Read with Kobo
| Kobo is a Canadian company that designs and markets eReaders for use with their extensive range of eBooks.
Recently, in mid-August, they have released an updated version of the Aura H2O in Australia. (The American release preceded this.) This adds to the available eReader range consisting of the Aura One and the Aura Edition 2, to their range. The original H2O is still available but has now entered its twilight years. They will soon become part of the retired eReaders. So you will still have three choices including the new improved Aura H2O. |
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| So our retirement list of Kobo eReaders, as should be expected with rapid advancements in technology, is growing. (I am sure somewhere some of the retired ones can be found but I can’t guarantee this. And I can’t recommend you do buy these as support for the older eReaders will diminish.)
I previously reviewed the Kobo Aura Edition 2 and the Aura One. My most recent review is of the Aura H2O Edition 2. |
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Since its inception into the eReader market in 2010, Kobo has continually been improving the Kobo 
eReaders. The initial eReader was outdated before it hit the market as it lacked WiFi capability.
Within six months an updated WiFi edition was launched. Since then ten new eReaders have been released, all with improved features. With the imminent retirement of the original Aura H2O, eight will have then gone to greener pastures. I wonder if retired eReaders play golf!
All one can do is imagine what is next?
What’s it All About
The eReader
–General Characteristics
– Applications
– Brain Capacity
– Visual Display
– Physique
Additional Kobo Features
– My Reading LifeTM
– TypeGenius
– Pocket
– Translations
– Games
The Wrap Up
– Tables
The Enticement
The before.
My introduction to the Kobo eReader was several years ago in 2013. My partner had been showing off his strength (at 63) and split the tendon in his left arm along with tearing the muscle in his right shoulder. Other than the pain involved, his greatest dismay was that he couldn’t hold a book for more than a few minutes. And turning the pages was near impossible with only one usable arm.
So he needed something lighter to hold and easier to manage.
Groundworks
Until this point neither of us had even thought about getting an eReader. We both love books and can get lost in them for hours. Something about them is so comforting. Therefore I set out as a complete eReader novice.
Initially I asked friends and acquaintances if they used eReaders and if so what they thought of them. I got lots of responses but nothing made me want to try any specific brand. People were generally happy with any of the brands with a few wishes on improvements on each one. These were opinions only and what one source liked another didn’t.
OK, let’s try another approach. I started checking out all the eReader sellers. Now I don’t know about you but when someone is out just to sell things and make money but has no real interest in the product they get rather boring or appear too falsely enthusiastic.
Finally I hit on someone who really cared about the eReaders he sold. So he told me all about it and that certainly convinced me to buy one, a Kobo eReader. And I have never regretted it.
Kobo provides a very good free manual, with full operating instructions, for downloading. If you have additional queries that aren’t covered in the manual I have found their help crew quite prompt and very helpful.
The eReader
The first Kobo eReader hit the market in early 2010. It didn’t access wi-fi and I believe it didn’t have an E-Ink display (and I could be wrong on this!). The same year this model was upgraded to wi-fi and included the E-Ink screen.
All but the newest three eReaders have been discontinued (refer to the tables at the end of this page) however I believe that at least some of the Kobo eReaders are still supported.
The initial eReader that I got my partner was the Kobo Glo. Since then I have updated it to the original Aura H2O. He has found that an extremely easy to read and comfortable to hold eReader. (He just missed out on the Edition 2 as it hadn’t quite got out here yet!) With the H2O’s fantastic front light system, his reading in bed did not annoy me in the slightest. I can put up with the light produced by a night light so that is my required upper limit.
The Kobo ComfortLight allows you to go from daylight to dim light. And that’s all you need when night falls. The actual dimness isn’t as orange, for most Kobos, as shown in the dimming progressing (thank goodness)! In fact the Aura One has a automatic dimming feature and its lowest setting might in fact be this orange!
