Upgrade, or wait a while longer?

IcecreamLtDan · 08-11-2012, 02:13 AM

I bought a Kobo wireless edition when Borders was going under for $40.00 and the device has served me extremely well. Oh, I have the occasional glitch where it doesn't shut down properly and the screen looks odd, or even stays at the page I was reading, but it works just fine on power up when that happens. It's also not overly fond of my network and its security settings, but this isn't an issue as I just plug it into the USB cable and update it as needed and charge it at the same time. The device is strictly just a reader for me, I don't need any of the other niceties that come with some units such as ability to surf the web and read email, listen to music or audio books, and I rarely read when it's dark, heck I'm not even sure where my clip light is at the moment.

However, at some point I would like to upgrade to a touch screen unit. Moving around in a book, or the system menus can be a chore with the Kobo unit, even with the firmware upgrades it's still a strange way of moving around. I also know that since it's a couple of generations older, the screen technology is ancient with newer units having much better screen contrast, page turn speed and so forth. I just don't know yet if it would be worth it to upgrade. I've played around with the Nook simple touch at Barnes & Noble, and I know the Kobo touch has similar aesthetics to the Nook. The Nook simple touch with glow light is intriguing, I'm not sure if the added expense would be worth it as it is so rare I read when it's dark. I do like the touch screens and the page turns seem so much faster. I haven't done a direct comparison with the screens and it's hard for me to tell how much better the screen is than the Kobo when I'm looking at the Nook in the store.

My question is, is there any reason to upgrade now? Is there something coming down the line shortly that I should consider waiting for? For me, the dream ereader would be a color EInk unit since I do like to read the occasional comic or magazine. However, it seems unlikely that that technology will be in the market anytime soon at a reasonable price, and there's no guarantee it ever will so I'll continue to read them on my PC. Also, a backlit LCD device holds no appeal for me, I'm sold on EInk screens for my ereaders for sure after struggling with reading comfortably on LCD units. What say you?

ATDrake · 08-11-2012, 04:11 PM

Personally I'd wait. Sony is supposed to be coming out with a new model, Kobo may or may not be upgrading theirs, and I don't know whether the glow light Kindle has gotten past the rumour stage, but I expect one will show up eventually.

While the new stuff may not be out for some time, after it's announced you'll probably see sales on the prior models and you might be able to scoop up something suitable at a dirt-cheap price (as with those clearance-priced Sony PRS-T1s that showed up at Best Buy in the US recently).

Hrafn · 08-12-2012, 01:38 AM

Sony's TRS2 appears to be virtually indistinguishable from the TRS1, so that's not really a reason to hold off (unless of course you really hate the TRS1's glossy case).

Is there any sign that anybody's looking at introducing a product that is a major innovation in the near future (as opposed to minor incremental improvements over current models)? I'm in a situation roughly similar to IcecreamLtDan, and if nothing comes up on the horizon soon, will probably shell out for a Boox i62HD to replace my current PB360.

GA Russell · 08-12-2012, 02:45 AM

Typically each Christmas season brings new models and lower prices of older models; so if you can wait till November, I'd recommend it.

Hrafn · 08-12-2012, 09:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GA Russell

Typically each Christmas season brings new models and lower prices of older models; so if you can wait till November, I'd recommend it.

Yes, but most of the big players seem to be turning their attention to tablets, rather than straight e-Readers (which have seen minimal innovation recently, and have frequently been heavily discounted even outside Xmas). So unless you're hoping for some incremental improvement (like an Kindle Glow for example), I don't see much point in holding off for Xmas.

robko · 08-13-2012, 08:42 PM

I would definitely wait until the new product comes out and the price on the old products drop. Of course then we'll be close to Christmas, so you might as well wait for the post-Christmas sales. And post-Christmas you'll be almost into the spring "hope to boost sales in a slow period" sales and you and probably get one of the new versions for a better deal, so go that way. Now by then it won't be far away from the next cycle of new product release in late summer so the new product from the spring sales will probably be cheaper soon so you might as well wait for that.

Repeat above as required!

tubemonkey · 08-14-2012, 12:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GA Russell

Typically each Christmas season brings new models and lower prices of older models; so if you can wait till November, I'd recommend it.

^ this

haydnfan · 08-14-2012, 06:58 AM

If you want a Nook, don't wait there won't be a new one until May. If you want a Kobo, well I don't see them launching a new device right now, they just launched their service in Japan not long ago. So for either of those just go for it.

stewacide · 08-22-2012, 05:01 AM

Any meaningful upgrade at this point would have to be to the screen. Is eInk corp. shipping any screens better than the 'Pearl' other than the colour 'Tritons'? If not, and if you don't consider colour worth waiting for, just get one now.

Hrafn · 08-22-2012, 08:13 AM

Well, I've taken the plunge and ordered myself an Onyx Boox i62HD.

