Kobo Touch Edition Review
The Kobo Touch Edition isn’t quite as popular or as well known as eReaders like the Nook Touch or Kindle, but it is a viable option in the world of budget eBook readers. Keep reading to find out more about the pros and cons of choosing this particular device.
Kobo Touch Edition Key Specs
Average Price: $129
Release Year: 2011
Battery Life: One Months (Wi-Fi off)
Screen Size: 6 inch
Screen Type: e-Ink touchscreen
Weight: 7.05 oz
Storage Size: 2GB (expandable by 32GB)
Internet: Wi-Fi
Main eBook Format: ePub
Pros Of The Kobo Touch Edition
Price: There are two major rivals to the Kobo Touch Edition: The Nook Touch and Kindle Touch. Both of these come in at $139 (though the Kindle is cheaper if you opt for the ad-supported version). The Kobo Touch is slightly cheaper, at $129, yet still comes with a sleek touchscreen and a variety of eReader functions.
Touchscreen: Touchscreen eBook readers are by now becoming the norm. Having a touchscreen on the Kobo Reader means it’s far faster to look up words in the dictionary (simply click on the word rather than scrolling through the page with the directional pad) and to access the menu items you want to use.
Memory Expansion: 2GB of internal memory is less than the Amazon Kindle Touch, but can still store around 1,000 books – more than enough for most users! The good news is that, unlike the Kindle, the Kobo Touch Edition does come with an SD memory card expansion slot to expand your memory up to 32GB (for 30,000 eBooks). It’s unlikely any of us will have enough eBooks to fill the expanded memory, but it’s always useful to have the expansion option available should you ever need it.
Web Access And Browser: The Kobo Touch Edition comes with Wi-Fi connectivity built in, as you’d expect when its main rivals are the Kindle and Nook. You can simply use this to shop for new books from the device, or you can take advantage of the included browser. Like most e-Ink reader web browsers, it’s not perfect but it’s a great feature to have on hand.
Design: Like any good eReader, the Kobo Touch Edition is designed to be compact and portable. It is lightweight, making it comfortable to hold as you read. The real thing that sets the Kobo apart from other eReaders, however, is the quilted back design. It comes in a number of different colors to suit your personality, and looks stylish and fun. The design also means that you’ll have a good grip on the device.
Battery: With the Wi-Fi turned off, the battery on the Kobo Touch Edition will last around one month, which is more than enough time for most users not to have to worry about charging all the time. Note that this is less than the two months boasted by the Kindle Touch/ Keyboard and the Nook Touch, but is still considered an excellent battery life.
Some Unique Features: Just like the Kindle Touch and Nook Touch, the Kobo Touch Edition comes with some of its own unique features. For example, the Reading Life function allows you to keep track of everything you’ve read, providing you with detailed stats and rewards when you meet certain requirements. Just with the Kindle and Nook, you can also share what you’re reading with Facebook and Twitter.
Apps For Other Devices: Like the Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook, the Kobo has a variety of apps available to download for Android, iPhone/ iPad and your computer. This means that you’ll have your books available on you no matter which one of those devices you may be using.
Page Turns: Like the latest generations of Nook and Kindle, the manufacturers of the Kobo reader have gone to some effort to reduce the black screen flash that occurs when you turn the page on an e-Ink screen. This means that you won’t notice the screen going black every single page turn, which is nice (though most users don’t usually notice the page turns once they get used to using their eReader). Note that you can either swipe or tap the screen to turn the page, which is very intuitive and easy to do.
Cons Of The Kobo Touch Edition
Less Intuitive: When you compare the Kobo Touch Edition to its main Kindle and Nook rivals, you’ll find that the touch functions are less intuitive than the competition. The user interface isn’t quite as well designed and laid out, though you can still find your way around pretty easily.
Fewer Features: The Kobo Touch Edition has fewer features than the Kindle equivalent. Like the Nook, it doesn’t come with the ability to play MP3 files, nor does it have a text-to-speech function. That said, you can read PDF files and the device does support library lending formats.
Newspapers and Magazines: The Nook is famous for the way it can display magazines, and the Kindle also has an excellent selection of titles available in its store. The Kobo, on the other hand, has far fewer titles to choose from.
