What sold you on the new Kobo Touch?

[robko]

I'll give this guy credit: he was very upfront about the fact that he was strictly reviewing the readers as a fashion accessory. I can respectfully disagree with him (I much rather the Kobo shape/feel vs the Nook) but I can't fault his review. He actually checked out what he commented on (unlike the other moron).

[jackastor]

Originally Posted by FJames

Here's another hilarious comparison review of the Kobo Touch and the Nook ST, where the reviewer concludes that the Nook ST is best because its Home button is cool "N" shape whereas the KT has "a boring metal dash":

http://blog.laptopmag.com/g-styled-nook-vs-kobo-ereader

you know they could change that metal dash to a fingerprint scanner for extra security....

I like the silver button I dont like the n button and other then shape and size? what is he really talking about? Nothing thats what.

[Toastedpine]

Why do I hear some guy saying, "I'm going to pimp out your ebook reader by adding some shocks, spinners, and pinstriped flames"?

That said, I recognize the value of good packaging. Something that looks like crap makes you feel like not using it. Has anyone every tried green ketchup before? It may taste the same, but pond scum green is still entirely unappetizing. I do prefer the straighter lines of the Kobo though. It's clean looking, and easier to stack. Things that are too curvy are a sometimes more of a pain to stow away.

[TedJ]

FJames, that qualifies as a non-article if I've ever seen one.

[JohnMorris]

Originally Posted by markemark

I also liked that Kobo's memory doesn't reserve and hide memory for store bought content like the BN Touch does. Yea I'm sure you can root it and shrink that partition but I shouldn't have to.

That was my main reason for choosing the new Kobo over the new Nook.

[FJames]

This is a more thorough review if you were actually interested in how well the KT works: http://www.ohgizmo.com/2011/07/25/oh...touch-edition/

I agree with pretty much all of the observations in this review, pro and con.

[anonymoose]

Originally Posted by shighfield

Speed of the screen refresh over the Kobo wifi model.

Ditto.

ePubs helped too.

[danskmacabre]

I made a review of th Kobo Touch on my blog here: http://www.chaos8.com/wordpress/?p=201
It was generally positive and I compared it to the Kindle at one stage.
I didn't compare it to the Nook, as I've never seen or used the Nook, so I didn't see it as a fair comparison (The nook isn't available in the UK and will probably never get released here).

To quickly summarise my view on the Kobo Touch and what sold it to me:
It supports EPUB
It has a touch screen
It support external memory (MicroSD cards)

I would add it doesn't have lots of other fancy features that I don't want or need.
My Phone browses the web, so I don't want to use the KT browser (it's not that great anyway).
My phoe also has email, text, calendars, alarms and loads of other stuff as well.
I just want a dedicated ereader.

[Pistos]

The things that made me get the Kobo Touch:

* Among the lowest-priced ereaders at the time (July 2011), yet not sacrificing on a competitive feature set
* Kobo employees having a noticeable, active presence on MobileRead
* works reasonably well with Linux
* Canadian company (me being Canadian)
* wide range of formats supported
* ability to upload free ebooks found around the Internet
* ability to read library books
* fairly recent model, so it won't be obsolete as soon (as opposed to getting an old model just to save money)

and now that I actually have it, I can report that I'm very satisfied with it.

The other ereaders I considered were Sony (too expensive for newer models), and Kindle (very close contender, but I picked Kobo because it was Canadian).

[the.Mtn.Man]

I spent several days mulling over whether I should get a Kobo Touch or a Nook Touch. Each has its own strengths, weaknesses, and quirks. The two primary features that pushed me over to the Kobo were:

1) The entire memory is available for side-loaded content -- I really have no interest in buying DRM infected books and get all my stuff from public domain, so having the maximum amount of memory available for my book collection was important.

2) Adjustable screen refresh -- After reading a number of comments about ghosting on the Nook Touch, the Kobo became the clear winner because what good is an e-reader if it doesn't excel as a book reader? I have it set for the traditional refresh every page and enjoy crystal clear text page after page.