Kobo eReaders can connect to the Kobo shop and, in the case of the Aura One, a library both by Wi-Fi (for the active person not tied to a computer) or Micro USB (except for the Aura Edition 2). Note that you need to install a program called overdrive on your computer to access a library. (Refer to my review of the Kobo Aura One on what you need to do to access a library.) When I purchased my first Kobo their library had well over 4 million of the best titles the world has to offer in books, comics and kids content. Now they exceed 5 million titles and the number continues to grow.
General Characteristics
Prelude
Kobo eReaders have a number of common attributes as can be expected from the same maker. I am going to discuss these commonalities here. Individual eReaders will be addressed in the independent posts linked to this page.
As I am sure that someone would like the individual specifications of the Kobo eReaders I have summarised the current eReaders, to the best of my ability, in the tables appended at the end of this article. This will be updated as new eReaders come alive. Please note that superseded eReaders will soon have their characteristics reviewed on the ‘Retirement’ page.
I am not going to do a comparison between eReader brands. As mentioned above one review will contradict another as each reviewer has different favourites. Wikipedia does have a comparison table of many eReaders however they also have disclaimers on accuracy and the table has now been updated.
Applications
Kobo provides free applications to connect up to their system. Earlier models required this to be done through a computer. All the current purchasable models can a
lso connect using Wi-Fi.
From their website I found that they also provide free Kobo apps for Windows PC desktop, Windows 8, Mac, Apple®, Android™ and Blackberry. With these applications you can access them in the Kobo Cloud.
“The Kobo app syncs all your bookmarks, so you can read between your smartphone, tablet, computer, or Kobo device and pick up right where you last left off.”
Brain Capacity
The Kobe eReader brains are an internal lithium-ion rechargeable battery.
Most eReaders have sufficient storage for everyone unless they are miraculously speedy readers.
With the current models SD (secure digital) cards are no longer available. As two of the models, the Aura One and Aura H2O Edition 2 are waterproof (therefore no open card slots) they now have increased memory of 8GB. This amount of brain power stores up to 6,000 books so the card should never be missed! (The poor old Aura Edition 2 misses out here.)
Basically this nice amount of storage will enable us all to travel extensively with enough books available to keep us happy readers going for life. As a backup, Wi-Fi allows window shopping! We don’t even need a break as a recharge cable comes with the eReaders. We have also been able to use our phone chargers to connect directly to electrical outlets. (In compatible countries of course.)
Visual Display
Kobo eReaders have an E-ink display (electrophoretic ink) that gives the appearance of reading on paper. The type of E-ink display determines the contrast with all current models having Carta. All Kobo eReaders on the market operate by touchscreen.
Carta is the fourth generation display up from Pearl and has much better contrast and looks much more like a paper book. The page turning is very smooth and doesn’t interrupt the eye when reading with page refreshes.
With the onwards and upwards progression of the E-ink displays and the increase in contrast the resolution, generally noted in pixel amounts or density, is much better. If you want to play with pixels and see how they work go to, for example, your Paint Application on Word and increase the zoom level to 400% or higher. The screen then shows the pixels. This is where you can tighten up any blurry bits in or on the edge of your picture and this results in a clearer, sharper contrast.
As mentioned earlier Kobo’s eReaders available today are lit with with Kobo’s built-in ComfortLight. This is a front lit system, reduces blue-light exposure and, as the light doesn’t shine straight into your eyes, theses are protected. It also results in a more even light over the eReader face . In fact the Aura One and Aura H2O Edition 2 have the more advanced ComfortLight Pro system. This can be either automatic using a sensor system to adjust to the available natural light. Or if you don’t like what the end result is you can change it manually.
Physique
Their eReaders are very slim with the thickest being only 10mm (about 2/5 inch). The eReaders’ width varies and is fits easily into most people’s hands. Their weight is very light so little effort is required to hold them with one hand. In fact the only thing I have a problem is I keep falling asleep and the eReader is so light it doesn’t wake me up when it falls on my nose. So I end up sleeping on it but no eReader injuries yet!