In short, the Kobo Touch Edition is an excellent upgrade to its line of eReaders. There are a number of features on the device that help it stand up against rivals such as the Kindle Touch and Nook Touch, and the design certainly stands out. Although Kobo don’t offer as many books in their own store, the eReader is open enough to allow you to read content from other sources. All in all, the Kobo Touch Edition comes in at a good price and is a solid eReader.
One of the big advantages of the Micro Cruz Reader is that it allows you to access ebooks from a wide range of sources including Borders, Barnes & Noble and of course Amazon. The built in applications include a dictionary, notepad, calendar, alarm clock, contacts, games and a range of useful apps.
Velocity Micro Cruz Reader, Black (R101)
In appearance it resembles an I Pad having a seven-inch (diagonal) touch screen with 800 x 600 pixel resolution. The Velocity Micro Cruz Reader has the Android OS as its operating system and this Google designed OS works well. We found the screen easy to read and the slim and attractive design, (it weighs less than 1 lb and is only 0.6 inch thick) ideal for use at home or when traveling.
With the Cruz you can bring your favorite movies on a plane without the hassle of a portable DVD player or laptop, with support for MPEG-4 and H.264 video formats. Listen to your favorite tunes in MP3, WMA, AAC, or WAV formats. Or share pictures from your last vacation with JPEG, GIF, PNG, and BMP support.
The Cruz Reader offers 256 MB internal storage, expandable via both USB and SD card slots. A 4 GB micro SD card is included with the device (pre-installed)An extended life, user-replaceable lithium-ion battery is included, offering up to 10+ hours of life on a single charge (24+ hours on standby).
On the downside it would have been nice to have received a full manual with the ebook reader and some people have reported that the screen can smudge easily. However, generally comments have been positive and we think that the Velocity Micro Cruz Reader, Black (R101) represents good value for money. Definitely one to be considered if you do not want to be limited to downloading from just one source.
http://www.squidoo.com/AmazonKindleReview
Did you know that the Kindle is an MP3 player too? It has a headphone jack and speakers. Listen to mp3 tunes or audiobooks – you can even listen while you read. Cool or what!
Duration : 0:1:15
Zara looks at the electronic book the BeBook E-ReaderBy Tracy Falbe
When people say that they have no interest in reading an ebook, what they actually mean is that they do not want to sit and read a long work on a computer screen. But with a dedicated ebook reading device, such as the PRS-505 from Sony, reading an ebook becomes an excellent experience. The main difference from a computer screen provided by the Sony ebook reader is the e-ink technology that supports the reading screen. The e-ink system allows for low power usage and (here’s the big one) comfortable reading. The text is crisp and clear and can be read without eye strain for long periods in both artificial and natural light. Unlike the screen of a laptop computer, the screen of the Sony ebook reader has no glare in sunlight. Essentially the reading experience will feel exactly like looking at the pages of a book. Indeed, upon becoming absorbed in a novel, I have found my thumb seeking to physically turn a paper page because my brain assumed I was holding a book.
The user interface for the Sony PRS-505 is also easy to learn and use. I was able to quickly figure out the bulk of the system’s navigation without consulting the instructions. Figuring out how to move between ebook titles and navigate within ebooks took only moments. The menu choices are obvious and make sense – very refreshing in a gadget! No baffling cell phone weirdness here.
The navigation within an ebook is well laid out. You can access the table of contents and go directly to specific chapters within the ebook. You can also simply “begin” the ebook and page through from the beginning. The nicest feature is the “continue reading” choice, which automatically takes you to the last place you were reading in the ebook. This is exceedingly handy for someone like me who is chronically plagued by gremlins (both real and imagined) that take bookmarks from my paper books.
Additionally, the ebook reader has a bookmark button that allows you to mark any page in the ebook. Bookmarks that you make for any particular title are stored within that title’s menu where you can easily access the pages you marked for later review.
The system to interface your ebook reader with your desktop or laptop computer is also easy to use. This ebook library management software allows you to load files from your computer or access the Sony ebook store online. Because you can easily load files from your computer, you are also free to obtain ebook files in compatible formats from any source.
