This is the new Kindle Paperwhite 4

[lkmiller]

Originally Posted by DNSB

OTOH, during this search spree, I will admit to having gotten a chuckle out of a comparison which gave the advantage to the Paperwhite 4 compared to the Clara HD due to the Paperwhite's "seamless Overdrive integration".

More seamless than epubs from ADE to some other device. Not as seamless as Kobo. Although I do it the "Kindle way" with Kobo too.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

Partnering with Walmart may not have been the wisest decision.

Partnering with America's number one retailer likely seemed like a no-brainer.

Everywhere else in the world it appears Kobo used retailers that are actually experienced and interested in selling ebooks / ereaders.

Yeah, that seems to be the failure with Walmart.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

Would you trust a small kid with anything more expensive? Think about the children, not just adults. And also children do not need a reader with built in light to read when they are supposed to be sleeping.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by rcentros

Yes, but (as mentioned in another thread) Kindles are always going on sale. Wait for the next Paperwhite sale then, even with the additional $20 for no ads, you will still match the Clara's price — maybe even be cheaper (depending on the sale).

Finding clever hoops to jump through is missing the point. If the Paperwhite with ads was regularly cheaper than the competition, I'd have no gripe.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by lkmiller

No muddy waters as far as I can see. Kobo has 5 ereaders in their current lineup. Amazon has 3. As seen on their main ereader store pages. US list prices w/o special offers:

Aura $120
Clara $130
H2O $180
Aura One $230
Forma $280

Kindle $100
Paperwhite $150
Oasis $270

Yes, the basic Kindle is often on sale. It needs to be -- it's last decade's model! (800x600 Pearl 167ppi screen, no front light)

It's obvious that the Aura will be discontinued once they run out of stock; this is the flip side of what happened when they introduced the Aura for $10 less than the Glo HD. The Aura was never worth only $10 less than either the Glo HD or the Clara. I can't imagine that even Walmart's $99 price on the Aura will get rid of them. On the other hand, I can't get what's going on with the Aura One and the Forma. They seem in direct competition to me and the Aura One is significantly cheaper. At two years old with no update, that one has to be the next for the chopper and then Kobo will have one top-of-the-line product similarly priced to the smaller Oasis.

The single device that jumps out at me from this list is the H2O. It has no direct competition at Amazon price-wise and at virtually the same size as the Oasis which costs $90 more, I think it's a tremendous value.

When you line up the two product lines it seems like Kobo all the way to me, but I may be biased. The reality is that most Americans, if they've got a Kindle, won't switch to Kobo even for more specs at a similar outlay. I think the Walmart association is disastrous to Kobo's attempts to penetrate the American market.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by issybird

The reality is that most Americans, if they've got a Kindle, won't switch to Kobo even for more specs at a similar outlay.

I can understand. They don't want to lose all the books they already bought and are not likely to know about Calibre or DRM-stripping.

I think the Walmart association is disastrous to Kobo's attempts to penetrate the American market.

Do you think that because of Walmart's reputation, or because of the lackluster job they've done so far?

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by stuartjmz

That doesn't sound like "seamless" to me - how many Kindle users actually use the browser?

No, it's not seamless to use the device-only with Kindles and Overdrive. That was my point. Possible, but not seamless.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Finding clever hoops to jump through is missing the point. If the Paperwhite with ads was regularly cheaper than the competition, I'd have no gripe.

It's "semi-regularly" cheaper than the competition. And, for those of us who don't care if there are ads on the Kindle or not, it's semi-regularly a LOT cheaper than the competition.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by lkmiller

More seamless than epubs from ADE to some other device. Not as seamless as Kobo. Although I do it the "Kindle way" with Kobo too.

Not seamless on the Kindle, but pretty easy. So long as you have a computer or smartphone or tablet.

[lkmiller]

Originally Posted by rcentros

Not seamless on the Kindle, but pretty easy. So long as you have a computer or smartphone or tablet.

Yeah, not one device seamless. But no ADE or transferring with USB cable. While you can "shop" for library books on a Kobo, I personally prefer to browse and check out on my computer (or phone) then sync to my Kobo. That's how Kindle works, right?

[lkmiller]

Originally Posted by issybird

It's obvious that the Aura will be discontinued once they run out of stock; this is the flip side of what happened when they introduced the Aura for $10 less than the Glo HD. The Aura was never worth only $10 less than either the Glo HD or the Clara. I can't imagine that even Walmart's $99 price on the Aura will get rid of them.
....
When you line up the two product lines it seems like Kobo all the way to me, but I may be biased. The reality is that most Americans, if they've got a Kindle, won't switch to Kobo even for more specs at a similar outlay. I think the Walmart association is disastrous to Kobo's attempts to penetrate the American market.

Makes me wonder if Kobo's association with Walmart is just to dump off what they don't think they'll sell otherwise...since the Clara's been mostly MIA, and the Aura's the only one consistently in stock.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by lkmiller

Makes me wonder if Kobo's association with Walmart is just to dump off what they don't think they'll sell otherwise...since the Clara's been mostly MIA, and the Aura's the only one consistently in stock.

That's what I was wondering too. Maybe Walmart expects too much of a discount, so Kobo isn't as anxious to supply them with Readers as they are other sellers. Something doesn't seem quite right in this whole deal. I thought the Walmart push would be a lot bigger.

[Wearever]

Originally Posted by lkmiller

Makes me wonder if Kobo's association with Walmart is just to dump off what they don't think they'll sell otherwise...since the Clara's been mostly MIA, and the Aura's the only one consistently in stock.

True, I'm disappointed in how Walmart has not had any Kobo's so far in the store nearest me. It looks like it's more of an online partnership, and most likely a destination for pick up and returns only. Which is better than nothing but still I would have liked to see the new Kobo's on display.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by rcentros

That's what I was wondering too. Maybe Walmart expects too much of a discount, so Kobo isn't as anxious to supply them with Readers as they are other sellers. Something doesn't seem quite right in this whole deal. I thought the Walmart push would be a lot bigger.

It's always possible that Kobo can't keep up with the demand. Didn't the Aura One show as sold out on their own website for a long time? Maybe Kobo just doesn't have the stock on hand.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

It's always possible that Kobo can't keep up with the demand. Didn't the Aura One show as sold out on their own website for a long time? Maybe Kobo just doesn't have the stock on hand.

That could be it, but Indigo and Kobo seem to have all their readers in stock. Hopefully you're right, though, and Kobo just can't keep up with the demand.