Suitable eReader for child?

GreatCanadian · 10-25-2011, 12:22 PM

Hello all,
My first post here. I'm no stranger to electronic gadgets and am about to step into ereading. My only experience with ereading was using mobipocket and ereader on my old Palm Z22. And I was kind of satisfied with that so I am obviously not too picky. I have settled on a Kobo Vox for myself and am now trying to decide what to buy for my 7-year old daughter who loves to read. I imagine I could get one for a hundred bucks or less, and refurbished is quite ok with me. I would welcome any suggestions you may offer. Thanks.
GC

P.S.
I am in Canada just in case that influences your advice

Marbles · 10-25-2011, 12:32 PM

I live in Canada as well and just purchased a HipStreet eReader for my 10 year old grandaughter. I purchased mine on sale at Walmart for $58.00 but the regular price is $68.00. It is bigger than a Kobo Touch, is color and plays music and videos. Because I am not sure she will like it I did not want to spend alot. You might want to look into it.

tubemonkey · 10-25-2011, 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreatCanadian

I am in Canada just in case that influences your advice

Welcome to the group. We're a friendly bunch, so I hope you enjoy it here.

Some possible choices are the Kobo WiFi for $100, Kobo Touch for $130, and Kindle for $109.

How close to the US are you? Because the Kindle is only $79 here.

GreatCanadian · 10-25-2011, 12:51 PM

Wow!! Thanks for the quick replies!!

tubemonkey: I am not near the U.S. I am in Newfoundland, as far east as you can get in Canada.

marbles: Could you please let me know what model Hipstreet you have? Thank you.

GC

GreatCanadian · 10-26-2011, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Welcome to the group. We're a friendly bunch, so I hope you enjoy it here.

Some possible choices are the Kobo WiFi for $100, Kobo Touch for $130, and Kindle for $109.

How close to the US are you? Because the Kindle is only $79 here.

Thanks for the welcome monkey. Where can I get the Kobo WiFi for $100. That sounds enticing.

tubemonkey · 10-26-2011, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreatCanadian

Thanks for the welcome monkey. Where can I get the Kobo WiFi for $100. That sounds enticing.

You're welcome.

Sorry about the price, but that was US pricing from Kobo. Canadian pricing is $10 more: WiFi $110 and Touch $140.

GreatCanadian · 10-26-2011, 12:25 PM

Thanks very much. I appreciate it.

frozennorth · 10-26-2011, 03:21 PM

Kobo 6" wi-fi lavender refurbished at Future Shop for CDN $ 79.99

Sony PRS 300 5" refurbished at Best Buy for CDN $ 89.99

I don't think any of the ones above have the pearl screen.

Just found Sony PRS 350 silver refurbished CDN $ 99.99 at Best Buy (Pearl Screen)

If you want to go over $100 there are additional options from Kindle (109.00), Sony and Kobo

GreatCanadian · 10-27-2011, 06:56 AM

Thanks frozennorth. I'm also seeing a kobo online at futureshop for $59.99. Refurb, but not wifi. Is there any difference in this one and the wifi one you mentioned other than the wifi. As I said before, I don't mind refurbed electronics. As a matter of fact I prefer them. Cheap for one thing. And if refurbished by the manufacturer quite often refurbed electronics undergo more rigorous testing than original items. Parts are so cheap they replace them rather than repair.

Also, of the 3 you mentioned, which would you believe is a better dedicated reader. Wifi is acceptable, but of the least importance. In other words, I wouldn't pay more just to get wifi.

frozennorth · 10-27-2011, 02:57 PM

I'm not very familiar with the kobo readers. I would ask here in the kobo forum if there are any major differences.

Of the 3 I mentioned I would pick PRS 350. I think sony firmware is a bit more refined. It allows organization of books (collections) even for sideloaded ones. I don't think kobo has that but I may be wrong. And it's the only one with pearl screen.

