Any gossip on refresh Kobo device?

[Mercurial]

Hello everyone,

After Christmas holidays I find myself with $200 in Chapters gift cards. I'm drawn to Kobo, despite Kindle having better hardware (I disagree with some Amazon moves as of late, so I will not be spending my money there).

My question: before I plunk down e-money for e-reader, did anyone hear anything related to a Kobo hardware refresh for 2011?

Much appreciated!

[pholy]

I would think that a move to the Pearl screen would be an obvious choice for any reader that doesn't have it. It probably would just plug in and need a new driver waveform. But when that happens depends more on E-Ink supply capabilities and Kindle and Sony demands and contracts than the wishes of the other ereader manufacturers. I have no idea when Pearl screens could become available to more ereaders. My own rule of thumb is not to buy any electronics thingy until I am desperate for it.

[Psyke]

While the group from KOBO were supposedely at CES, I haven't seen any announcements or rumblings regarding a hardware update, but then again, I haven't seen any for any of the mainstream readers. There are plenty of new e-readers coming down the pipes, and while many of them look and sound great (the Skiff Reader looks amazing!), I think most will have problems getting mainstreem acceptance if they can't drop below $200..

[JackNF]

I'd say just get a Kobo Wifi and get reading. There's always gonna be something new just around the corner but if the current hardware does a good job at what you want it for, at a price you're happy with, then at least you know you're getting your money's worth out of whatever you get.

I'm fairly sure the only reason there was such a rapid release of the Kobo Wifi a mere 5 months after the original hardware launched was because the market changed drastically over the summer (what with the Kindle/Nook price war erasing the Kobo's price advantage, and then the Kindle3 hardware coming out).

I imagine Kobo will try to keep this generation of hardware their top-tier model for as long as they can, meaning they'll have third-gen hardware in development but not release it until the market forces them to. Any hardware upgrades will drive up production costs, meaning narrower profit margins on hardware sales. I imagine keeping those margins as high as possible, while staying competitive, would be rather important to them staying in business.

[taming]

The only thing I would add to Jack's post is to say that it is important to know what you are buying--what the reader does, and what it does not. Make sure that your wish list and the device you buy are a good match. Take into account not just the reader itself, but other things--for example, the quality of the applications for mobile devices you use or are planning on buying.

I'm trying not to get too excited about the hint from the developer of Notion Ink Adam that there was some deal with Kobo in the works. I can, however, certainly see myself absolutely delighted to have my Kobo WiFi pretty much forever as a single use device and the Adam as a terrific tablet with an Android mobile app from Kobo that offers the features we are seeing on the Kobo iPAD app.

Would I put off buying the Kobo-WiFi now because I have this Notion Ink fantasy swirling through my head? Nope, not if the Kobo WiFi met my current needs at the price I was willing to pay.

[pholy]

I have to concur with Jack and taming. There will always be something better or cheaper coming ... some day, maybe 'real soon now'.... But if what's available now meets your needs and your price point, get it now. Especially if you're desperate now

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Mercurial

Hello everyone,

My question: before I plunk down e-money for e-reader, did anyone hear anything related to a Kobo hardware refresh for 2011?

Much appreciated!

Unless there is some compelling reason to wait, I'd purchase the e-reader now if it meets your needs and price point. What I've found over the years is that if you are willing to wait, there will always be new hardware and/or software and it's likely to be cheaper and better. Of course, you've spent a few years waiting to make that purchase. Given the cost of an e-reader, buy one now, make use of it for a couple of years and then look at the new devices if you're not satisfied with your old device.

One bit of advice is to look at devices that use standard formats to make it easier to move your books to a new device. My wife got burned that way when she purchased an e-reader on a trip to Hong Kong. Actually, quite a nice screen but the default format was it's own weird one with PDF as the other option. Since all the documentation was in Chinese Traditional, it's a bit hard to get any more information. Oddly, the e-reader itself supports Latin text only -- the sample Chinese language documents are PDF graphics sized to the display. It does make a great paperweight.