Kobo in Borders Australia on sale NOW

[Katti's Cat]

Just back from town, having checked out the reader.

First up I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by the knowledge of the staff about the reader. They were able to answer all my answers and where very helpful.

The Sony Reader is not on sale on the Border Australia website - I suspect it was a copy error. The book prices should now be corrected as well. Currently there are about 1,600 books on the website but I was told that new books will be added on a near daily basis.

Having said that: I do hope they get the website and the section for eBooks sorted a bit more. The classification for fiction & non-fiction appears to be rather basic.

My impressions on the Kobo reader: I like the white one. However, having used my Sony I would not go and buy a Kobo. Not even at the price. It is very basic, feels flimsy (very light), has limited functionality. You can only page forward & backward. Page jumping not possible. It reads ePub, PDF and Adobe DRM. That's it. It is a very basic reader and for my taste at AU$199 too expensive for what it does. I'd rather spend a few $ more and get a more advanced reader.

Oh, and I did ask about delivery charges: apparently all delivery free when order from website.

[RCR]

Originally Posted by Solicitous

In your opinion which looked more pleasing, the black or the white? I find it interesting that Kobo seem to only really show pictures of the white, is this the better looking unit, or would they be trying to keep the same colour scheme as the Kindle and iRiver?

I liked the white one. The colour you prefer is a really personal thing. Some folk like black because it looks more classy or businesslike or expensive. But to me white seems more modern, cleaner, easier to find in a dark bag.

You could be right that they are showing pictures of the white one to link it in people's minds with the Kindle. Even the brochure I picked up at Borders this morning has eleven white ones to one black one.

The good thing is - if you have a Borders shop nearby, you can actually go in and play with a Kobo, instead of buying blindly over the internet.

Ouch. I just checked. They don't seem to have a Borders in Tassie. Is that right?

[sabredog]

Hmmm

That might change my choice of ereader for my wife as she does like my PRS-300 (though she wants the pink one )

I would not mind paying AU$30-40 more for the superior navigation ability of the Sony.

Another positive local review.

http://www.watoday.com.au/digital-li...0519-ve5r.html

[artificial]

I purchased mine at Border Melbourne Central today (went with black - I fear white would get too grubby!)

I posted my impressions at http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum...?t=1424569&p=4

I can appreciate what some people are saying about finding the Kobo too limited in terms of its functionlity, but for me it fits the bill. And frankly, it's the cheapest ereader there is, which is what I was looking for :P hopefully I won't regret being a penny pincher!

[sabredog]

a familiar name

[artificial]

Originally Posted by sabredog

a familiar name

Hehehe - I've been lurking here for a few months, and now that I actually have an eReader I got off my butt and registered.

[sabredog]

I can understand that

When I got my Sony PRS-300, I felt like I had joined the in-crowd too

I still use my PDA and Smartphone, but my little pocket reader is simply a joy to use.

[AlexBell]

Originally Posted by RCR

Ouch. I just checked. They don't seem to have a Borders in Tassie. Is that right?

Certainly not in Launceston, and I doubt very much whether there's one in Hobart. There's nothing on the Borders site about a Tasmanian store.

Regards, Alex

[RCR]

Originally Posted by artificial

I purchased mine at Border Melbourne Central today (went with black - I fear white would get too grubby!)

I posted my impressions at http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum...?t=1424569&p=4

I can appreciate what some people are saying about finding the Kobo too limited in terms of its functionlity, but for me it fits the bill. And frankly, it's the cheapest ereader there is, which is what I was looking for :P hopefully I won't regret being a penny pincher!

Congrats on the purchase. I'm sure you'll be happy with it. I thought the Kobo looked pretty good at Borders in Highpoint this morning. Except my Sony would get jealous... (sigh).

Borders in Melbourne Central isn't my favourite store. I always get the urge to tidy up their appalling shelves and smack any stray kids playing on the computer catalogue. And why are people allowed to wander around the store slurping on drinks and burgers? (I used to work in a library - does it show?)

[tech_au]

I won't be buying a kobo reader from them but maybe an ebook or two if they fixed their absolutely appalling search engine.
Enter any author such as Paul Sussman and you get heaps of irrelevant matches like Paul Wilson, Paul Jones, Paul Smith and no Paul Sussman BUT there is a hyper link that says "Did you mean Paul Sussman" (Duh. Of course I did) and when you click it you get all the matches you're suppose to get

[Blue Tyson]

Yeah, I agree. The Robert E. Howard example I used recently was there, as was pointed out, but a search for Robert E. Howard produces none of his work on the first page - or at all, perhaps.

[Katti's Cat]

Originally Posted by artificial

I purchased mine at Border Melbourne Central today (went with black - I fear white would get too grubby!)

I posted my impressions at http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum...?t=1424569&p=4

I can appreciate what some people are saying about finding the Kobo too limited in terms of its functionlity, but for me it fits the bill. And frankly, it's the cheapest ereader there is, which is what I was looking for :P hopefully I won't regret being a penny pincher!

Gratulations on buying the Kobo. As long as it does what you need / want from a reader there is no problem.

Maybe I would have bought one too after seeing it if I hadn't taken the plunge a few months ago. I just compared it with the one I have - the only comparison I can make. Doesn't make it a bad reader.

It's difficult enough for us downunder to see one in real life - and having a hands-on experience makes the decisions usually so much easier.

[artificial]

Originally Posted by Katti's Cat

It's difficult enough for us downunder to see one in real life - and having a hands-on experience makes the decisions usually so much easier.

I expect the Kobo will do (comparitively) well in Australia for this reason. Before yesterday I had only ever seen one ereader "in the flesh", which was a Kindle I saw someone using on a train.

A friend recently returned from two weeks in the UK and US, and says he saw four people using Kindles in that time period. Considering that I catch two trains and two trams every day, I take the fact I've seen only one Kindle to mean that ereader market penetration in Australia has been very minimal.

Originally Posted by tech_au

I won't be buying a kobo reader from them but maybe an ebook or two if they fixed their absolutely appalling search engine.

Also the lack of categories is frustrating (Fiction, and Non-Fiction. No Sci Fi, Horror, Crime, Childrens, etc).

Once you drill down to the Fiction section, I'm not sure what logic dictates the order books are displayed in. With one exception all the books on the first page of results are out-of-copyright works. Sure, their $2.95 price tag might be appealing (if it weren't that the same ebooks are available for free elsewhere!), but seeing a bunch of public domain books hardly gets me fired up about Border's selection. I'd prefer it if there were an options to filter by release date, publish date, popularity, genre and so forth.

[Blue Tyson]

Originally Posted by Katti's Cat

My impressions on the Kobo reader: I like the white one. However, having used my Sony I would not go and buy a Kobo. Not even at the price. It is very basic, feels flimsy (very light), has limited functionality. You can only page forward & backward. Page jumping not possible. It reads ePub, PDF and Adobe DRM. That's it. It is a very basic reader and for my taste at AU$199 too expensive for what it does. I'd rather spend a few $ more and get a more advanced reader.

So no text, html, etc? Definitely wouldn't get one that couldn't do that.

[lene1949]

It's such a good price, I'm seriously thinking of getting one, so I can read epub books...