Manage updates with the Download AppKobo eReader Touch Edition (blue)
Manufacturer: KOBO, Inc. Part number: CNET-Kobo-Touch-blue
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Product series
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- Though the Kobo eReader Touch Edition doesn't quite measure up to the Nook Touch or the Kindle, it's a respectable and affordable touch-screen e-reader with a lot of pluses.
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Where to buy
| store | customer rating | inventory | tax & shipping | price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  | In stock | Enter zip code to get total price: Price +Tax +Shipping =Total price | as of 05/13/2013 |
CNET editors' review
Kobo eReader Touch Edition (blue) price range: $120.51
- Reviewed by: David Carnoy
- Edited by: John Falcone
- Reviewed on: 06/16/2011
The good: The Kobo eReader Touch Edition is a compact, lightweight, and affordable e-ink e-reader with touch-screen navigation, built-in Wi-Fi, an expansion slot for additional memory, and good battery life (over one month with wireless off). Also, the Kobo e-book store is integrated into the device, and you get a basic Web browser.
The bad: The Kobo's user interface isn't as slick as that of the Nook Touch, and its performance and overall smoothness could be improved. It lacks audio support (no MP3, no audiobooks) and the ability to lend out titles to friends. The magazine and newspaper selection is lackluster.
The bottom line: Though the Kobo eReader Touch Edition doesn't quite measure up to the Nook Touch or the Kindle, it's a respectable and affordable touch-screen e-reader with a lot of pluses.
User reviews
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Good simple ereader, far more open than the competition
by MistressNomad on October 16, 2011
Pros: - Lightweight
- Compact
- Touchscreen
- Reading Life
- Always adding new features
- Open format
- Adjustable refresh rateCons: - A few minor foibles still remain
- Some features not available for side-loaded ebooks
- Need better filing systemSummary: I love my Kobo Touch. I wanted a simple reader - this is my pure enjoyment escape device. And the Kobo fits the bill perfectly. Font, size, margin, etc are ...
Summary: I love my Kobo Touch. I wanted a simple reader - this is my pure enjoyment escape device. And the Kobo fits the bill perfectly. Font, size, margin, etc are customizable. You can adjust the screen to refresh anywhere between every 6 pages to every page. If you set it to refresh less often, you don't have to see the black "flash" every page turn. However, there will be some slight ghosting of words from the previous page. I don't find this bothersome, and I have mine set to max at a refresh every 6 pages.
The touch interface works great and is pretty intuitive. I like using a touch interface so much better than buttons - it feels more natural to simply tap the screen.
Reading Life is also great. I can see how long I've read, how many pages, how much of my library, etc, and win "awards" for various reading achievements. It's a silly thing really, but I enjoy it. You can integrate with Facebook as well if you want to, and share your stats and awards online.
What I really love, though, is how much more open the Kobo is than the Nook or Kindle.
The Kindle uses a proprietary format to try to lock you in to their device and their store. If you ever migrate, you lose your books. If they drop support for a current formats or DRM protocols (which has happened before), you lose your books.
The Nook Store refuses to tell you if a book is DRM'ed or not. Basically, they won't tell you what you're buying and under what conditions, so you're shopping blind. That would be illegal in any other industry. They also sequester your non-Nook books in a different folder, intentionally making it more difficult to access your books.
That kind of stuff isn't right. It's not fair to the customer, and if any physical store tried to do stuff like that, they'd be sued.
Kobo has no such annoying tricks up its sleeve. It supports a variety of formats, discloses whether the books being sold through their site are DRM'ed in plain, simple English, and doesn't pull any weird filing shenanigans.
I use my Kobo with Calibre instead of Kobo Desktop, and it works perfectly. As I understand it, Kobo and Calibre actually have some amount of communication to make sure the Kobo is integrating properly. Calibre is an open-source program for most devices for managing your ebook collection.
Firmware updates are also frequent, and constantly seem to introduce new features and patches, directly from what customers have asked for. I really appreciate that responsiveness, and it's yet another area where Kindle and Nook are lacking.
I've got a lot of love for my Kobo, but a couple niggling little issues remain, as to be expected with "underdog" companies.
There are little glitches. On a couple of my books, I've noticed the page numbers display as a reduced fraction. In other words, if I have a 200-page book and I'm 100 pages in, it displays while I'm reading the book as "25/50," or something like that. Not a huge deal - it still gives me an idea of where I am in the book, and it only affects a few of my books (ones which have been extensively reformatted and messed with, unsurprisingly), so it's a little odd.
Also, some in-book features like highlighting are not available for side-loaded books. I get that it's more difficult to make it work with books from who-knows-where formated who-knows-how, but c'mon guys. Get on top of it.
It would also be nice if there was a more comprehensive folder system. The shortlist helps, but after a certain point more folders would really help.
Over-all, I'm pretty smitten with my Kobo, and with a few tweaks, it'd be perfect.1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Great device, easy to use.
by Logan_Milliken on September 20, 2011
Pros: Fast page turns, good user interface, find and download books fast and easy with the touch screen, dictionary, Translate, highlighting, download books Via the web browser. And you can add fonts from your computer.
Cons: No goto page, no highlighting for side-loaded books, and no multiple bookmarks.
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Abyssmal product, and customer service!
by Richest_Health on May 7, 2013
Pros: The concept of an eReader is good but Kobo DOES NOT deliver the goods.