With the new eReaders black is what you get (some earlier models had different back colours). The one exception to colour is the blue SleepC0ver for the Aura H2O Edition 2 and the Aura Edition 2.
The SleepCovers for all the current eReaders are a must. Dust is not a problem per the eReaders design but scratches may occur. BUT NOT with the sleep cover used properly. Not only do they protect the eReader they put it into sleep mode when you aren’t reading (with little or no battery life loss). They automatically wake it up when you open the cover to read some more. They are softish resulting in a comfortable surface to hold.
Additional Kobo Features
Kobo’s My Reading LifeTM
Kobo eReaders also have the extra feature of Kobo’s Reading LifeTM. Personally I haven’t yet used this, being as I haven’t really needed it but I am sure it will appeal to many of you.
My Reading LifeTM allows you to keep track of what you are doing reading wise. It’s almost like an interactive diary, collecting information of what you read and how you read. Based on this information Kobo suggests other reading material you might like. I have found a number of very satisfying reads with this feature.
My Reading LifeTM has a the dictionary function that lessens the number of times I have to put down my ‘book’ and race to pull out our hard cover dictionary.
A second feature I like is the ability to bookmark. Often when reading I find an interesting expression and I often would like to refer back to it as I read. And guess what, I can never find it again! I discovered the bookmarking feature by accident and only realised it when I explored the ‘annotation’ feature on the bottom menu.
So why I said to myself, do I have a bookmark. Better go and find out in the manual. It turned out that because I am so used to turning pages that I keep trying to do this on my eReader. And the way to bookmark is to tap the top right hand corner of the page. Go figure! When you do this a ‘dog-ear’ appears up there. A less damaging dog-ear than the old way of marking pages.
(By the way, although I have been reading paper books for an enormous number of years and an eReader for a much shorter time I now find myself tapping the side of the paper pages to get them to turn.)
TypeGenius
This feature allows you to fiddle with the font styles and sizes to find the most comfortable one for your eyes. There is a range of information on this on Kobo’s website.
When you find things you want to read later there is the additional storage method of using Pocket. Pocket notes itself as a ‘save it for later service’. Feel free to visit their website for a full explanation of what they provide.
Languages
Kobo eReaders also is available in several languages, being English, French, German, Spanish, Dutch, Italian, Brazilian, Portuguese, Japanese and Turkish.
Games
And when you get tired of reading you can relax with Sudoku. There are several games available but they don’t translate very well to my older Kobo Aura. The wonderful thing with Sudoku is that an exciting book will wake me up. Sudoku is so mechanical that often puts me to sleep in minutes!
The Wrap Up
OK so there are lots of eReaders around and some may be better or worse that Kobo’s. Generally the difference will only be picked up by the elite of device geeks. Currently with the quality of eReaders the slight advantages or disadvantages won’t register with most readers.
Kobo eReaders have so many positive features, give great reading with the huge amount of eBooks available, are comfortable to hold and are pretty tough. (I can attest to this as mine has been dropped and slept on and still works perfectly.) And two of the current ones can be safely read in the bathtub! So start reading, give yourself a big treat and
Tables of Information
Return to Kobo Aura H2O, Kobo Aura Edition 2 or Kobo Aura One
Table 1 Display and Operation
Table 1A Current Models
| Kobo | CPU | Bytes | Battery | Display | Resolution | Supported File Formats |
| Aura Ed 2 | 1) | 4GB | Up to 2 m | 6” Carta E Ink | 1024 x 768 212 ppi |
4) |
| Aura One | 1) | 2) 8GB | 3) Up to 1 m | 7.8” HD Carta E Ink | 1872 x 1404 300 dpi |
4) |
| Aura H2O Edition 2 | 1GHz | 2) 8GB | 3) Up to 2 m | 6.8” Carta E Ink touchscreen | 1430 x 1080 265 dpi |
4) |
1) Information not available
2) On board memory
3) Depending on individual usage?
