Canadian eReader

A few days ago, Amazon announced the updates to its Kindle Fire line of tablets.  Here is the page with the details. Naturally, it has an improved screen, and processor.  No surprises there.  What’s more interesting is that they announced a major update to the Kindle Fire OS, to called Mojito.   Some of the new features in Mojito include: Mayday button.  This is the most innovative of the inventions and allows you to be connected to a video chat with an Amazon tech support person.  Your tech will have the ability to view and control your screen to assist you.  This could be a godsend for the novice user.  Amazon is at pains to stress that the agent can only see your screen, not you to alleviate privacy concerns.  This is a very interesting feature and one I think could really differentiate Amazon tablets from the others in a saturated marketplace. On the other end of the scale, Amazon is touting better enterprise support.  This includes support for data encryption, Kerberos integration so that users can browse corporate intranets and VPN clients.  This is interesting. So far, Amazon has placed itself securely in the consumer market – I’m really…

Despite my rant yesterday, and despite having received no shipping notification my Kobo Aura 6 inch ereader was delivered to my door this afternoon.  I’ve played with it for a little while and here are my first impressions. It is a gorgeous device.  I really like the industrial design that the screen is flat without a bevel.  It makes it feel very tablet like – and avoids messy crumbs being caught!  eReaders aren’t normally noted for their look, but I really love what Kobo has done with this.  From other reviews I’d seen I’d been concerned about the reflection of light on the screen, but it didn’t seem to be any more noticeable than on the Glo. The screen is really lovely, too.  Comparing it to the Kobo Glo, it’s an incredible difference.  You can see some pictures here: The Kobo Aura is on the left.   and compared to the Kindle Paperwhite (2013 edition) The Aura’s Comfort Light is warmer to my eyes than the Glo’s and certainly much more even, and in comparison the Glo’s screen seems somewhat muddy.  Page turns are the same on both devices.  This is hardly surprising, given that they both have the same…

Despite my rant yesterday, and despite having received no shipping notification my Kobo Aura 6 inch ereader was delivered to my door this afternoon.  I’ve played with it for a little while and here are my first impressions. It is a gorgeous device.  I really like the industrial design that the screen is flat without a bevel.  It makes it feel very tablet like – and avoids messy crumbs being caught!  eReaders aren’t normally noted for their look, but I really love what Kobo has done with this.  From other reviews I’d seen I’d been concerned about the reflection of light on the screen, but it didn’t seem to be any more noticeable than on the Glo. The screen is really lovely, too.  Comparing it to the Kobo Glo, it’s an incredible difference.  You can see some pictures here: The Kobo Aura is on the left.   and compared to the Kindle Paperwhite (2013 edition) The Aura’s Comfort Light is warmer to my eyes than the Glo’s and certainly much more even, and in comparison the Glo’s screen seems somewhat muddy.  Page turns are the same on both devices.  This is hardly surprising, given that they both have the same…

As some of you may know, I placed a new Kobo Aura on preorder, and I’m wondering if some of you are experiencing the same issues I’m having.  It took me several attempts to place the order, which I simply put down to attempting to preorder just an hour or so after it was made available. However, that is not the only issue I’ve experienced. I have received no confirmation from Kobo at all regarding my order – I had to contact them several times just to confirm that the order had in fact been received and to find out its status.  Sadly, judging from the forums I follow, I’m not the only one experiencing these issues. I don’t know about you, but when I place an item on preorder and the site says shipping from September 11th, I expect to receive the item on or around September 11th.  Perhaps that’s just my conditioning from Amazon and Apple.  From my latest contact with Kobo today I can expect to receive it in 10-14 days. The Kobo website is still showing “preorder” for Kobo Auras, yet when you click on it it says “***Pre-Orders begin shipping on September 11, 2013. Your…

As some of you may know, I placed a new Kobo Aura on preorder, and I’m wondering if some of you are experiencing the same issues I’m having.  It took me several attempts to place the order, which I simply put down to attempting to preorder just an hour or so after it was made available. However, that is not the only issue I’ve experienced. I have received no confirmation from Kobo at all regarding my order – I had to contact them several times just to confirm that the order had in fact been received and to find out its status.  Sadly, judging from the forums I follow, I’m not the only one experiencing these issues. I don’t know about you, but when I place an item on preorder and the site says shipping from September 11th, I expect to receive the item on or around September 11th.  Perhaps that’s just my conditioning from Amazon and Apple.  From my latest contact with Kobo today I can expect to receive it in 10-14 days. The Kobo website is still showing “preorder” for Kobo Auras, yet when you click on it it says “***Pre-Orders begin shipping on September 11, 2013. Your…