There doesn't appear to be much competition in 6" HD b/w eInk readers currently, and the places that sell them don't seem to be big on Xmas sales, so I'm hoping I've minimised the risk of buyer's remorse (fingers crossed).

mbovenka · 08-22-2012, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hrafn

Well, I've taken the plunge and ordered myself an Onyx Boox i62HD.

There doesn't appear to be much competition in 6" HD b/w eInk readers currently, and the places that sell them don't seem to be big on Xmas sales, so I'm hoping I've minimised the risk of buyer's remorse (fingers crossed).

Yeah, that's a pity. Your Onyx and the iRiver Story HD are, AFAIK, the only readers using the 6" 1024x768 screens.

speakingtohe · 08-22-2012, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hrafn

Well, I've taken the plunge and ordered myself an Onyx Boox i62HD.

There doesn't appear to be much competition in 6" HD b/w eInk readers currently, and the places that sell them don't seem to be big on Xmas sales, so I'm hoping I've minimised the risk of buyer's remorse (fingers crossed).

Don't worry about the buyers remorse. Will always happen if you let it. My first reader dropped $200+ in 6 months. But I really enjoyed it and asked myself was it worth the the slightly more than $1 a day to have it for those 6 months.

The answer was a resounding yes!

Helen

Hrafn · 08-23-2012, 03:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

Don't worry about the buyers remorse. Will always happen if you let it. My first reader dropped $200+ in 6 months. But I really enjoyed it and asked myself was it worth the the slightly more than $1 a day to have it for those 6 months.

Your first reader will always be a special case as:

1) Any reader will be lightyears ahead of no reader at all.

2) Your purchase and use of your first one cannot help but inform your opinion of what you want. (Parenthetically, I bought my PB360 as an intended cheap toe-in-the-water, expecting to eventually swap to a more expensive 10"+ reader if I found eReaders to my taste, but discovered that I really liked the smaller format.) A long-term eReader user is, to a considerable extent, paying to learn from any mistakes they may make with their first purchase.

With upgrades you are likely to (i) want to be more discerning in your choice & (ii) are under far less time pressure (up until the point that your current eReader breaks).

That said, there's currently very little likelihood of further significant innovations, at least until HD plastic screens go mainstream, or of further significant price-drops below currently available pricing. So as good a time as any (hence my money on the counter).

StudioGirl · 08-24-2012, 06:04 PM

I've had the KOBO Touch for over a year now and I love it! I originally bought the KOBO wifi but, with the problems I have with my right arm and hand, clicking to turn the pages was causing pain that wouldn't let up, so gifted it to a friend who had no reader and purchased the Touch. While I have the NOOK Color and love it, I find the Touch much easier to read on for long lengths of time and with the new updates, it is even better. I do love reading on my NC, no problems there, it is just the extra weight of the NC that gets to me if I am in bed reading. I mostly use the NC for browsing the web, checking the weather, etc., and for playing word games.
If you have problems turning pages, you need to go into your settings and play around with your refresh rate. I changed the refresh rate in mine and do not have problems with page turning or freezing up since I changed them. That may be all you have to do, in order to enjoy using your KOBO.

StudioGirl · 08-24-2012, 06:18 PM

Oops, should have added...if you want to upgrade, I think the KOBO Touch would make you happy. You can always do as I did, gift your first KOBO to a friend or relative and you can then feel virtuous because of passing your old one on and giving someone else the chance the opportunity to enjoy reading on it.

08-11-2012, 02:13 AM	#1
IcecreamLtDan Groupie Posts: 178 Karma: 1928980 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: North Carolina Device: JetBook Lite, Kobo wireless, Kobo Glo	Upgrade, or wait a while longer? I bought a Kobo wireless edition when Borders was going under for $40.00 and the device has served me extremely well. Oh, I have the occasional glitch where it doesn't shut down properly and the screen looks odd, or even stays at the page I was reading, but it works just fine on power up when that happens. It's also not overly fond of my network and its security settings, but this isn't an issue as I just plug it into the USB cable and update it as needed and charge it at the same time. The device is strictly just a reader for me, I don't need any of the other niceties that come with some units such as ability to surf the web and read email, listen to music or audio books, and I rarely read when it's dark, heck I'm not even sure where my clip light is at the moment. However, at some point I would like to upgrade to a touch screen unit. Moving around in a book, or the system menus can be a chore with the Kobo unit, even with the firmware upgrades it's still a strange way of moving around. I also know that since it's a couple of generations older, the screen technology is ancient with newer units having much better screen contrast, page turn speed and so forth. I just don't know yet if it would be worth it to upgrade. I've played around with the Nook simple touch at Barnes & Noble, and I know the Kobo touch has similar aesthetics to the Nook. The Nook simple touch with glow light is intriguing, I'm not sure if the added expense would be worth it as it is so rare I read when it's dark. I do like the touch screens and the page turns seem so much faster. I haven't done a direct comparison with the screens and it's hard for me to tell how much better the screen is than the Kobo when I'm looking at the Nook in the store. My question is, is there any reason to upgrade now? Is there something coming down the line shortly that I should consider waiting for? For me, the dream ereader would be a color EInk unit since I do like to read the occasional comic or magazine. However, it seems unlikely that that technology will be in the market anytime soon at a reasonable price, and there's no guarantee it ever will so I'll continue to read them on my PC. Also, a backlit LCD device holds no appeal for me, I'm sold on EInk screens for my ereaders for sure after struggling with reading comfortably on LCD units. What say you?

