CVS Markets the Kobo Look Book

[jbcohen]

http://www.the-digital-reader.com/20...kbook-arrived/

My impressions of the demo:

Pros:
1) Great color screen
2) Fast
3) Easy to read and hold

cons: The screen is a rectangle.

[taming]

The fact that it comes with the Kobo store preloaded does not make it a Kobo reader. CVS simply calls it the Lookbook. Kobo is preloaded on the Samsung Tab and various other devices.

[SensualPoet]

No, this is a Kobo-backed device, based on www.mscustomercare.com/lookbook and the downloadable user guide. Tech support (in addition to toll free support) is lookbook@kobobooks.com. The MS stands for MechSource which is the company behind the Literati marketed by The Sharper Image.

This looks like an uglier version of the Literati (which, alas, is saying something) but with the same basic (color LCD) specs. I have asked repeatedly people who reviewed the Literati, and had it in their hands, to talk about battery life, screen quality, quality of colour content, etc. but no one seems willing to talk about it from the point-of-view of what it is designed for.

At $149 for a colour reader with Kobo software and a kobobooks account -- well, okay. But a very good quality b&w eink reader can be had for the same price with a 3 or 4 week battery life. What's the trade-off? LCD is generally 5 to 8 hrs; it's a relatively low resolution screen; it's wifi but doesn't appear to contain a web browser; and what sort of content is so important to have a colour screen in a unit like this which doesn't handle video? Book covers? Surely no one is trading off colour book covers for ugly, awkward form factor and 1/70th the battery life ....

[taming]

There seems to be a slew of tech toys that Kobo is involved with that seem truly trash-i-licious. Add one more, I guess. Pandigital and B&N, Kobo and this stuff...I guess it is one way to sell more books.

I'm guessing that there will be a whole lot of these sold for Christmas--and maybe even at a discounted price. On the plus side, there are more people buying eBooks for whom this will be all the reader they want or need and others (I suppose) who will be singing some version of "is that all there is..."

[Ken Irving]

Saw it in a CVS just a few hours ago in a glass case. Looks like the illegitimate offspring of a Nook and a Kindle.

[SensualPoet]

I'm willing to cut Kobo some slack here ... and, again, no one has been able to report on the actual quality of the device and how suitable it is to colour material, and what that colour material is.

Kobo's schtick is multi-platform: one or two branded house ereaders (original Kobo and now WiFi Kobo) based on e-ink; and the same software / reading experience on smartphones, tablets and PCs. Their own ereader is distributed in bricks and mortar bookstores and mass retailers like Walmart.

When the distribution deals were struck -- I am guessing ahead of the launch of the Kobo Reader -- the Kobo development team was in in Asia trying to find additional devices to put their software on -- the "LookBook" and the "Literati" both marketed by MerchSource for distribution in non-bookstore retail venues like Bed, Bath and Beyond, Macy's and CVS. Kobo's goal was to get their software and their bookstore on as many devices as they could -- better them than Nook, Sony or Kindle ... or a darkhorse like PocketBooks.

I'd expect this type of device to come and go out of the market pretty quickly -- knowing what we know today about ereader industry. In Apr 2010, when the iPad was about the launch, who was thinking "$139 Kindle with WiFi only"?

[mds58]

I think that, once the hackers get some of these, the keyboard will come in quite handy when web browsing gets added by the third parties.

So now the real question: where is my source code to crack this thing and make it desirable? As soon as I get my hands on the root of the OS for this device, I think we might be able to see something good come from at least mine.

[ISG]

I just purchased my Shift3 LookBook and I am now happily reading. Getting here was an interesting journey, though.

I read about 2-3 eBooks a week, and previously used my BlackBerry with Mobipocket titles from the public library. This is no longer a supported free format (thanks, Amazon) so I was in the market for an eBook reader that supports DRM ePub from the library.

I saw the boxes for LookBook at CVS and used a coupon to get it for $119.

The first one I bought had a defective directional pad, so I exchanged it. The new one charged and powered up just fine. Connecting to Wifi was super easy. It did a couple of automatic firmware updates and I was able to access the store quickly. I don't buy titles but if I did, it's pretty easy.

However, I really just want it for free titles from the library, so I need it to connect to Adobe Digital Editions. I plugged it into the USB port on my computer and it couldn't recognize the drive. I tried all kinds of tricks, including seeing if I could detect it using the system tools drive mapping, blah blah. Finally I called the LookBook support number, and got connected right away. She suggested I try a different cord on a different USB port and when I did that it worked fine, Poof! Maybe the supplied USB cord was defective b/c I use that USB port all the time.

