Consumer Reports Rates eBook Readers

[JSWolf]

The problem with the eBook reader review is that it doesn't take into account the reading software. Most reviews of eBook readers lack this. If this was a proper review, the nook STR would be a lot lower on the list and the Kindle not so high. I hate to say this, but flashy features aren't any good if the reading software isn't good enough.

[MaggieScratch]

Originally Posted by OtterBooks

I'll refer to Consumer Reports when I need a new vacuum cleaner.

Don't. I bought their Best Bet or whatever it was and, while it isn't a bad vacuum, I still wish I'd gotten the Dyson.

[ptsenter]

Originally Posted by Fbone

Consumer Reports has the Kobo Touch listed in their online article and rankings.

Originally Posted by SCION

Even if the Kobo shipped earlier, it wasn't a worthy contender (at that time). It's sure to make the list next year with the excellent firmware updates.

Actually, in this issue CR dedicated more space to Kobo Touch than any other reader:
First Look, p.44, saying in some respects it's ahead of Nook and Kindle and in some behind.

Just curious, as I don't trust CR's judgement, - what's Kobo's ranking online?

[Arrghus]

Originally Posted by MaggieScratch

Don't. I bought their Best Bet or whatever it was and, while it isn't a bad vacuum, I still wish I'd gotten the Dyson.

On the subject of vacuum cleaners and 'consumer reports': I laughed hard when I saw, during my trial subscription to Which? Magazine (a UK 'consumer testing' charity), that they had rated Henry hoovers as among the poorest! Suction not powerful enough apparently. Bad for those with allergies. Henrys last for years! Unlike every other vacuum I've bought! Why are they so popular across the cleaning sector? It's not their cute little smile beaming back at businesses that's made them a common site in shops, offices and the rest, it's because they are damn well built to last!

Oh, and I bought a netbook on the basis of a 'Trusted Review'. I really wish I'd had opted for one of the Samsungs every 'ordinary' reviewer (on sites like Amazon) had recommended. I trust the opinion of the majority over the opinion of a so-called expert (who is usually gifted a product to review).

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by ptsenter

Actually, in this issue CR dedicated more space to Kobo Touch than any other reader:
First Look, p.44, saying in some respects it's ahead of Nook and Kindle and in some behind.

Just curious, as I don't trust CR's judgement, - what's Kobo's ranking online?

They rank it #9 just below the Nook Color and above the Entourage.

[robko]

Originally Posted by Fbone

They rank it #9 just below the Nook Color and above the Entourage.

That's probably fair if they used the original out of the box firmware. With the firmware updates since I suspect it would rate rather higher.

[Fbone]

They also gave it poor marks for requiring a computer to set it up. And page turn speeds were, at the time, slower than their competitors.

[RockdaMan]

Do these reviews even matter to people who have invested into an ecosystem?

I've got a kindle, 180 books archived, and as long as the service remains 'good enough', I'm not going anywhere. The reviews are just a curiosity to me. I suspect that the vast majority of Amazons Kindle customers see the world the same way.

[Phogg]

Originally Posted by RockdaMan

Do these reviews even matter to people who have invested into an ecosystem?

I've got a kindle, 180 books archived, and as long as the service remains 'good enough', I'm not going anywhere. The reviews are just a curiosity to me. I suspect that the vast majority of Amazons Kindle customers see the world the same way.

Only Amazon readers (and perhaps soon iBook readers) who can't figure out Calibre are caged in a closed system. I have way more books than that in .lit and .pdb, but I am quite able to convert them to epub.

I will buy whatever machine seems the best for my needs.

The only reason this review doesn't matter is because Consumer Reports hasn't written consistently accurate reviews since the early eighties and it just can't coast on the reputation of what it once was after being so lacklustre for so long.

[RockdaMan]

Originally Posted by Phogg

Only Amazon readers (and perhaps soon iBook readers) who can't figure out Calibre

...or have no interest in doing so.

[OneandonlyDoc]

Originally Posted by RainingLemur

Haha. Consumer reports. I don't trust those as far as I can throw another consumer.

^ This.

[buddy258firm]

I don't trust those as far as I can throw another consumer.

[boswd]

I'm wondering if all the kindle owners crying foul and saying how useless Consumer Reports is would be singing the same song if the Kindle was ranked #1? My guess, is no.

Just sayin

[MaggieScratch]

Originally Posted by Arrghus

I trust the opinion of the majority over the opinion of a so-called expert (who is usually gifted a product to review).

Well, with regard to Consumer Reports, they buy everything they review retail and don't accept advertising just so they can remain independent (I imagine that's why they couldn't review the Kobo pre-release). However, I don't think they always measure the important things, though. For instance, the vacuum cleaner I mentioned got higher marks because it was a couple of hundred dollars cheaper than the Dyson. Thing is, in hindsight I would rather have spent the extra money, because I would have got what I really wanted in the first place. (And Dysons do clean better.)

[SleepyBob]

Originally Posted by Phogg

Only Amazon readers (and perhaps soon iBook readers) who can't figure out Calibre are caged in a closed system. I have way more books than that in .lit and .pdb, but I am quite able to convert them to epub.

Don't you lose some of the nice features of the Kindle when you do that (whispernet and multi-device syncing)? I thought one of the big plusses of the Kindle was how seamlessly everything worked together.