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WHS launches new £169.99 Kobo e-reader
23.11.11 | Charlotte Williams
W H Smith has launched a colour WiFi Kobo e-reader, priced £169.99 and with a multimedia touch screen and social media tie-in.
The Kobo Vox, which is available from today (23rd November) in more than 650 WHS stores and online, has a seven-inch, anti-glare screen, and a full colour screen as well as video and audio technology meaning it can be used to listen to music, play games and watch videos as well as readng e-books and viewing illustrations. It also has Kobo's social media tool feature, Pulse, which enables users of the Vox to share book reviews, comments and conversations on Facebook, Twitter or within the book itself.
The Kobo Vox joins the Kobo Touch in store at W H Smith, and has a jet black surround, with the Kobo quilted back. Its memory can hold up to 32,000 e-books, and give access to one million free e-books, and 2.2 million titles overall.
WHS business unit director, books, Rachel Russell said: "We're really pleased with the way customers have responded to the Kobo e-readers and accessories in our stores and we're delighted to be the first UK retailer to offer customers a product as innovative as the new Kobo Vox."
Kobo c.e.o. Michael Serbinis said: "With the combination of a beautiful product, incredible video and audio functionality and now with the advent of social reading, the Kobo Vox is unlike any e-reading product available in the UK today.
"As part of our mission to inspire people to spend more time reading, we've made reading with Vox a truly social experience-we're excited Kobo is the first e-reading platform to be integrated with Facebook Ticker and Timeline, to enable further reading discovery and entertainment enabling us to take e-reading to the next level."
TheBookseller
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I wonder if there are trends that you can apply to the timing of a device's arrival in certain territories? Does it have more to do with branding or distribution?
Surely Amazon will be looking very hard at pushing forward the release date of the Fire so it can take on the Vox. However, with Kobo being the first to land on UK shores it may gain a bit of an edge in sales. Hard to say for how long that will last. Amazon are just way too big, their marketing and presence of mind too deep.
Good luck to Kobo - it's on my wish list!
True, but with Kindle you can't try before you buy; Kobo may win over that hesitant sector of the market. There is also a younger and more techie, price conscious sector who don't like the usage and software restrictions Apple and Amazon impose via their products.
Some solid points in favour of Kobo, trying before you buy in-store could make a differencet. Also like the idea of being part of the younger and more techie, price conscious sector. Those who have tried Kindle Fire have found little to celebrate, based on reviews I've read.
Staples have Kindles on display in their stores so you can try before you buy. I remember as I was all set to buy one but I found that the transition from page to page using e-ink is migraine inducing for me. No idea why but it does that but it rules out e-ink for me unfortunately.
Pooh to e-readers. They will soon go the way of the walkman, facebook timeline or no facebook timeline. Those i-pad things seem to be the way ahead. Why should people carry round with them a second device just for books? It's like having one mobile telephone for speaking to people, another for sending texts, and a third for taking pictures.
Because iPads are horrible things to read on because of the backlit screen. I'll never read on a tablet again until that's fixed - perhaps a double sided tablet, one screen backlit, one screen not?
I didn't know that :) Thankyou for the clarification. It shouldn't be beyond the wit of man to fix this, so I hope my ill-informed remarks won't seem quite as foolish in another 10 years time.
I (and many others) have read for hours every day for years on backlit screens (desktop, laptop, phone) with no problems, but I can't do more than about an hour on an e-ink reader because of the "black flash" you get when you 'turn the page'.
It's horses for courses but e-ink is the new technology that has to prove itself; which for me it hasn't.
What is good to see is that there are now more devices of different types to read e-books on, and at different price levels. We're also getting more retailers for e-books, and a better range too.
How do WHSmiths make serious money out of the Kobo if they give away access to a millon free ebooks. Aren't they just going to encourage more people to buy ereders and move away from paying for books?
They are free because they are out of copyright. And even if you could find paper versions of them, they would cost you more than the ereader.
You still have to pay for modern books.
Ahhh, I see. Thanks
Has anyone else noticed that those lovely people at Amazon are selling the Kindle at Currys and Argos at the amazing price of just £89? As we know both retailers are known by their discounting so this must be the deal of the century!
Strange... it's exactly the same price on-line at Amazon.
Surely they wouldn't stop retailers discounting their product.