4) Supported File Formats
- eBooks: EPUB, EPUB3, PDF, MOBI
- Documents: PDF
- Images: JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF
- Text: TXT, HTML, RTF
- Comic Books: CBZ, CBR
- Borrow books from the library
Table 1B Historical Models
| Kobo | CPU | Bytes | Battery | Display | Resolution | Supported File Formats |
| Wi-Fi | 1) | 1 GB | 10 d | 6″ E-ink | 2) | |
| Touch | 800MHz | 2 GB | 1 m | 6″ E-ink XGA Pearl | 800 x 600 | 2) |
| Glo | 1GHz | 2 GB | Over 1 m | 6″ XGA Pearl | 1024 × 758 | 2) |
| Aura | 1GHz | 4 GB | Over 2 m | 6″ low-glare Pearl | 1014 x 758 | 2) |
| Mini | 800MHz | 1 GB | Over 1 m | 5″ E-ink Pearl | 800 x 600 | 2) |
| Glo HD | 1GHz | 4 GB | Up to 2 m | 6″ HD Carta E | 1448 x 1072 300 ppi |
2) |
| Aura HD | 1GHz | 4 GB | Up to 2 m | 6.8″ WXGA+ Pearl | 1440 x 1080 265 dpi |
2) |
1) Information not available
2) Supported File Formats
- eBooks: EPUB, PDF, MOBI
- Images: JPEG, GIF, PNG, TIFF
- Text: TXT, HTML, HTML, RTF
- Comic Books: CBZ, CBR
- Borrow books from the library
Table 2 Physique and Extras
Table 2A Current Models
| Kobo | Dimensions | Weight | Colour | Buttons |
| Aura Ed 2 | 184 × 120 × 10mm (7.2 × 4.7 × 0.4 in) |
180g ( 635 oz) |
1) | |
| Aura One | 195 × 138.5 × 6.9mm (7.68 × 5.45 × 0.27 in) |
230g ( 8.11 oz) |
black | 1) |
| Aura H2O Edition 2 | 129 x 172 x 8.8 mm (5.08 x 6.88 x 0.35 in) |
207g (7.3 oz) |
black | 1) |
1) Power button on back
Table 2B Historical Models
| Kobo | Dimensions | Weight | Colour | Buttons |
| Wi-Fi | 184 × 120 × 10 mm (7.2 × 4.7 × 0.4 in) |
221 g (7.80 oz) |
Onyx | 1) |
| Touch | 165 × 114 × 10 mm (6.5 × 4.5 × 0.4 in) |
185 g (6.5 oz) |
Lilac, blue, silver, black, and white. | 1) |
| Glo | 114 x 157 x 10mm (4.5 x 6.2 x 0.4 in) |
185g (6.5 oz) |
Black Night, Pink Sunset, Blue Moon, Silver Star | Power on/off, light on/off |
| Aura | 150 x 114 x 8.1mm (5.9 x 5.6 x 0.3 in) |
174g (6.1 oz) |
Textured Black, Pink | Power on/off, light on/off |
| Mini | 102 x 133 x 10mm (4 x 5.2 x 0.4 in) |
134g (4.73 oz) |
White and Black | Power on/off, light on/off |
| Glo HD | 157 x 115 x 9.2mm (6.2 x 4.5 x 0.36 in) |
180g (6.4 oz) |
black or white | Power on/off, light on/off |
| Aura HD | 175.7 x 128.3 x 11.7mm (6.91 x 5.05 x 0.46 in) | 240g (8.5 oz) |
Espresso, Ivory, and Onyx. | Power on/off, light on/off |
| Aura H2O (semi retired) | 179 x 129 x 9.7mm (7.05 x 5.08 x 0.38 in) |
233g (8.25 oz) |
black | Power on/off |
1) Information not available
Thank you for this review of the Kobo eReader’s. I’ve been an eReader convert for over five years now and have loved my Sony eReader. Unfortunately, they no longer are in the eReader market and don’t support the software for the ones that are still going. I’m having more and more trouble getting books onto my eReader as the recent Mac updates don’t work with sync capabilities on the desktop app so I can’t get books on that way. The library I borrow from updated their system and my eReader won’t connect directly to it. I can still sync it through my son’s windows based computer but it is a matter of time before that fails too. I’ve been on the lookout for another eReader for the eventuality that mine will no longer be usable and everybody tells me Kindle is great but I believe they are too limited. However, Kobo is a very real possibility and your review makes that decision easier.
