Quote:
Originally Posted by EldRick
I'm thinking that a) no-one dies because they can't use an e-reader for a while, and b) the Internet is essentially everywhere civilized. If I were the Kobo Product Manager, I wouldn't waste a minute worrying about this one.
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People here know I am an e-book aficionado, so they come to me for advice when they want to buy an e-book reader.
There are several devices I usually recommend, according to the needs of that person, but for Kobo I have invariably one advice: Do Not Buy.
One of several reasons is this arrogance of the real Kobo Product Manager.
He essentially tells you: "So, you have got this expensive device and now I am going to hold it hostage until you register". Well, dear Product manager go and ... oh wait, this is family friendly site, I can't finish that sentence.
Internet *is* essentially everywhere civilized. The problem is, that sometimes I go to places that are obviously no civilized. Or, they are so civilized they request a credit card, and of course payment of a hefty fee, before you are allowed to connect. I like to take my reader when I go camping for 9 days in summer. I like to take my reader when I go skiing for a week to a relatively remote mountain hotel. In the last few years I spent at least 30 days every year staying at places where an Internet connection is problematic at best. When I am on vacation I want to spend evening reading, not hunting for a hotspot in case I have to reset my reader.
I have another anecdote for the perspective Kobo Product Manager.
Recently I was in USA. I went to the BestBuy brick-and-mortar store to hunt for bargains. The first thing I wanted to see in BestBuy were e-ink readers. There were several models that I haven't had chance to try before. I saw Kindle PaperWhite, but the touch screen was malfunctioning and it was very frustrating experience. I saw Nook and I saw a very tempting little device - Kobo mini.
I wanted to buy it then and there. On the whim. I really liked the small size. I thought that being a hacker and geek I would be able to overcome possible software problems. But first I needed to see how it displays books. So I switched it on. It kept asking me to plug it into a computer or to provide it with a working WiFi. I tried for several minutes, but it was hopeless. I asked several BestBuy employees for help. To no avail. When I came back to the same store three weeks later I was welcomed by the same broken Paperwhite and the same pathetic Kobo Mini begging to be connected to the net so it could display a simple text file. I do not think many people bought the device. I didn't.