Dork Adore » Ebook Readers

Kobo eReader Touch review

Katie — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 10:00:14 +0000

Still in need of a last-minute panic purchase present for your mother-in-law?

Pop to WH Smiths and buy a lavender Kobo eReader Touch. That’s my tip, anyway.

If you want a review that gets into the ins and outs of which is better – Kindle or Kobo – you’ve probably come to the wrong place. Unless you’re a supreme tech-head, the choice between the two is likely to come down to which one you like the look of, how wedded you are to the idea of buying your books on Amazon (or NOT buying them on Amazon) and whether you’re willing to fork out the extra fee for a touchscreen.

Personally, I love the Kobo. I love its slightly old-ladyish quilted back (which made my own mother-in-law emit a little “ooh!” of excitement – possibly her first ever emotion towards an item of technology) and I love the fact that I just tap the screen to turn the page (after enlarging the font size to MASSIVE so I can read lying down and hold the eReader miles off).

The set up is easy to master – although having to prod at different sectors of the screen to get the menu up or turn pages may momentarily flummox my in-laws – and buying new books through the online store (accessed via wifi) is simple, if slow.

For many, this will simply be an also-ran that gets referred to as a Kindle, just as all personal organisers used to be called Palm Pilots (oh those silly people who couldn’t tell a Palm from an iPAQ). Then again, no one uses Palms now, so who knows what could happen?

I hope that this “also-ran” sticks around for a good while yet. Without a little bit of diversity, where are we? We’re in an Apple, Amazon, Google love triangle, that’s where. And not everyone wants to be trapped in that relationship.

For a more exhaustive Kindle Vs Kobo comparison, check out ZDNet.

Kobo eReader Touch from WH Smiths

Kobo eReader Touch from Asda

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ARCHOS 8 Home Tablet: Dork review

Emma Cossey — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 10:00:27 +0000

Up until recently, Apple has had very little to deal with in terms of mainstream budget competition for their iPad. The most recent addition to the market is the Dell Streak which, at almost half the size, is more often seen as a smartphone than an iPad substitute.

When ARCHOS approached me with their ARCHOS 8 Home tablet, I was initially dubious. The gadget looks more like a digital photo frame then a touch screen tablet, however they assured me that although it does double as a showcase for your favourite images, it also boasts far more browsing and entertainment features.

Plus it retails at £129.99.

Got your attention now? Excellent, read on for my review.

The basics

The ARCHOS 8 Home Tablet gets its name from the 8-inch screen, slightly smaller than the 9.7-inch screen of the iPad. It weighs in at only 400g, which makes it a lightweight alternative to a netbook. Running on an Android system, the user has the opportunity to pick and choose from an assortment of apps for your surfing pleasure.

The tablet can be used upright on a table using the inclusive kickstand, or as a handheld gadget for checking Facebook whilst watching Doctor Who reruns. You won’t be able to create documents or do anything more complicated then check up on Twitter, but what more do you expect for £130?

Budget browsing and entertainment

I’ve tested it out for a few days and there are a few aspects I really like. Reading ebooks is a joy, connecting to wi-fi and surfing is, in general, a smooth process, and slideshows and videos are fairly high quality. However, webpages are displayed in mobile format, which can be irritating on sites like YouTube when you want to search for something specific or require more advanced options.

Pros and Cons

Wins points for:

Being quick and easy to set up.
Responsive touch screen.
Ideal for casual surfing and for use as an ebook reader. The makers also suggest it’s great as an interactive cookbook (similar to the format of the Dishy iPhone app we reviewed last year)
Price. At an RRP of £129.99, it’s a fraction of the price of an iPad.

Loses points for:

Digital photo frame appearance, slightly tacky.

Not particularly transportable (check out the ARCHOS 7 for a more portable option)

A minuscule 4 GB for the £129.99

Conclusion

Whilst it lacks many of the extensive features of the iPad, it offers a decent budget alternative for your browsing and viewing needs. It’s actually cheaper than the Kindle reader, so if you’re considering buying an eReader, this might be a suitable option with extra features.

Available from:

ARCHOS for £179.99

Amazon for £148.99

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Apple Tablet Rumour Round-Up

Susi — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 14:38:08 +0000

If there’s one thing in life more exciting than an update to a current Apple product, it’s the potential launch of an entirely new Apple product. At least, that’s what the technology world would have you believe.

Only those lucky few with homes under rocks will have missed the fact that Apple is expected to launch a tablet product on 27th January. But what’s it going to have? What will it do? And why are you going to want it?

