Why'd you buy a Kobo?

[viviena]

Why I bought it? Lust.

Why my purchase is now validated:

1) Price. $200 is still the cheapest I've seen in retail, without having to buy online.
2) Form and weight. I like in particular being able to use it with one hand.
3) I don't like the idea of vendor lock-in.
4) I always love new gadgets.

[flexnib]

1. Curiosity
2. Not tied to one bookseller (e.g Amazon)
3. Price. Before Kobo ereaders in Australia were way too expensive
4. Wanted to try eInk

[Wet Coast]

My reasons:
1. I was looking for a fairly basic reader
2. ePub, I wanted epub support and not be locked into a single seller & ability to borrow from library. Husband has a Kindle and I didn't want to be restricted to one bookstore.
3. Price - Over $100 less than husband's Kindle at time of purchase
4. Ecosystem, I like the idea of portability of my ebooks from my Kobo eReader
5. eInk
6. Bluetooth connectivity to smartphone on occasion

I have been happy with the reading experience on the Kobo, but not with Kobo's undelivered promises - namely Bluetooth is limited to a few Blackberry models. A very nice lady from customer service has been trying to sort out the "misinformation" I received when I preordered, but I have come to the conclusion there is a huge disconnect between what the Kobo development team tells the Kobo customer service team. I think the customer service team gets as frustrated as the customers do. In one e-mail, I was told the new Blackberry Torch will sync wirelessly with Kobo, then the next day I rec'd a follow up saying that was wrong. Also, Blackberry 0S 6 will not wirelessly sync with Kobo. If you are planning on buying an ereader, and don't care about BT connectivity or (the promised for summer 2010) newspaper service, then the Kobo at a reduced price is a nice reader. With the Kobo, what you see is what you get - don't expect the promised features to materialise "soon" and you won't be disappointed.

[user659]

$149 price Price seemed right.

I could pop over to our WalMart store to buy it. They have
a 14 day Return policy.

[heyok]

I thought an ebook reader was the best way to bring reading material while on vacation, instead of a large quantity of paperbacks. After looking for reviews of ebook readers, I somehow came across the Kobo and found that it was available in Canada! Then I read about how it uses e-ink and has great battery life (jury is still out on this), I looked on Craigslist and found one close to me that was only a month old and came with a leather cover for $100. Thought I couldn't go wrong with that!

There were a few growing pains but I seem to be getting along with it well now and am happy with my purchase.

[Gordo29]

Same as most:

1 Price
2 Canadian
3 Price
4 Simplicity
5 Price
Nuff said

[Jonimeesermann]

Only one: Availibility.

I don't care about any other factor (well, other than price of course , but still it's not a major factor).
I can buy books from Amazon and remove the DRM to any other format with Calibre.
Music, annotation, or touch screen is just a nice feature not required

Currently there is only one vendor that distribute ebook reader in my country. It's Onyx Boox with about US$ 350 price tag .

So I'm really glad when I came across my fellow countryman that sells his prs-300 for US$200 and I've just purchased it three weeks ago. After Kindle 3 is out, there is one particular electronic store that sells it here for US$333 (kind of regret my purchase when I see it in person and the Kindle is indeed a very good reader).


(Just realized the question posted in Kobo forum, well anyway just a rant from me)

[auriel]

The price, the 100 free classics (no effort on my part to download and sort!) and the fact that I didn't have to order it online are what sold me on the Kobo. Also I liked that it came in black.

[urbanite]

1) Price
2) Newspaper and magazine subscriptions
3) Canadian

It looks like I screwed up. I should have bought a Kindle or an iPad. It doesn't look like #2 is ever going to happen ... the Kobo software still says "Coming Soon!" and "New for this summer" in regards to subscriptions. Anyway, the price point on the Kobo was low enough that it won't really bug me to put it in the drawer of useless electronic gadgets.

[objectman]

The sense of open-source, the drag and drop books function and the SD card reader. Anything that has an SD card reader usually means it's not locked to one vendor.

[CazMar]

Originally Posted by roguefan99

Snap, same here.

Yes, that was a big plus! Having waited an eternity to see any in the shops here I would have probably bought it even if if it only came in lime green and had pictures of cats all over it. Now I am totally hooked and am working out how to put all my Uni notes, other info on it - spent about 2 hours yesterday coming to grips with Sigil and formatting some stuff.
I am sure there will be improvements but it will probably stay dear to my heart like my 1995 Cassiopeia, which I have never been able to throw away.

[J. Strnad]

1. Cost. $110 less than Kindle and nook when I bought. I'm happy to have contributed to the price war.

2. Weight, size.

3. Wanted to encourage the "open" epub format.

4. Wanted something basic.

[*Angie*]

Size. It has a bigger screen than my Sony 300, yet it feels much lighter and still fits in my purse.

Price. I got it on sale for $129.

Like my 300, it's very simple, Plain-Jane. I just want to read and have no interest in the bells and whistles.

[SensualPoet]

Originally Posted by dmacmart

1) Price - the $149 was just cheap enough that if you dropped it in the pool or stepped on it, while being upsetting, wouldn't break the bank
2) Canadian!
3) Library books
4) Liked the Kobo store - tried it out using my iPhone as a reader

Hey! That's my list!

[SensualPoet]

Originally Posted by urbanite

1) Price
2) Newspaper and magazine subscriptions
3) Canadian

It looks like I screwed up. I should have bought a Kindle or an iPad. It doesn't look like #2 is ever going to happen ... the Kobo software still says "Coming Soon!" and "New for this summer" in regards to subscriptions. Anyway, the price point on the Kobo was low enough that it won't really bug me to put it in the drawer of useless electronic gadgets.

Screwed up? You really think a $149 Kobo is a replacement for an $800 iPad?

Plus, you should rethink "newspaper and magazine subscriptions" delivered to any 6" device. It's really only for the desperate -- there just isn't enough screen real estate. An iPad or Kindle DX is an improvement, depending on the amount of money you want to spend.

The Kobo does what it does well -- and for $128 it's a pretty decent deal. Library books, DRM ePub -- a nice counter-weight / complement to a Kindle 3.