Opened ADE, authorized the LookBook and transferred my books no problem. Yay!

Pros: Fairly good form factor, included hard case cover, 4 buttons for left and right paging to accommodate lefties/righties/landscape mode. Now that it's playing nice with ADE, it's super easy to download and transfer files. Wifi is a nice feature, but I won't use it because I won't be using their store. I also appreciate the fact that I didn't have to install the Kobo software to enjoy a free ePub title. I like the color screen to share kid books with my children while we're on the go. I like the actual page turning buttons on the sides of the device. Actual buttons are nice. Did I mention the price for a color eBook reader?

Cons: Battery life about 6 hours (Get more if you shut off wifi and use "night time" mode with white text on black screen.) The Directional Pad stinks for navigating links. I have to use my fingernail to use the left arrow. The keyboard is a nice feature, and I'm hoping someone will hack this OS (linux i think) to let me browse the web with the Lookbook. Until then the wifi is rather a waste. Also, it doesn't seem to charge via USB like many other connected devices; you have to use the power adapter.

Bottom Line: Wow, the price! Now that I got it working, it feels like a great deal.

[Telsat]

Thanks for sharing your experience with the Lookbook. I followed your instructions and downloaded ePubs to the Lookbook on Christmas Day. I had the same trouble with the supplied USB cable. Is it possible that there is a common issue with their cables? Fortunately, I had two other cables to try and transfer the downloads. All is well, and enjoying the reader.

[RockdaMan]

Originally Posted by ISG

Opened ADE, authorized the LookBook and transferred my books no problem. Yay!

Pros: Fairly good form factor, included hard case cover, 4 buttons for left and right paging to accommodate lefties/righties/landscape mode. Now that it's playing nice with ADE, it's super easy to download and transfer files. Wifi is a nice feature, but I won't use it because I won't be using their store. I also appreciate the fact that I didn't have to install the Kobo software to enjoy a free ePub title. I like the color screen to share kid books with my children while we're on the go. I like the actual page turning buttons on the sides of the device. Actual buttons are nice. Did I mention the price for a color eBook reader?

Cons: Battery life about 6 hours (Get more if you shut off wifi and use "night time" mode with white text on black screen.) The Directional Pad stinks for navigating links. I have to use my fingernail to use the left arrow. The keyboard is a nice feature, and I'm hoping someone will hack this OS (linux i think) to let me browse the web with the Lookbook. Until then the wifi is rather a waste. Also, it doesn't seem to charge via USB like many other connected devices; you have to use the power adapter.

Bottom Line: Wow, the price! Now that I got it working, it feels like a great deal.

Thanks for posting this.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by ISG

Bottom Line: Wow, the price! Now that I got it working, it feels like a great deal.

A much superior Kindle 3 is only $20 more.

[RockdaMan]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

A much superior Kindle 3 is only $20 more.

I have one, but it doesn't let me read stuff from the local library.

This would fit the bill for that.

[Ravensknight]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

A much superior Kindle 3 is only $20 more.

my thoughts exactly!

[quandryron]

Turn off your lookbook. Hold down the "Q" on the keyboard while powering it back on it will go into software update from the SD card. The only way to get out of it is to reset with a paperclip since I won't try and update it with software that'll probably brick it from other vendors. The computer doesn't detect the lookbook as anything more than a linux file-stor gadget. i would love the find a way to get the firmware off of this and make....adjustments.

Oh! And here is a little more info for those in the technical know. Mine has a Samsung ARM processor. S3C6410XH-53 1031 to be exact. And a NAND chip...K9G4G08U0B PCB0. With two HYNIX ram chips on board...HS0U256GTA-E3C. The numbers that I could read on the board read...DE101AM rev 1.3

The wifi board is some kinda WIDETELL? manf. WT-USB-2070.

The unit comes apart fairly easy once you realize the narrow pieces at the top and bottom face are taped in and there are screws underneath which bind the unit into the plastic housing. All that remained after that was to gently pry at the sides to get the housing past the unit and work around the side to top to side. It hangs up a bit on the adapter at the bottom.

[jnartker]

i dont know if maybee my lookbook was just faulty to begin with but it was suposed to come with 100 books pre loaded but it only gave me 25, also i was suposed to get 150 free books of my choice but it will not give me credit for those. my battery life is horrible even though i charged it for the six hours before use like it says. For some reason the customer service desk is always busy so i cant even call someone to find out whats going on. it also will not connect me to any wifi, secured or unsecured ones. i am wondering if maybee i should take it back since it was a christmas present and it really doesnt seem to work.