Let’s ask the rumour mill. [Concept Image: Fotoboer.nl]

Availability
Normally when Apple launch a product, they hold a simultaneous UK press conference, but not this time. Certain sources are suggesting perhaps this means we’re all getting excited over nothing and perhaps the iTablet isn’t going to be coming here any time soon.

Name
Apple Tablet, iSlate, iItWillBlowYourFreakin’Mind – take your pick.

Content
Rumours here are rife. Some say it will stream iTunes. Some say it’ll have eBook functionality at the fore, with Apple already making groundbreaking content deals with book publishers. Still others say it’s going to revolutionise the way we read magazines (see UK Wired’s Ed’s letter this month for hints on that). And then there’s the rumours that it will run apps from the App store.

Screen size
Rumours range from it sporting an 11- to 7- inch screen size. And the screen size is going to dictate how much fun vs work you can have on this little baby.

OS
It could be Mac OS X, it could be the iPhone OS. It all depends on Steve’s functionality vs ease-of-use decisions.

Input
It’s likely to be a touchscreen – Apple don’t like styluses (styli?). So, much like the iPhone, it’s predicted to have an on-screen keyboard, and multitouch.

Cost
You get the feeling any figures picked out here have been plucked out of the air, but $1000 seems to be the number most people are plumping for. So, with the exchange rate, plus the premium charge you get for having the honour of buying things in the UK, we’re looking not far off £900. Probably.

Colour
Actually, no one’s really said much about this, and if indeed it is a premium product, along the Macbook/iPhone line, it’s likely to be sleek and shiny. But imagine if there was a Nano-esque version – it could come in aquamarine! And cerise! And beige! NOW WE ARE TALKING, PEOPLE.

So, after the key points, can you see a space for this in your life? Does it do sufficiently more than an eBook reader? Can you justify it as well as your laptop? Are you going to make room in your bag for yet another gadget? Shamefully, in my Apple-loving heart, I know the answer to this is ‘yeah, probably’.

5 Reasons to buy a Sony Reader

Katie — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:00:44 +0000

I’ve been reviewing the Sony Reader Pocket Edition (£159 from WHSmith) for the past few weeks and I’m sold. But if you’re wondering if you can justify spending so much money on a gadget that essentially does the same job a book has been doing for the past few hundred centuries, here’s some fodder for your pros list.

1. Save some paper
There’s still quite a large debate over whether the manufacturing process in producing these electronic books actually produces more carbon than you’ll save using it, but paper doesn’t just waste trees, the process of making paper is also extremely polluting.

So long as you’re not planning on upgrading every year, an ebook uses a lot less power than a laptop, and should work out more eco-friendly in the long term.

2. Give your eyes a rest.
I have to edit a lot of articles and books, and using the Pocket Reader has saved me from printing out and lugging round huge great piles of paper.

The fact that you can use this to read long documents is a big plus point. Sure, you can do that on a computer, but getting away from a LCD screen and onto a lovely ebook screen is bliss. And there’s something about the book-sized gadget that makes it all seem a bit less laborious.

By the way, if you’re likely to use yours for proofing, you might be better off with the Touch, so you can annotate directly on screen. Check out writer-illustrator Viv Schwarz’s review of her Sony Reader for some inspiration on how you could use yours.

3. Catch up on the classics
Project Gutenberg means that you can access a huge database of free ebooks and since many of them are out-of-copyright classics, you can fill up your ebook reader with some masterpieces and do a spot of self-improvement.

4. Treat yourself to some special editions
Ebooks aren’t going to kill off real books – not just yet anyway. But now you’ve got the perfect excuse to ditch the pulp fiction paperbacks and treat yourself to some really special hardbacks and limited edition books. Instead of filling your book shelves with countless holiday reads, you’ll be able to spend time building up a library of beautiful literary delights. The Folio Society would certainly be pleased.

5. Free up some space
Whether it’s your bookshelves or your suitcases, you can clear your cupboard space and take just one electronic book away on holiday instead of 10 dog-eared novels.

Bought an ebook reader? How did you justify the purchase?

Check prices of Sony Reader on eBay

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Dork Adore » Ebook Readers

Kobo eReader Touch review

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ARCHOS 8 Home Tablet: Dork review

The basics

Budget browsing and entertainment

Pros and Cons

Conclusion

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Apple Tablet Rumour Round-Up

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5 Reasons to buy a Sony Reader

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