So this morning Amazon announced its new Kindle Paperwhite.  According to the site, the new features are: new display technology 25% faster processor better touch technology next generation built-in light Kindle Page Flip – easier navigation smart lookup – dictionary is now integrated into X-Ray vocabulary builder GoodReads integration (Amazon recently bought the company) For me, the most exciting of these is the GoodReads integration. It looks awesome I love GoodReads and the integration will be very welcome.  One thing I cannot see from the images is whether or not the screen is flush with the bezel as it is in the new Kobo Aura.  That is a design feature I would love – I’m sure I’ve several biscuits worth of crumbs caught in the bezel. For us Canadians, it’s also exciting to see that the new Paperwhite is available for order from Amazon.ca at the same time as Amazon.com.  Excellent.  It’s good to feel less and less like the country cousin. One very disappointing thing is that it still does not provide audiobook support. The other thing announced this morning – thanks to Bufo Calvin of I Love My Kindle for bringing it to my attention – is MatchBook….

So this morning Amazon announced its new Kindle Paperwhite.  According to the site, the new features are: new display technology 25% faster processor better touch technology next generation built-in light Kindle Page Flip – easier navigation smart lookup – dictionary is now integrated into X-Ray vocabulary builder GoodReads integration (Amazon recently bought the company) For me, the most exciting of these is the GoodReads integration. It looks awesome I love GoodReads and the integration will be very welcome.  One thing I cannot see from the images is whether or not the screen is flush with the bezel as it is in the new Kobo Aura.  That is a design feature I would love – I’m sure I’ve several biscuits worth of crumbs caught in the bezel. For us Canadians, it’s also exciting to see that the new Paperwhite is available for order from Amazon.ca at the same time as Amazon.com.  Excellent.  It’s good to feel less and less like the country cousin. One very disappointing thing is that it still does not provide audiobook support. The other thing announced this morning – thanks to Bufo Calvin of I Love My Kindle for bringing it to my attention – is MatchBook….

So now that Kobo has announced its new lineup, I’m pretty confident Amazon won’t be too far behind.  I have some updates I’d love to see in the new lineup. My absolute dream device would be an eInk/LCD hybrid.  I’d love to be able to switch between a tablet and eReader.  I don’t think that’s going to happen, though. For eInk readers, I’d love to see audio support reinstated.  I didn’t miss it when it disappeared from the Paperwhite, but at that point I wasn’t as heavily invested in Audible and audiobooks as I am now.  I would also love to see full Audible integration as we have it on the Fire, immersion reading included.  I would snap that baby up in a New York minute.  I ADORE the Audible integration on the Fire, but I do prefer reading on eInk. In terms of the Fire, of course any improvement in specs and screen would be welcome.  Not that the current Fire isn’t excellent.  I would also welcome a better way of organising content.  The Favourites drawer isn’t nearly flexible enough.  I like Kobo’s idea of a Reading Mode where you can switch off all other distractions and optimise battery…

So now that Kobo has announced its new lineup, I’m pretty confident Amazon won’t be too far behind.  I have some updates I’d love to see in the new lineup. My absolute dream device would be an eInk/LCD hybrid.  I’d love to be able to switch between a tablet and eReader.  I don’t think that’s going to happen, though. For eInk readers, I’d love to see audio support reinstated.  I didn’t miss it when it disappeared from the Paperwhite, but at that point I wasn’t as heavily invested in Audible and audiobooks as I am now.  I would also love to see full Audible integration as we have it on the Fire, immersion reading included.  I would snap that baby up in a New York minute.  I ADORE the Audible integration on the Fire, but I do prefer reading on eInk. In terms of the Fire, of course any improvement in specs and screen would be welcome.  Not that the current Fire isn’t excellent.  I would also welcome a better way of organising content.  The Favourites drawer isn’t nearly flexible enough.  I like Kobo’s idea of a Reading Mode where you can switch off all other distractions and optimise battery…

Kobo held a press event today entitled “Beyond the Book.”  in which it announced three new variations of its popular Kobo Arc tablet and a new version of its eInk Kobo Aura.  I hadn’t been expecting a refresh at this point as both their eInk readers (the Aura) and their tablet offerings (the Arc) were refreshed earlier this year. For me, the Kobo Aura seems very interesting.  It retains the HD pixel density of the 6.7 inch Kobo Aura HD released earlier this year but reverts to the traditional 6 inch screen.  It is priced at $150 as opposed to the original’s $169.  I have placed my order – it took a while as the devices are newly up for preorder.  The Aura will be delivered on the 11th of September. In addition to SD and HD 7 inch Kobo Arcs, the company is now offering a 10 inch tablet.  The specs are higher on the new version.  Check out http://goodereader.com/blog/ for full details.  Personally, I won’t check out the tablet – I adore my Kindle Fire HD and see no need for another. Additionally, the company is also launching value added content with Beyond the Book, which will include links…