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08-11-2012, 04:11 PM	#2
ATDrake Wizzard Posts: 11,517 Karma: 33048258 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Roundworld Device: Kindle 2 International, Sony PRS-T1, BlackBerry PlayBook, Acer Iconia	Personally I'd wait. Sony is supposed to be coming out with a new model, Kobo may or may not be upgrading theirs, and I don't know whether the glow light Kindle has gotten past the rumour stage, but I expect one will show up eventually. While the new stuff may not be out for some time, after it's announced you'll probably see sales on the prior models and you might be able to scoop up something suitable at a dirt-cheap price (as with those clearance-priced Sony PRS-T1s that showed up at Best Buy in the US recently).

08-12-2012, 01:38 AM	#3
Hrafn Fanatic Posts: 520 Karma: 846170 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: New Zealand Device: Onyx Boox Poke 5, Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e 10.5	Sony's TRS2 appears to be virtually indistinguishable from the TRS1, so that's not really a reason to hold off (unless of course you really hate the TRS1's glossy case). Is there any sign that anybody's looking at introducing a product that is a major innovation in the near future (as opposed to minor incremental improvements over current models)? I'm in a situation roughly similar to IcecreamLtDan, and if nothing comes up on the horizon soon, will probably shell out for a Boox i62HD to replace my current PB360.

08-12-2012, 02:45 AM	#4
GA Russell Stampeders are hot! Posts: 7,692 Karma: 31487351 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Device: Paperwhite, Kindles 10 & 4 and jetBook Lite	Typically each Christmas season brings new models and lower prices of older models; so if you can wait till November, I'd recommend it.

08-13-2012, 08:42 PM	#6
robko Wizard Posts: 2,454 Karma: 5469320 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: Kobo	I would definitely wait until the new product comes out and the price on the old products drop. Of course then we'll be close to Christmas, so you might as well wait for the post-Christmas sales. And post-Christmas you'll be almost into the spring "hope to boost sales in a slow period" sales and you and probably get one of the new versions for a better deal, so go that way. Now by then it won't be far away from the next cycle of new product release in late summer so the new product from the spring sales will probably be cheaper soon so you might as well wait for that. Repeat above as required!

08-14-2012, 06:58 AM	#8
haydnfan Guru Posts: 650 Karma: 5632364 Join Date: Dec 2011 Device: Kindle PW 4, Oasis 2	If you want a Nook, don't wait there won't be a new one until May. If you want a Kobo, well I don't see them launching a new device right now, they just launched their service in Japan not long ago. So for either of those just go for it.

08-22-2012, 05:01 AM	#9
stewacide Groupie Posts: 197 Karma: 1086780 Join Date: Jul 2012 Device: Kobo H2O Ed. 2, Glo HD, Glo, Touch, Clara HD	Any meaningful upgrade at this point would have to be to the screen. Is eInk corp. shipping any screens better than the 'Pearl' other than the colour 'Tritons'? If not, and if you don't consider colour worth waiting for, just get one now.

08-22-2012, 08:13 AM	#10
Hrafn Fanatic Posts: 520 Karma: 846170 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: New Zealand Device: Onyx Boox Poke 5, Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e 10.5	Well, I've taken the plunge and ordered myself an Onyx Boox i62HD. There doesn't appear to be much competition in 6" HD b/w eInk readers currently, and the places that sell them don't seem to be big on Xmas sales, so I'm hoping I've minimised the risk of buyer's remorse (fingers crossed).

08-24-2012, 06:04 PM	#14
StudioGirl Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2012 Device: NOOK and KOBO	I've had the KOBO Touch for over a year now and I love it! I originally bought the KOBO wifi but, with the problems I have with my right arm and hand, clicking to turn the pages was causing pain that wouldn't let up, so gifted it to a friend who had no reader and purchased the Touch. While I have the NOOK Color and love it, I find the Touch much easier to read on for long lengths of time and with the new updates, it is even better. I do love reading on my NC, no problems there, it is just the extra weight of the NC that gets to me if I am in bed reading. I mostly use the NC for browsing the web, checking the weather, etc., and for playing word games. If you have problems turning pages, you need to go into your settings and play around with your refresh rate. I changed the refresh rate in mine and do not have problems with page turning or freezing up since I changed them. That may be all you have to do, in order to enjoy using your KOBO.

08-24-2012, 06:18 PM	#15
StudioGirl Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2012 Device: NOOK and KOBO	Oops, should have added...if you want to upgrade, I think the KOBO Touch would make you happy. You can always do as I did, gift your first KOBO to a friend or relative and you can then feel virtuous because of passing your old one on and giving someone else the chance the opportunity to enjoy reading on it.