CVS Markets the Kobo Look Book - Page 2

bhartman36 · 01-04-2011, 02:29 PM

I've never used a LookBook, but I've seen them at CVS. The one I saw was running a video at the time (some promotional maerial), so I'm not sure that it can't run video. It's probably just that an end user would never be able to get deep enough into the firmware to run video.

But I have to say this: I'd never buy a piece of electronics that CVS is promoting. A few months back I bought their $99 "netbook" (that ran Windows CE) and that taught me my lesson. I've bought headphones there that were okay, but I wouldn't buy any other kinds of electronics from them.

thorn · 01-11-2011, 10:22 AM

i'm a little concerned. color displays are basically old tech (possible exception being what apple's been doing); but the lookbook seems like an ok thing, given that it's $100 less for that old tech than it is for the color nook. but it should work.

what concerns me, is that if you have to be a computer genius to use it, it's a complete mis-match for cvs. if places like cvs and walgreens want to sell e-readers, they should be all but friction-free, and absolutely should not require the user to have a computer. i have an acquaintance who just got a lookbook. i hope it works well for her. but if it doesn't, there's potential for both harm to the industry and an expansion of the 'digital divide' as hopeful people lay down their money for a hard-to-use device that doesn't work well. my acquaintance might well be the type of person who could give up completely out of frustration. like my mother-in-law did with home internet access because earthlink was so impossible to use.

people don't like anything that makes them feel dumb. and i can't really blame them, if they're not gadgetheads per se.

DixieGal · 01-11-2011, 10:53 PM

My local CVS in Hueytown had a bunch of these today for $149, if anyone is interested.

wherethereslife · 01-13-2011, 02:53 PM

This is in Pinehurst NC. There must be others
with the same price.

troxell.charles · 03-15-2011, 06:11 PM

My experience with support system of the shift3 lookbook has been poor. The first time I was on hold for about an hour, to be told to trysomething and if it didn't work they would have to send me a box to return it. So when I called the next day with another extended wait ti talk to someone, they finally told me they would send me a box. That was about three weeks ago. Yesterday they told me it was sent out five days prior. Wonder how they are sending it. Horse Back?

bhartman36 · 03-18-2011, 01:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhartman36

But I have to say this: I'd never buy a piece of electronics that CVS is promoting. A few months back I bought their $99 "netbook" (that ran Windows CE) and that taught me my lesson. I've bought headphones there that were okay, but I wouldn't buy any other kinds of electronics from them.

Famous last words.

About a month after posting this, I bought a Craig tablet from CVS (that they sell literally right next to the LookBook) and it runs fine now. (I do have to say, though, that I had to return the first one I got for an exchange.)

Maggiemay · 04-18-2011, 04:35 PM

I just got my yesterday at CVS for 49.99 with my CVS card so I saved $100.00 can't beat that and so far I like it, easty to use and light weight also no glear on screen and letters are big enough to read. Buy it if you can find it for that prie.

sammsmom · 04-22-2011, 11:01 PM

I had one didn't like it, bought a used kindle and gave the lookbook to my 7 year old daughter to read on since she doesn't read a ton at a time. I found that it hurt my eyes with the color screen it was too much like looking at a computer all the time

Stephen TR · 04-25-2011, 02:48 PM

My wife just picked up a Lookbook at CVS - the price was right - perhaps due to poor reviews - with a coupon for less than $40. Out of the box it was awful but connected to WiFi and downloaded new software. Functionality is fair, but: slow response, short battery life, and selecting options is very tedious because you have to figure out what is highlighted (usually not obvious) and then figure out which direction arrow will move the selection to where you want to go. Supports ePUB and pdf and both easy to load in main memory or SD card, but took some experimenting to figure out. For our purposes the cost/value ratio is excellent.

sblake01 · 01-16-2012, 10:48 AM

I also paid $39.99 for mine ($49.99 - a $10 coupon/bonus bucks-whatever) at CVS back when I bought it; early September 2011, I believe. My take is that if you paid more than that for it, you probably shouldn't have bought it especially with a Kindle @ $79 out there now. Mine still works and hasn't given me any problems as yet but, like they say, it is what it is. Don't expect it to compare favorably with a Kindle or a Nook. It's league is the Literati, the Aluratek Libre, etc.; basically, those that either are out of production, or you've never heard of. I don't think you'll see these anymore except used and/or on ebay.

SteveCampsOut · 07-18-2012, 05:57 AM

So I'm guessing nobody's bothered hacking this to run linux yet....I got mine when they were on sale for $49. I ended up buying a nice expensive Toshiba Thrive Tablet for my eReading pleasure and would rather hack this lookbook into something else....

QuantumIguana · 07-18-2012, 01:12 PM

CVS does have a reputation for selling some poor electronics. Like the $99 "netbook".

sblake01 · 07-20-2012, 07:19 AM

My Lookbook still works fine............

bhartman36 · 07-27-2012, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

CVS does have a reputation for selling some poor electronics. Like the $99 "netbook".

I bought that "netbook" and returned it the same day. God, what a piece of crap that was!

QuantumIguana · 07-27-2012, 09:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhartman36

I bought that "netbook" and returned it the same day. God, what a piece of crap that was!

I have one of them as well. I didn't pay full price for it, I bought it for $10 from Craigslist. I may gave gotten $10 worth of amusement out of it. Basically, what it is is an old cell phone in a small netbook case. You can't update the OS, when it gets out of date (which was long ago!) you're stuck with it. I thought I might be able to use it for writing, but it wasn't even really worthwhile for that.