Megan, I will be the first to admit that I have no experience with eReaders other than Kobo. My sister has the first Kobo model brought out and that still works. And things have really progressed since then. I read reviews from people who compare eReaders but I think they are splitting hairs now with differences. I mean how good can they go. The Kobo reads well, feels good and has a great range of books as do the others. You can get books from libraries and even Kindle books (you do have to read the manual) but most books are available on either. I think you would be very happy with one. I don’t know about Sony eBooks but you could look into this or I can ask my Kobo contact. Just let me know.
They have a 1 year warrantee but must meet Australian warrantee requirements. So the 1 year may not be limiting. Mine has lasted 3 years and is still going strong (except when I bugger it up). My partner has the original waterproof one and that reads well. What more can one ask for.
Thanks for your comment.
Ciao
Helen
A very good review site. I am a recent convert to ereaders, and purchased a Kobo Aura One. Like it a lot. Contemplated buying a Kindle however, you can’t access public library ebooks in Australia using a Kindle.
Glad I have the Kobo and have already read three library ebooks over the past month.
Peter, actually even earlier Kobo models could access library books. It is just much easier now. My Kobo is the original Kobo and is still going strong. However a new updated Aura H2O will be hitting the market here in Australia, apparently in July. I am off to research and review it now. It did come out in the North America earlier this year. It has, I believe, the same characteristics as the Aura one. (There must be some differences though as they would call it the Aura One too if there weren’t! :>)
Hi Helen,
I really enjoyed reading about the Kobo. I bought one about 5 years ago. I don’t use it often but I think they are one of the best e-readers out there. Your information is really interesting. You wrote a great review! I’ll be back to see what else is new. Thank you for sharing your experience!.
Jen, thanks for reading the post (I am not sure which one I am answering since both have come in together. Hopefully the Kobo one. I have just found out an update Aura H2O is in the works. That will be the next post about Kobo.
How do you like your Kobo. The second sentence finished with an … so I don’t know if you finished the comment or that was the finish!
Thanks for a great review, Helen. I am an avid reader myself but I’m still addicted to the smell of a fresh paperback. I often take books smaller than A5 (I’m big on them being as portable as possible) so which would be the best if I were to make the switch to eReaders?
Ryan, Kobo has a great selection of fonts and sizes so you can set the size to suit yourself. The only thing this affects is the total number of pages!
I too love paper backs but we have so many we are running out of room. (I ran out of bookcases ages ago and many are in boxes. After so long I don’t expect the smell to be so good anymore!)
I wouldn’t totally switch as I still buy both. My eReader is for night and travel. You can store enough books in one to last for ages and you can buy via wi-fi if the impossible happens and you do run out.
It’s been lovely to chat with you and I would love a return visit and chat at any time.
Ciao
Helen
I know someone who loves reading. She loves it so much that she can spend five extra hours of her sleep time just to finish a book. That is how devoted she is to books. However, don’t think that’s super thirsty for knowledge. That is far from what she is looking for. She is thirsting for romance novels, and all the latest editions too. I think she would love the fact that your kobo ereader is waterproof. Well, at least the aura and H20 are both water proof. Now she can finish her books and her bath at the same time, giving her some extra sleep hours. Nice recommendations.
Blame, I can’t even begin to count the number of times I have read the night away. That wasn’t so bad when I was younger and could go without sleep for a couple of days (and often did)!
We have just obtained a new H2O eReader and are now beginning to explore it. But I don’t think we will purposely drop it in the water to see how it goes.