GreatCanadian · 10-28-2011, 07:30 AM

Thanks so much for all the help guys. Time to start shopping!!

mcrmama · 10-31-2011, 12:58 AM

I bought the kobo touch for my 10 year old son and it works well for him. We are reading together with it in the evenings as he is not a reader, lol. I like that we can just download a book for him when we want to on the fly so that is helpful to get him reading if he is losing interest. I have a sony 650 (bigger version of the 350) and I know he really likes my sony 650 dictionary and drawing applications. When he does spelling, he types the word into it and if he spells it right, the word pops up in the dictionary. For some reason, he thinks this is great. So for that purpose, the 350 would be nice.

Oh yes, Kobo has reading life. My son likes that since it tells him how many books/pages etc he has read and he gets awards for it. If she reads a lot she might like that.

GreatCanadian · 10-31-2011, 07:45 AM

Thanks mama. I'll certainly check out the 350.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcrmama

I bought the kobo touch for my 10 year old son and it works well for him. We are reading together with it in the evenings as he is not a reader, lol. I like that we can just download a book for him when we want to on the fly so that is helpful to get him reading if he is losing interest. I have a sony 650 (bigger version of the 350) and I know he really likes my sony 650 dictionary and drawing applications. When he does spelling, he types the word into it and if he spells it right, the word pops up in the dictionary. For some reason, he thinks this is great. So for that purpose, the 350 would be nice.

Oh yes, Kobo has reading life. My son likes that since it tells him how many books/pages etc he has read and he gets awards for it. If she reads a lot she might like that.

frozennorth · 10-31-2011, 08:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frozennorth

Kobo 6" wi-fi lavender refurbished at Future Shop for CDN $ 79.99

Sony PRS 300 5" refurbished at Best Buy for CDN $ 89.99

I don't think any of the ones above have the pearl screen.

Just found Sony PRS 350 silver refurbished CDN $ 99.99 at Best Buy (Pearl Screen)

If you want to go over $100 there are additional options from Kindle (109.00), Sony and Kobo

Wow since posting this the prices have gone up again.

Refurb PRS 300 = CDN $119.00
Reburb PRS 350 = CDN $ 149.99

Is Best Buy Canada nuts or what?

SmokeAndMirrors · 11-01-2011, 01:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreatCanadian

Thanks frozennorth. I'm also seeing a kobo online at futureshop for $59.99. Refurb, but not wifi. Is there any difference in this one and the wifi one you mentioned other than the wifi.

Kobo Touch is the latest e-ink Kobo reader. It has, as the name suggests, a touch screen. It also has wifi.

Kobo Wifi is the last gen - no touch screen, but does have wifi.

I love my Kobo Touch. It's a nice simple reader and I like having a touch screen over buttons.

It has something called Reading Life that tracks how much you're reading and gives you little awards for certain things, like finishing a book, reading at certain times or for certain lengths of time, etc. I bet a kid would like it. Hell, I'm adult and I think it's cute.

10-25-2011, 12:22 PM	#1
GreatCanadian Enthusiast Posts: 38 Karma: 32314 Join Date: Oct 2011 Device: Kobo Vox	Suitable eReader for child? Hello all, My first post here. I'm no stranger to electronic gadgets and am about to step into ereading. My only experience with ereading was using mobipocket and ereader on my old Palm Z22. And I was kind of satisfied with that so I am obviously not too picky. I have settled on a Kobo Vox for myself and am now trying to decide what to buy for my 7-year old daughter who loves to read. I imagine I could get one for a hundred bucks or less, and refurbished is quite ok with me. I would welcome any suggestions you may offer. Thanks. GC P.S. I am in Canada just in case that influences your advice

10-26-2011, 03:21 PM	#8
frozennorth Evangelist Posts: 407 Karma: 18772 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Alberta, Canada Device: Onyx Boox RIP, Sony PRS-T1, Kobo Libra	Kobo 6" wi-fi lavender refurbished at Future Shop for CDN $ 79.99 Sony PRS 300 5" refurbished at Best Buy for CDN $ 89.99 I don't think any of the ones above have the pearl screen. Just found Sony PRS 350 silver refurbished CDN $ 99.99 at Best Buy (Pearl Screen) If you want to go over $100 there are additional options from Kindle (109.00), Sony and Kobo Last edited by frozennorth; 10-26-2011 at 03:45 PM.

