would be greeted by an unwelcome blank screen with sporadic broken GUI elements. Pressing the home button alleviated the situation, yet interrupted the reading/task.

- Side-loaded ebooks: not searchable; words cannot be highlighted; and the dictionary cannot be utilized. The Kindle 3 does not have these issues.

- Kobo can't. Although it is a feature I rarely utilize, the Kindle 3 can "read" books aloud via text-to-speech and built-in speaker.

- Time. Additionally, although the Kobo has an internal clock, there is no way of accessing the time, except venturing deep into a settings menu; a quick press of the "Menu" button on the Kindle displays the time and useful options.

Hence, perhaps a few software iterations are necessary before the Kobo Touch performs to a satisfactory level. However, the Kindle 3, with superior font rendering -- subjective -- provides a robust, reliable experience, without interruptions from disappointing software/hardware decisions, which hinder real-world usability of the Kobo Touch.

06-13-2011, 04:12 AM	#47
Tomac10000 Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: Kindle 3G + WiFi	Why am I disappointed by the Kobo Touch? First post. The new Kobo Touch is a disappointment. Picked one up on Saturday (Chapters) and returned it the following day. ePub support/E Ink Pearl display/low-price/access to more Canadian content played a part in initial purchase decision making, even though I already own a US purchased Kindle 3G+WiFi. Why am I disappointed by the Kobo Touch? - The touch feature does not always activate. Unreliable. It's unfortunate that no hardware page-turn buttons are on the Kobo Touch; every time I "click" to a different page on the Kindle 3, I am 100% confident the device will respond -- it has never failed. The Kobo Touch introduces a will-it-or-won't-it-turn-the-page issue, which interrupts reading flow. - Grease and grime build-up on the screen. No hardware buttons, aside from a home-screen button and power switch, results in oil/fingerprint build-up on the display. Using a stylus reduces these issues, but for some reason, I found that touch accuracy -- registering -- actually declined. - Font rendering and choices are nowhere near as legible as text found on the Kindle 3. It doesn't matter that the new Kobo Touch and the Kindle 3 share the same E Ink Pearl tech. Each character does not render completely black, which also interrupts flow. Additionally, some lines of text appear darker compared to others on the same page. - Ghosting. Newer processor (or other hardware) allows quicker page turns but flashing the entire screen -- complete refresh -- happens every six page-turns or so. Depends. Quicker speed is great for marketing purposes, but remnants of text and pictures from previous pages linger (faintly) until the flash occurs. I have had zero issues with page turn speeds on the Kindle 3. - Glitches. Sometimes text would be illegible due to fine white lines appearing sporadically. Sometimes a page-turn, or menu option change would be greeted by an unwelcome blank screen with sporadic broken GUI elements. Pressing the home button alleviated the situation, yet interrupted the reading/task. - Side-loaded ebooks: not searchable; words cannot be highlighted; and the dictionary cannot be utilized. The Kindle 3 does not have these issues. - Kobo can't. Although it is a feature I rarely utilize, the Kindle 3 can "read" books aloud via text-to-speech and built-in speaker. - Time. Additionally, although the Kobo has an internal clock, there is no way of accessing the time, except venturing deep into a settings menu; a quick press of the "Menu" button on the Kindle displays the time and useful options. Hence, perhaps a few software iterations are necessary before the Kobo Touch performs to a satisfactory level. However, the Kindle 3, with superior font rendering -- subjective -- provides a robust, reliable experience, without interruptions from disappointing software/hardware decisions, which hinder real-world usability of the Kobo Touch. Last edited by Tomac10000; 06-13-2011 at 04:21 AM.