There are lots of science fiction and fantasy books with a romantic overtone. In most of them there is also a good story line so reading them is very satisfactory. (Eg I hate the Mills & Boon type of romance but have many sci fi and fantasy books with romance as an integral part.
Thanks for your comment and send your friend on over to to read about the Kobo and perhaps purchase one.
Ciao
Helen
Thanks for your review of the Kobo eReader. I still prefer printed books, but I do have a Kindle White and love that I can easily download a book from Amazon. I didn’t know there are other eReaders to choose from.
It wasn’t clear to me from reading your article if the Kobo eReader will accept ebooks in the Amazon format. Do you know?
Hi Gary, great to hear from you. I am with you on the printed books, but as I said, I bought our first eReader for my partner after he split a tendon in his arm. His retention for holding a book was about 3 minutes so the eReader sounded like a sure bet. My first Kobo eReader was a present from him in return.
Now I love it too as, especially in winter, I hate getting up to turn the light off.
Yes you can buy Amazon books but you have to remove the DMR and put it in EPUB/PDF format. Here is the link on how to do this. I am sure there are others. http://www.epubsoft.com/how-to-read-kindle-books-on-kobo.html
Once you do this once it gets pretty easy.
I also download from places like the Gutenberg Project and various libraries. To get them onto a Kobo eReader their manual includes how to do this.
Thanks for your visit and I would love to hear from you again.
Cheers
Helen
Hello Helen,
I have never heard of the Kobo eReader until I lander here on your site.
I was looking for a Christmas gift for my wife and I was leaning towards the Amazon Fire tablet thing but found you site instead.
She absolutely loves to read and loves to do so while relaxing in the tub.
I think the Aura H20 is just the thing.
So, Thank you for this information. I greatly appreciate it.
Best wishes and Happy Holidays to you and yours this season.
Jason, glad to read that you are inspired to get the H2O. We just got a new one for my partner. It looks really good and as we are finally getting a bathtub, anyone coming to visit us will likely know exactly where one of us will be when they arrive. You would be most welcome to obtain one through my affiliate link on the page.
Visit again and see what new articles have been added. Have a great Christmas.
Ciao
Helen
Hey Helen, thanks for the awesome review of the Kobo eReader. I had never even thought of the possibility that someone might want an eReader due to the weight of books, so reading that example was a great way to see a unique and relatable reason that one might want an eReader. With Christmas coming I can’t help but think about my relatives with wrist issues who could benefit from one of these. This article was really informative, thanks a ton!
Patrick, I broke my wrist a few years ago and the surgeon didn’t set it right. As a result I sometimes get pain in it. Recently this is from hauling the mower back and forth on a slope. So my eReader is more in use than my paper books at the moment. A very useful little device.
If you are not looking at Christmas presents, revisit me at any time and get yourself one of these.
Ciao
Helen
Hello Helen !
It is really informative article about this e-Reader device .I have never heard about it before .I think it is very useful for reading and it saves a lot of time than reading traditional books .I will try to use it as soon as possible because I am fond of reading .
Hey Zed thanks for your comment. I am not sure if it saves me time unless it is a very thick paperback book. Then I keep dropping them as they are so hard to hold! I still love ‘real’ books and read them throughout daylight hours.
But the eReader is so convenient for travelling and reading at night. Then you don’t have to get out of bed to turn the light out!
When you feel so inclined hop back in here and get yourself an eReader. I am sure you will love it.
Ciao
Helen
Hi Helen,
I love the idea behind your site. I am a book lover as well and have to admit even though I do not read many science fiction books anymore, it is still my favourite type.
I like the reviews and especially how you explain with detailed diagrams – which I am sure they must take time to do. It all shows how much you like detail and its all about the whole experience – what you get from your books, you take your readers as well through a lovely journey!!
Well done. Keep up the good work.