The Sony ebook reader connects to the computer with a USB cord. When connected, the ebook library interface will add the reader to its display and you can easily add ebooks from the computer library to the reader by dragging and dropping the files. In the same way you can remove ebook files from the portable reader by dragging the files back into the library.
About my only criticism of the Sony ebook reader is that the little buttons for advancing the pages lack perfection. I find them a little stiff and the positioning of both of them is not an optimal fit for my hands. This may not be the case for all users because I am admittedly an ergonomically difficult personality. The Sony ebook reader does have two ways to advance pages, so one or both of the options may work well for other users.
As with most specialized gadgets, you will need to know where to get content for your Sony ebook reader. Certainly, Sony has its own ebook store integrated with the system, but other sellers such as Baen.com and Fictionwise.com serve the Sony ebook reader market as well. Ebook titles from small publishers and individual artists are also plentiful.
For example, my free fantasy ebook Union of Renegades from Brave Luck Books is available to download in the Sony compatible ebook format and many other popular formats, including the Kindle. http://www.braveluck.com
By Thomas Cable
So you want to be able to read the bestsellers at your own leisure but find yourself travelling most of the time with no time to spare to relax and curl up with the best new books on the shelf. Besides, you have better things to spend your money on than shelling out hundreds of dollars every month. But what if I said that you could avoid that ad make the time to read whilst travelling with the ultimate ebook reader? Interested? If you are then check out the Amazon Kindle Ebook Reader!
The ultimate ebook reader can give you access to the latest bestsellers without the time and cost aspect involved. All you simply have to do is buy the electronic version of a book as and when you feel like it via the Amazon Kindle Ebook Reader and it will be on the screen within a minute! That is really good service!
The Amazon Kindle Ebook Reader is only 10.3 ounces in weight and is compact as well so you can easily fit it into a bag whenever you have to travel. Better still, you still actually get the feel of a real book because the pages on the ebook reader actually look like those of a regular book, but one that costs just $9.99! There are very few bestsellers that actually cost more than that at an given time so you are in a for a bargain no matter what way you look at it.
As a result of the latest technology, books can be on the ebook reader within a short period of time because you do not have to be in an Internet hot spot at the time. This has been a limiting factor of ebooks in the past but not so in this one. The battery is also long lasting so you have no need to keep it plugged in for that aspect either! All in all, the Amazon Kindle Ebook Reader has the complete package. You can have all the bestsellers you want, whenever you want, at a reasonable price!
To learn more about the tnew Amazon Kindle eBook reader, visit kindlevillage.com
There has been a lot of buzz lately about the brand new e-book reader launched by Amazon. The most popular e-book reader around has been the one launched by Sony.
The price difference
One of the main differences that really stands out between the Sony E-book Reader and Kindle is the vast price disparity. There’s a whopping 100 dollar difference with the Sony reader being priced at 300 USD and Kindle having a price of 400 USD. While the Sony reader promises a host of freebie features like free viewing of PDF files, no internet connection needed, free access to blogs as well as RSS feeds and even a memory card included in the welcome kit, this reader from Sony sure has plenty of upsides to it. However, Kindle isn’t far behind what with the capacity to contain more than 200 titles and an SD card slot that is included with it. However, you do need to pay 1 dollar for every blog and RSS feed respectively which is quite a bit expensive.
The format
While the Sony Reader allows you to view PDF files free of cost, the Kindle charges a 10 cent fee for every PDF file that you would sync into the device. Also Kindle tends to read HTML, plain text formats and images from the SD card but doesn’t do too well with DOC, RTF and PDF formats. But then again even the Sony Reader cannot read DOC formats directly.
E-ink technology
As far as the 6 inch LCD screen display goes in the Kindle, the display uses the revolutionary e-ink technology using ‘Vizplex’ film on the surface. However, both the Sony Reader and the Kindle have used the same technology. The plus side to this technology is that 40% of received light gets deflected and uses reflected instead of transmitted light which makes both devices easy on the eyes.
Printability
There is no need to print any document because Kindle offers portability in taking along all personal documents at anytime in any place, thereby eliminating the need for printing. The 10 cent fee is applicable for wireless transfer of word documents. However, if users do not wish to shell out this fee, free transfers can be leveraged. For this, the file or attachment needs to be sent to ‘name’@free.kindle.com where name stands for the ID used for your Kindle email address. So if the Kindle email ID is smith@kindle.com then attachments need to be sent to smith@free.kindle.com and then the file gets converted and emailed to the associated Amazon account.