[Dimwit]

For me it was because it's Canadian. Actually, not that it's Canadian but it's unAmerican. The Kindle is too US centric and the Nook is All American. Both offerings are wonderful in the States but are either unavailble or limited outside. The Kobo doesn't have those limitations and even better, isn't second rate either. It's competitive on price (which is the Sony's failing), on features and on design.

My only con for it was the sample that I'd seen on display had poor formating with the page. Strangely, the K2 was much better in that regard, but Kobo updated the software and fixed it.

I've had it for two weeks and haven't regetted it a bit.

[FJames]

I haven't used my old Kobo WiFi since I gave it to a family member before buying the Touch, but I was helping them order some books with it earlier this week, and I was surprised how big and thick and heavy it felt by comparison. I never realized that the KT was significantly thinner. Kobo did a good job slimming it down.

[jeffry]

For me it came down to the KT or the Nook Touch. Then I saw the Kobo at Borders for 20% off and couldn't resist.

So far, I'm really happy with it. Here's my review if you're interested.

[molman]

For me it was a number of things, and why I decided on the Kobo Touch (KT);

* ePub support (+ Adobe DRM): I liked the idea of support for the biggest ebook (&DRM) format and all that it offered - access to a range of stores, access to library ebook borrowing. I saw this as a negative for Amazon/Kindle with its closed ecosystem which was a contender.

* Availability/Support: In AU there was a limited range of devices available. The BN/Nook has no non-US support so it was ruled out. SONY's had sketchy availability, the only other major option (outside lesser known brands) was the Kindle. As the Kobo had been in the AU market before, I foresaw ongoing future support with devices/accessories/eBooks: this has proved true with recent announcements post Borders AU.

* Price: The KT was a great price for what it offered when compared to SONY's, and even slightly cheaper than the Kindle 3.

* Design: I've always found the Kindle an unattractive device both physically (all those buttons that I would use so rarely) and the way the ui works with certain multi key functions etc. I loved the look of the Kobo which was more like a book (all screen). The size was nice. For the i-device generation the touch seemed like a more natural interface. I also actually loved the back of the Kobos which had the nice quilt design for holding which I'd experienced on the earlier models. The KT ticked all the boxes for specs with the screen, speedy processor, SD Card access (though I don't foresee needing the space any day soon) etc. Finally the UI on the KT seemed to be clean, and simple. There are my books one touch away. The ongoing firmware support with its formatting options has cemented things.

* Store: Whilst it may not have as many books as Amazon (I haven't actually compared for someone in AU?), the Kobo store offered a decent selection of the mainstream titles at prices that were often comparable to Amazon when you looked broadly. The fact that they sold to AU unlike say the SONY eReader store was also a boon. I also liked that they offered most books as their own easy to sync format, but also Adobe ePub’s that could be downloaded and used on other devices with Adobe ePub support in the future.

* Things I didn't care about: Audio: including text to speech, and audiobooks - I have better devices for this. Non-book reading functions: Web browsers, games, etc (again much better devices for this). Mobile Wireless/3G: I have a mobile hotspot in the form of my phone for when I need to download on the move, and truthfully I just didn't see myself needing this ever. I also knew I wished to get books from a range of places so I was likely to sideload anyway.
* Things I did care about: Privacy - some of the data flow to amazon with highlights, book information etc.

..Anyway they are some of the reasons. I'm very happy with my choice that the KT is my first eInk eReader. I will also say in somewhat aussie fashion I did like supporting the underdog, and it’s nice to have something different than the Kindle that most individuals I know own.

[jago25_98]

Originally Posted by PeterT

Yes ... until I bought a Kobo last year, I was still reading on my Palm TX.

I've found for years that I reading for me was easier on devices like the Palm TX, or my Sony CLIE PDA than from real books.

I've liked the ability to change font sizes, and to get more contrast.

Blimey I forgot about green screen displays. How does the old palm tx compare to reading off the kobo?