Martha
Martha, I used to try and get away from Sci Fi when I travelled. Sometimes when traffic is slow, and you are hitchhiking, something is needed to kill time. So my choices were walks where the scenery was nice, music stores if I wanted to listen to some music, cafes if hungry and BOOK stores. Browsing books could keep me occupied for hours. Several times I made a conscious decision to not buy anymore Science Fiction book. And how did that work out – not at all. I always walked out with a sci fi book. It cost me a fortune mailing these to a central site (a friend’s home) once finished. I had to; I was forced to; as I can’t give up my books!
Thanks for your lovely comments and I really hope to meet you again.
Ciao
Helen
My first e-ink device was a kindle device and I loved it, I took it everywhere I went just like when I had a book. I would have long books like the Wheel of Time Series or The Sword of Truth. I lost that kindle a while back and haven’t gotten a new one. Because of your information, I might look into getting a Kubo. Are my kindle books transferable?
Nathan, now that’s a question I haven’t had before. Now I believe you can and went searching for the answer. I found one (unfortunately not dated so hope it would still work) and I am sure there are others. Here is the link http://www.epubsoft.com/how-to-read-kindle-books-on-kobo.html
I don’t know if you followed my links at all but if not I have done a review for both the Aura Edition 2 and the Aura H2O. The H2O has been around for a while (and was the first water proof eReader) while the Ed 2 is recent. After my reviews, I recently bought the H2O as a replacement eReader as it appears the Ed 2 isn’t an advancement on previous models . I confirmed with Kobo that the H2O will continue to be available (however not at the time of this comment as the Christmas rush has depleted stocks in Australia).
If you want a top of the line eReader the Aura One is the best bet but that has constantly run out due to demand. I will be reviewing this model imminently. Both the out of stock ones are due in January.
Thanks for visiting and your comment. I will keep an eye out for you in the future.
I’ve never heard of the Kobo company before, but this seems like an interesting product. How’s the battery life on a typical Kobo eReader? How’s the warranty on this product? I own an eReader myself, and I find it to be extremely helpful for reading, especially when I am traveling. I appreciate the convenience of being able to read a multitude of books with an eReader, without having to lug around books with me. Does Kobo have a “try before you buy” program? It would be great if they offered such a program so that I could try it out before committing to the purchase.
Marc, the battery life is pretty good but it’s hard for me to comment on it. Both my partner and I read so much it doesn’t seem to me that I have to charge it too often in comparison.
As for try before you buy, there doesn’t appear to be a trial period however you can return the eReader within 30 days. I assume (whoops) that the return will need to be date stamped for your proof of this. Kobo’s actual statement is “If you purchased your device from kobo.com and are dissatisfied with it for any reason, you have 30 days after the date of purchase to return the device to Kobo.
All delivery charges required to return the device are at your expense. Upon receipt of the returned device, Kobo will refund the cost of the device to the credit card charged at the time of purchase, less any applicable delivery charges” (I find this a bit confusing as you have to pay to return it!
As for eBooks I have had to request a refund for one book that had formulae that were so small you would need a magnifying glass to read them. The refund was no problem as it was an unusual request. Otherwise you can preview books on the website before you buy.
Wow, Helen! What allot of great information on the Kobo eReader. I find myself hunkered down with working and its hard to find time to do relaxing reading, but I have to say that this device’s information seems to me will help to streamline the entire experience. And what would be so cool is to be able to get some reading time in again, like I did in my youth when I didn’t have so many responsibilities in my lap.
When I have a few extra dollars I will come back and order it from you as you have introduced it to me and I think loyalty is a good contribution we give to each other when visiting someone’s blog.
I especially like the H2O version because I’m often by water. What a smart advance on eReader capacities that will prove to be.
Thanks for the recommendation.
Linda
Well look at me Linda, over a year late in replying. I haven’t missed any other replies to you but my eyes must have been muddled!
I have recently updated this review to add new eReaders and move several to the ‘retired’ list. You might be interested in the ones currently on the market.
And thanks for you oh so long ago comment:-)
Helen