Battery life
The Amazon Kindle is by far a better choice when it comes to battery life. You can go for four days at a stretch without any need to charge the Kindle. Besides, this is its good network coverage in almost any area which makes for good portability. Turning pages is as easy at the click of a button which means that even if you are reading the e-book in bed, operating the Kindle is much easier than the Sony Reader.
James Kara Murat the contributor of PrintCountry Articles. Read more about the subject at Kindle vs. Sony Ebook Reader Reviews, and related resources can be found at PrintCountry Miscellaneous Printer Information.
Hosted by:
• Nicole Price Fasig, Reviews Producer, Ziff Davis Media
The Topics:
Microsoft exec who led Yahoo buyout team to leave.
Knol, Google’s Wikipedia Knockoff, goes public.
Google to acquire Digg? .
Sony opens E-Book Reader to other booksellers.
Nokia and Qualcomm kiss and make up.
Hasbro Orders Facebook to Remove ‘Scrabulous’.
Duration : 0:3:21
Coming to paperback this fall!
“Author Spencer Dane doesn’t waste any time getting the plot rolling in BLUE DIAMONDS. A few pages in and there’s already a body count. Federal Agent Zach Taylor, the protagonist, is a complicated hero who would rather spend a quiet evening listening to classical music than participate in a shoot out. Naturally, this fast-paced story doesn’t allow Zach his wish. BLUE DIAMONDS follows the trail of a dozen rare diamonds stolen from Greek Jews during the Holocaust. The diamonds weave their way around Zach, a powerful mafia don, a corrupt Congressman, a beautiful and mysterious diamond broker, and Zach’s former girlfriend—an investigative reporter who will do almost anything to get her story, maybe even endanger Zach! It’s a great story with plenty of action, intrigue and unexpected plot twists.” – Reader Review
Duration : 0:0:31
Check out the Kindle here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fgp%2Fproduct%2FB000FI73MA%3Fpf%5Frd%5Fm%3DATVPDKIKX0DER%26pf%5Frd%5Fs%3Dcenter-1%26pf%5Frd%5Fr%3D09W39X3PENH05CS4T563%26pf%5Frd%5Ft%3D101%26pf%5Frd%5Fp%3D398464101%26pf%5Frd%5Fi%3D507846&tag=howtogetgirls-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325
This is less a “pros and cons” review than a hopefully useful commentary about the Kindle compared with other eReaders and what it means for the eBook industry. (I believe that everything has changed with the Kindle’s creation.)
For many years I have been an avid reader of eBooks using almost every eReading device on the market. So as an early-adopter of techie gadgets I had been anxiously awaiting Amazon’s Kindle since its first rumors. So I immediately purchased it both out of curiosity and hoping for a better “next generation” eBook solution. In case you’re wondering whether I’m “that” Steve Gibson, I probably am — I’m the guy who gets Google’s first three or four links when Googling my name.
I was driven to write this review because it is somewhat distressing and, it seems to me, a bit unfair for the Kindle’s average review rating to be dragged so far down by Kindle NON-OWNERS who, judging from their comments, seem to be quite annoyed by all of the positive comments about a device that’s expensive, monochrome, not a general purpose media player, unable to leap tall buildings, or in some way less than they were expecting, wanting, or hoping. In contrast to non-owners, the people who actually HAVE Kindle’s appear to universally love it, though with very valid caveats. I think of this as “The TiVo Effect” since, for the right sort of user, the Kindle will be life-changing … but it certainly won’t be that for everyone. Although it took me a few days to get completely comfortable with it, I am now hooked….
Check out the full review on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fgp%2Fproduct%2FB000FI73MA%3Fpf%5Frd%5Fm%3DATVPDKIKX0DER%26pf%5Frd%5Fs%3Dcenter-1%26pf%5Frd%5Fr%3D09W39X3PENH05CS4T563%26pf%5Frd%5Ft%3D101%26pf%5Frd%5Fp%3D398464101%26pf%5Frd%5Fi%3D507846&tag=howtogetgirls-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325
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Duration : 0:2:3
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