10-27-2011, 06:56 AM	#9
GreatCanadian Enthusiast Posts: 38 Karma: 32314 Join Date: Oct 2011 Device: Kobo Vox	Thanks frozennorth. I'm also seeing a kobo online at futureshop for $59.99. Refurb, but not wifi. Is there any difference in this one and the wifi one you mentioned other than the wifi. As I said before, I don't mind refurbed electronics. As a matter of fact I prefer them. Cheap for one thing. And if refurbished by the manufacturer quite often refurbed electronics undergo more rigorous testing than original items. Parts are so cheap they replace them rather than repair. Also, of the 3 you mentioned, which would you believe is a better dedicated reader. Wifi is acceptable, but of the least importance. In other words, I wouldn't pay more just to get wifi. Last edited by GreatCanadian; 10-27-2011 at 07:07 AM.

10-27-2011, 02:57 PM	#10
frozennorth Evangelist Posts: 407 Karma: 18772 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Alberta, Canada Device: Onyx Boox RIP, Sony PRS-T1, Kobo Libra	I'm not very familiar with the kobo readers. I would ask here in the kobo forum if there are any major differences. Of the 3 I mentioned I would pick PRS 350. I think sony firmware is a bit more refined. It allows organization of books (collections) even for sideloaded ones. I don't think kobo has that but I may be wrong. And it's the only one with pearl screen. Last edited by frozennorth; 10-27-2011 at 03:06 PM.

10-31-2011, 12:58 AM	#12
mcrmama Addict Posts: 239 Karma: 16806 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: Kobo Aura One	I bought the kobo touch for my 10 year old son and it works well for him. We are reading together with it in the evenings as he is not a reader, lol. I like that we can just download a book for him when we want to on the fly so that is helpful to get him reading if he is losing interest. I have a sony 650 (bigger version of the 350) and I know he really likes my sony 650 dictionary and drawing applications. When he does spelling, he types the word into it and if he spells it right, the word pops up in the dictionary. For some reason, he thinks this is great. So for that purpose, the 350 would be nice. Oh yes, Kobo has reading life. My son likes that since it tells him how many books/pages etc he has read and he gets awards for it. If she reads a lot she might like that. Last edited by mcrmama; 10-31-2011 at 01:04 AM.

10-25-2011, 12:32 PM	#2
Marbles Zealot Posts: 114 Karma: 6296 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Albert, Canada Device: KoboTouch & Kobo Vox iPad2	I live in Canada as well and just purchased a HipStreet eReader for my 10 year old grandaughter. I purchased mine on sale at Walmart for $58.00 but the regular price is $68.00. It is bigger than a Kobo Touch, is color and plays music and videos. Because I am not sure she will like it I did not want to spend alot. You might want to look into it.

10-25-2011, 12:51 PM	#4
GreatCanadian Enthusiast Posts: 38 Karma: 32314 Join Date: Oct 2011 Device: Kobo Vox	Wow!! Thanks for the quick replies!! tubemonkey: I am not near the U.S. I am in Newfoundland, as far east as you can get in Canada. marbles: Could you please let me know what model Hipstreet you have? Thank you. GC

10-26-2011, 12:25 PM	#7
GreatCanadian Enthusiast Posts: 38 Karma: 32314 Join Date: Oct 2011 Device: Kobo Vox	Thanks very much. I appreciate it.

10-28-2011, 07:30 AM	#11
GreatCanadian Enthusiast Posts: 38 Karma: 32314 Join Date: Oct 2011 Device: Kobo Vox	Thanks so much for all the help guys. Time to start shopping!!

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Creating a MOBI suitable for Kindle use	lindsayw	Kindle Formats	2	03-18-2011 02:02 AM
Suitable format nightmares	jhk22	Calibre	3	06-08-2010 10:26 AM
No Suitable Source Format...	amalgam12	Calibre	2	04-16-2010 05:07 AM
No Suitable Source Format Found	taildragger-j3	Calibre	3	01-14-2010 04:13 PM
PRS505 suitable for grad student?	scrabble	Which one should I buy?	8	05-25-2009 12:18 PM