They couldn't possibly get upset with competition on the High Street...could they???
Yes and I've since seen Kindles in phone shops too. Try-before-you-buy a Kindle in the UK is possible now.
I haven't seen a Kobo yet, but looking at the Kindle versus the iPad I find Kindles better for the beach because you can still read e-ink in bright sunlight. Also, wherever you are in Europe you can download books for free without wifi because the 3G service comes free with the 3G device. Kindles are also lighter than iPads and more relaxing to read on - better for that serotonin-inducing 'immersive' reading experience - whereas iPads are heavier, can't be read in the sun and although I love mine to bits I do find the weight and the glare and the variety of options leave me pretty overwhelmed/exhausted. I expect Kindles are more appealing to technophobes.
Has anyone had a play with a Kobo yet? If so it would be good to hear what you think.
I wonder if there are trends that you can apply to the timing of a device's arrival in certain territories? Does it have more to do with branding or distribution?
Surely Amazon will be looking very hard at pushing forward the release date of the Fire so it can take on the Vox. However, with Kobo being the first to land on UK shores it may gain a bit of an edge in sales. Hard to say for how long that will last. Amazon are just way too big, their marketing and presence of mind too deep.
Good luck to Kobo - it's on my wish list!
True, but with Kindle you can't try before you buy; Kobo may win over that hesitant sector of the market. There is also a younger and more techie, price conscious sector who don't like the usage and software restrictions Apple and Amazon impose via their products.
Some solid points in favour of Kobo, trying before you buy in-store could make a differencet. Also like the idea of being part of the younger and more techie, price conscious sector. Those who have tried Kindle Fire have found little to celebrate, based on reviews I've read.
Staples have Kindles on display in their stores so you can try before you buy. I remember as I was all set to buy one but I found that the transition from page to page using e-ink is migraine inducing for me. No idea why but it does that but it rules out e-ink for me unfortunately.
Pooh to e-readers. They will soon go the way of the walkman, facebook timeline or no facebook timeline. Those i-pad things seem to be the way ahead. Why should people carry round with them a second device just for books? It's like having one mobile telephone for speaking to people, another for sending texts, and a third for taking pictures.
Because iPads are horrible things to read on because of the backlit screen. I'll never read on a tablet again until that's fixed - perhaps a double sided tablet, one screen backlit, one screen not?
I didn't know that :) Thankyou for the clarification. It shouldn't be beyond the wit of man to fix this, so I hope my ill-informed remarks won't seem quite as foolish in another 10 years time.
I (and many others) have read for hours every day for years on backlit screens (desktop, laptop, phone) with no problems, but I can't do more than about an hour on an e-ink reader because of the "black flash" you get when you 'turn the page'.
It's horses for courses but e-ink is the new technology that has to prove itself; which for me it hasn't.
What is good to see is that there are now more devices of different types to read e-books on, and at different price levels. We're also getting more retailers for e-books, and a better range too.
How do WHSmiths make serious money out of the Kobo if they give away access to a millon free ebooks. Aren't they just going to encourage more people to buy ereders and move away from paying for books?
They are free because they are out of copyright. And even if you could find paper versions of them, they would cost you more than the ereader.
You still have to pay for modern books.
Ahhh, I see. Thanks
I haven't seen a Kobo yet, but looking at the Kindle versus the iPad I find Kindles better for the beach because you can still read e-ink in bright sunlight. Also, wherever you are in Europe you can download books for free without wifi because the 3G service comes free with the 3G device. Kindles are also lighter than iPads and more relaxing to read on - better for that serotonin-inducing 'immersive' reading experience - whereas iPads are heavier, can't be read in the sun and although I love mine to bits I do find the weight and the glare and the variety of options leave me pretty overwhelmed/exhausted. I expect Kindles are more appealing to technophobes.
Has anyone had a play with a Kobo yet? If so it would be good to hear what you think.
Has anyone else noticed that those lovely people at Amazon are selling the Kindle at Currys and Argos at the amazing price of just £89? As we know both retailers are known by their discounting so this must be the deal of the century!
Strange... it's exactly the same price on-line at Amazon.
Surely they wouldn't stop retailers discounting their product.
They couldn't possibly get upset with competition on the High Street...could they???
Yes and I've since seen Kindles in phone shops too. Try-before-you-buy a Kindle in the UK is possible now.