Kobo: A Review

I love it. Outright love it. I don’t want to be the guy who bitches and complains about companies all the time – after my last post – so I feel the need to say something positive now.

I bought my Kobo soon after it came out, and am four books down thus far.

The screen is sharp and a pleasure to read on. Reaction time when you press the button to flip pages could be a bit faster, but it isn’t something that enters my mind while using it.

It doesn’t have wireless so you have to plug it in to download books, but again, I’m ok with this – I’d rather be non-wireless than add to the purchase price.

Ah, the price. It’s steep compared to other countries – Australia gets it at $200 Australian. Probably Whitcoull’s fault rather than Kobo’s though, and still not outrageous for what you get.

The 100 included books are more a pain than anything – there is no way to delete them without getting real nerdy on the thing. Having said that, I’m really nitpicking here.

Battery life is great. I’ve seen some criticisms online but I’ve never had any battery issues.

There are some issues with font scaling but Kobo have been up front about the issues and promised a resolution in the coming days. Their communication has been great.

In short – if you like reading, buy one. It’s even better than print. There’s nothing worse than reading books on LCD screens (iPad, Computer screen, etc) but e-Ink is a godsend.