Cons: The product does not work. Even if you have some technical savvy, as I do, the process of making this product work will stump you. Kobo is designing and selling TERRIBLY MADE USER- UNFRIENDLY products.
Summary: I've never encountered a company more deserving of going bankrupt than Kobo. With the experience I've had, I can't even believe it still exists. The product is ...
Summary: I've never encountered a company more deserving of going bankrupt than Kobo. With the experience I've had, I can't even believe it still exists. The product is so terrible, so un- user friendly -- and it doesn't work half the time -- and the customer service is even worse. The front-line staff have no ability to help you at all technically, so they ask you to download stuff from the internet and then email it to their technicians, who may or may not get back to you with anything useful. I hope another company comes along and SINKS THIS COMPANY, because it does not deserve anyone's hard earned money. PATHETIC!
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Slow, poor touch screen, brakes down, horrible service
by mullerpavel on November 22, 2011
Pros: Good readable screen even in sunlight, good size/format, light, good battery life, Slow, touch screen sometimes accepts commands, sometimes not.
Cons: Ceased to work after a month of very gentle use. Repeated calls e-mails to the service resulted in either no response or in a promise to e-mail a form for me to fill to "initiate the process" of repair/replacement.
Summary: I am still without a working unit and I have no idea if I ever get mine replaced/repaired.
Summary: I am still without a working unit and I have no idea if I ever get mine replaced/repaired.
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Best Ereader you can get in Canada!
by garden_fish on September 5, 2011
Pros: - Lightweight
- Responsive touchscreen
- Aesthetically pleasing
- Easy to Grip
- Pearl E-Ink Screen easy on the eyes
- Can read comics!!!!!
- Can read multiple formats
- Comes in Baby Blue, Lavender, Silver or all Black
- Loooong battery lifeCons: - Every once in a while it does not respond when I try to wake it from sleep mode... it could just be me not hold the power long enough
Summary: I have owned an iPad and an iPad 2, and although they were great devices, I found I only used them for reading books and comics. I decided to downsize ...
Summary: I have owned an iPad and an iPad 2, and although they were great devices, I found I only used them for reading books and comics. I decided to downsize from the expensive iPad 2 to a $139 Kobo Touch... I am extremely happy with this decision!!! It is so light compared to the iPad, and I haven't even charged it yet... apparently it has a 1 month battery life. I thought I would be annoyed by the page refresh but I don't even notice it anymore. The e-ink Pearl screen is so much easier on my eyes than the iPad. You can get a number of cool cases for the ereader, or you can just use it on its own as it is easy to grip and has a very small form factor that doesn't strain your arm at all... better than even a paper back novel. I have very small hands, but I can use this device one handed if needed. I had the Sony 650 ereader (xmas present) but ended up returning it because I found the page refresh to annoying. The Kobo only refreshes every 5 pages and it is not nearly as annoying as the Sony. I am so happy with my purchase... this is saying a lot as I am a gadget geek and very picky about what I like. Go buy it now!!!
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it is a good devic
by psantos2397 on August 23, 2011
Pros: it is tuch
Cons: i can't put books that i bought on the nook on the kobo.
Summary: the price was cheap the touch good and fun. it has 2 weeka for battery power.
Summary: the price was cheap the touch good and fun. it has 2 weeka for battery power.
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Not an owner, but I have a concern about costs.
by bldwndp on July 13, 2011
Pros: Really attractive design and the kobo books web site is very easy to use,
Cons: Used the kobo books site for a couple of years (for my sony) and then this spring my credit cards started charging a foreign currency exchange fee for books purchased from Kobo. Even though the site charges in US$, because it is Canadian company, the cre
Summary: Books more expensive at Kobo books because of credit card fees for purchase from Canadian company.
Summary: Books more expensive at Kobo books because of credit card fees for purchase from Canadian company.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: KOBO, Inc.
- Part number: CNET-Kobo-Touch-blue
- Bottom Line: Though the Kobo eReader Touch Edition doesn't quite measure up to the Nook Touch or the Kindle, it's a respectable and affordable touch-screen e-reader with a lot of pluses.
General
- Dimensions (W x D x H) 4.5 in x 0.4 in x 6.5 in
- Weight 7.1 oz
Display
- Type 6 in
- Display type 6 in
Dimensions & Weight
- Width 4.5 in
- Depth 0.4 in
- Height 6.5 in
Product series
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Kobo eReader Touch Edition (blue)
Manufacturer: KOBO, Inc.
Specs: 6 in,
4.5 in x 0.4 in x 6.5 in,
7.1 oz -
Kobo eReader Touch Edition (black)
Manufacturer: KOBO, Inc.
Specs: Freescale MX508,
IEEE 802.11n,
IEEE 802.11b,
IEEE 802.11g,
6 in,
Monochrome E Ink,
4.5 in x 0.4 in x 6.5 in,
7.1 oz -
Kobo eReader Touch Edition (lavender)
Manufacturer: KOBO, Inc.
Specs: Freescale MX508,
IEEE 802.11n,
IEEE 802.11b,
IEEE 802.11g,
6 in Monochrome E Ink,
4.5 in x 0.4 in x 6.5 in,
6.5 oz
Manufacturer info
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse KOBO, Inc. products on Shopper.com
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- Manufacturer:KOBO, Inc.
- Address:
82 Peter Street, Toronto, Ontario M5V 2G5
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