01-13-2011, 02:53 PM	#19
wherethereslife Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 20 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Pinehurst, NC Device: Jetbook Lite, Kindle 3 Wi-Fi, Slick 7" LCD	My local Walmart has LookBook for $99.97 This is in Pinehurst NC. There must be others with the same price.

01-16-2012, 10:48 AM	#25
sblake01 Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2011 Device: Lookbook, BlackBerry PlayBook, Lenovo IdeaPad, Ainol Novo 7 Basic	I also paid $39.99 for mine ($49.99 - a $10 coupon/bonus bucks-whatever) at CVS back when I bought it; early September 2011, I believe. My take is that if you paid more than that for it, you probably shouldn't have bought it especially with a Kindle @ $79 out there now. Mine still works and hasn't given me any problems as yet but, like they say, it is what it is. Don't expect it to compare favorably with a Kindle or a Nook. It's league is the Literati, the Aluratek Libre, etc.; basically, those that either are out of production, or you've never heard of. I don't think you'll see these anymore except used and/or on ebay. Last edited by sblake01; 01-16-2012 at 10:51 AM.

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01-04-2011, 02:29 PM	#16
bhartman36 Wizard Posts: 1,323 Karma: 1515835 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: New Jersey, USA Device: Kobo Libra Colour, Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition (2021)	I've never used a LookBook, but I've seen them at CVS. The one I saw was running a video at the time (some promotional maerial), so I'm not sure that it can't run video. It's probably just that an end user would never be able to get deep enough into the firmware to run video. But I have to say this: I'd never buy a piece of electronics that CVS is promoting. A few months back I bought their $99 "netbook" (that ran Windows CE) and that taught me my lesson. I've bought headphones there that were okay, but I wouldn't buy any other kinds of electronics from them.

01-11-2011, 10:22 AM	#17
thorn Connoisseur Posts: 91 Karma: 7940 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: currently: ipod touch	i'm a little concerned. color displays are basically old tech (possible exception being what apple's been doing); but the lookbook seems like an ok thing, given that it's $100 less for that old tech than it is for the color nook. but it should work. what concerns me, is that if you have to be a computer genius to use it, it's a complete mis-match for cvs. if places like cvs and walgreens want to sell e-readers, they should be all but friction-free, and absolutely should not require the user to have a computer. i have an acquaintance who just got a lookbook. i hope it works well for her. but if it doesn't, there's potential for both harm to the industry and an expansion of the 'digital divide' as hopeful people lay down their money for a hard-to-use device that doesn't work well. my acquaintance might well be the type of person who could give up completely out of frustration. like my mother-in-law did with home internet access because earthlink was so impossible to use. people don't like anything that makes them feel dumb. and i can't really blame them, if they're not gadgetheads per se.

01-11-2011, 10:53 PM	#18
DixieGal Hi There! Posts: 7,473 Karma: 2930523 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Ft Lauderdale Device: iPad	My local CVS in Hueytown had a bunch of these today for $149, if anyone is interested.

03-15-2011, 06:11 PM	#20
troxell.charles Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: lookbook	My experience with support system of the shift3 lookbook has been poor. The first time I was on hold for about an hour, to be told to trysomething and if it didn't work they would have to send me a box to return it. So when I called the next day with another extended wait ti talk to someone, they finally told me they would send me a box. That was about three weeks ago. Yesterday they told me it was sent out five days prior. Wonder how they are sending it. Horse Back?

04-18-2011, 04:35 PM	#22
Maggiemay Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2011 Device: LookBook	I just got my yesterday at CVS for 49.99 with my CVS card so I saved $100.00 can't beat that and so far I like it, easty to use and light weight also no glear on screen and letters are big enough to read. Buy it if you can find it for that prie.

04-22-2011, 11:01 PM	#23
sammsmom Enthusiast Posts: 35 Karma: 192 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Kindle 2	I had one didn't like it, bought a used kindle and gave the lookbook to my 7 year old daughter to read on since she doesn't read a ton at a time. I found that it hurt my eyes with the color screen it was too much like looking at a computer all the time

04-25-2011, 02:48 PM	#24
Stephen TR Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2011 Device: Lookbook	My wife just picked up a Lookbook at CVS - the price was right - perhaps due to poor reviews - with a coupon for less than $40. Out of the box it was awful but connected to WiFi and downloaded new software. Functionality is fair, but: slow response, short battery life, and selecting options is very tedious because you have to figure out what is highlighted (usually not obvious) and then figure out which direction arrow will move the selection to where you want to go. Supports ePUB and pdf and both easy to load in main memory or SD card, but took some experimenting to figure out. For our purposes the cost/value ratio is excellent.

07-18-2012, 05:57 AM	#26
SteveCampsOut Space Cadet Extrordinaire Posts: 8 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: none	So I'm guessing nobody's bothered hacking this to run linux yet....I got mine when they were on sale for $49. I ended up buying a nice expensive Toshiba Thrive Tablet for my eReading pleasure and would rather hack this lookbook into something else....

07-18-2012, 01:12 PM	#27
QuantumIguana Philosopher Posts: 2,034 Karma: 18736532 Join Date: Jan 2012 Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2 gen, Kindle Fire 1st Gen, Kindle Touch	CVS does have a reputation for selling some poor electronics. Like the $99 "netbook".

07-20-2012, 07:19 AM	#28
sblake01 Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2011 Device: Lookbook, BlackBerry PlayBook, Lenovo IdeaPad, Ainol Novo 7 Basic	My Lookbook still works fine............