Forma Kobo, back to the future?

[Zero_Ego]

Hi,


This is just some observations and questions about Kobo's next generation of devices.

I question the decision to stop manufacturing the Kobo Aura One. I have one on back order, but I am not holding my breath. Also, reading the nervous buyers horror stories, because of QC problems, leaves rational doubts. Who wants to be stuck with a dodgy unit. Not me.

But these units are clearly still in demand. A quote from UK Amazon "Currently unavailable. We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock." ....kind of ambiguous statement. Does that mean there is hope? Does it mean "stop asking we don't know either".

For those that enjoy the brilliance of classic comics ebooks, regardless of the lack of colour, these large screen devices are perfect for admiring the brilliant artwork comics offer. A virtual black and white sketch pad for the artists.

The Kobo Forma 8" eReader is massively over prices in Australia. Coming in at just under $430. No one is going to be racing to the stores at those prices. Again, we hear questionable QC issues with these, where I have read multiply complaints about irregularities in light dispersion over the their 8 inch display.

At $430 Australian. I would be looking for near perfection. That's surely not unreasonable.

Kobo should re-release the Kobo Aura One IMHO. But without all the quality control issues.

They will make a killing on a Kobo Auro One MII.

Thanks for reading.

Please comment.

[Quoth]

"Currently unavailable. We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock."
Amazon stock answer.
I've removed items from Amazon and they point blank refused to remove their listing. It's to boost search results.
There are things that haven't been sold for years with Amazon listings.
Also they absolutely won't remove unavailable books.

They will certainly remove listings at THEIR discretion, without warning and often ignore appeals. Third parties can get items delisted claiming copyright violation or fraud.

Similarly you can be removed from Prime or account closed if THEY decide (based on a secret criteria) that you have made too many returns or complaints.

Do download books to PC, because they can kill your Kindle Cloud because you returned that broken TV screen or whatever.
Calibre and plugins are needed.

[petercreasey]

Why might the Forma not be acceptable as a replacement for the Aura One?

[BilboBaggins]

Originally Posted by Zero_Ego

Hi,


This is just some observations and questions about Kobo's next generation of devices.

I question the decision to stop manufacturing the Kobo Aura One. I have one on back order, but I am not holding my breath. Also, reading the nervous buyers horror stories, because of QC problems, leaves rational doubts. Who wants to be stuck with a dodgy unit. Not me.

But these units are clearly still in demand. A quote from UK Amazon "Currently unavailable. We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock." ....kind of ambiguous statement. Does that mean there is hope? Does it mean "stop asking we don't know either".

For those that enjoy the brilliance of classic comics ebooks, regardless of the lack of colour, these large screen devices are perfect for admiring the brilliant artwork comics offer. A virtual black and white sketch pad for the artists.

The Kobo Forma 8" eReader is massively over prices in Australia. Coming in at just under $430. No one is going to be racing to the stores at those prices. Again, we hear questionable QC issues with these, where I have read multiply complaints about irregularities in light dispersion over the their 8 inch display.

At $430 Australian. I would be looking for near perfection. That's surely not unreasonable.

Kobo should re-release the Kobo Aura One IMHO. But without all the quality control issues.

They will make a killing on a Kobo Auro One MII.

Thanks for reading.

Please comment.

Please note that in Europe the Forma is sold 279.99 Euros, that's 454 Australian dollars... and it's not perfect, but I think it's not so far from perfection...

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Zero_Ego

For those that enjoy the brilliance of classic comics ebooks, regardless of the lack of colour, these large screen devices are perfect for admiring the brilliant artwork comics offer.

If you're a comic reader (and I am) I recommend a tablet over any eInk device.

If you only read manga or somehow manage to stick to other black and white only titles, eInk is fine I guess. But everything else just looks so much better on a color screen. plus tablets have the horsepower to handle digital comics in a way that eInk readers don't.

[Zero_Ego]

Originally Posted by petercreasey

Why might the Forma not be acceptable as a replacement for the Aura One?

2 reasons. One is the price. $260 Australian for the Aura One verses $430. The form factor seems to be troublesome with case designs. (At that price you would want a good case)

If I'm not mistaken the Forma is slightly faster.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by Zero_Ego

2 reasons. One is the price. $260 Australian for the Aura One verses $430.

The Aura ONE was priced at $350 in Australia. Way to high for the casual user and hard to justify against a similar sized tablet.

The form factor seems to be troublesome with case designs. (At that price you would want a good case)

The Forma design might be bad for cases, but the ergonimics of the design seem to work for reading. And they respond to the requests for buttons and landscape layout.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by davidfor

The Forma design might be bad for cases, but the ergonimics of the design seem to work for reading. And they respond to the requests for buttons and landscape layout.

The Forma also has a flexible substrate, so the primary reason for using a case is no longer an issue. I'd love to see six and seven inch flexible-substrate readers hitting the market soon; it's one of the only features I can see making me want to upgrade from my H2O2 before it's dead.

[Liesse]

Originally Posted by meeera

The Forma also has a flexible substrate, so the primary reason for using a case is no longer an issue.

Excellent point. I've been too scared to try mine without a case, but I'd be interested to know if anyone has any experience yet with forma durability. Will anyone admit to having a Forma survive a drop?

And yes, I would totally agree with the tactile 'usability' of the Forma being a huge plus point. I usually hold mine on its side, but when I took it on holiday recently I found the landscape option a really good one.



Sent from my MI 8 using Tapatalk

[NiLuJe]

I did knock mine off an end table (ProTip: don't put it inside a neoprene sleeve and then forget to zip up the sleeve. Oops.). So, relatively small drop, and on a moderately forgiving surface that I don't rightly recall because I was on vacation at the time ;p. Probably wood?
Anyway, not a scratch on it .

I'd indeed add the fact that it's extremely light and pleasing to hold as an unexpected bonus for the Forma . And that's coming from someone that was never really bothered by those kind of concerns with my previous devices .