# Kobo Announced Vox eReader/Tablet at $199



## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

And the competition continues...

http://www.kobo.com/ereaders/kobo-vox.html


----------



## CegAbq (Mar 17, 2009)

Very interesting; I got an email from them too.

They say: 
Web, Email, Music and Apps for Android™
Enjoy unlimited Web browsing, open access to Android 2.3 and full-featured email (POP3, IMAP4)
Get ready for serious entertainment with the integrated music and video player
Popular apps like Facebook® and RDIO® come ready to go and the store offers over 15,000 hot music, video and game apps

I also says 8Gb memory & micro-SD slot - that's what's very attractive

But they don't say what type of connection gets you web access. I am assuming WiFi.

Might be attractive, if not for the fabulous Amazon content that the Fire will give us.


----------



## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

CegAbq said:


> Very interesting; I got an email from them too.
> 
> They say:
> Web, Email, Music and Apps for Android™
> ...


It'll definitely be attractive to the Canadians who can't (yet) buy the Fire...


----------



## gadgetgirl003 (Mar 22, 2009)

Per Kobo's press release posted on Engadget: 
"Featuring a brilliant multimedia touchscreen, readers can experience text with high contrast resolution and immerse themselves in books, magazines, games and videos in vivid color. Kobo uses the most advanced 7 inch AFFS+ display, with anti-glare – the same technology used in airplane cockpits (there are no clouds at 30,000 feet) – for great reading indoors or outdoors and featuring an extra-wide angle for incredible viewing and ideal for shared reading and viewing."

I'm curious to see reviews of its screen readability outside in the sun.


----------



## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

Something I noticed recently about the Fire is that it says it has "anti-reflective" treatment (Kobo says "anti-glare") - I'm thinking that would definitely help with readability in the sun.  My Literati (an eReader with a color LCD screen) is of course backlit, but because it has a non-glare screen it's much easier to read in sunlight than my iPad or iPhone, which have shiny screens.  Not as good as eInk, but still much better, and definitely readable.


----------



## @Suzanna (Mar 14, 2011)

Apparently the AFFS+ display is what they use in airplane cockpits and can be seen clearly in sunlight. It will be interesting to see if that's the case. This site states that it "boasts lowered power consumption, improved transmission of color and images, and impressive internal LCD panel reflection-guaranteeing perfect readability even under the brightest sunlight."

As a Canadian I have no access to the Nook Color or the Amazon Fire, so I'll probably pick up a Vox for myself. I'll admit that I like the fact it has an SD slot. And according to Dear Author (here) the operating system will be open and it will have access to the Android marketplace.


----------



## D/W (Dec 29, 2010)

From the Kobo Vox tech specs page:


Available Colors:​ Hot Pink, Lime Green, Ice Blue, Jet BlackWireless Connectivity:​ Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and Micro USBAudio:​ Built-in speaker and universal 3.5 mm stereo headphone jackDevice Size:​ 192.4 mm X 128.4 mm (7.57 in. 5.06 in.)Device Depth:​ 13.4 mm (0.53 in.)Weight:​ 402.6 g (14.2 oz.)Diagonal Display Size:​ 7" AFFS+ multimedia display; 1024 x 600 resolutionScreen Qualities:​ Multi-touch screen with Anti-glare and exceptional +/- 89 viewing angleNavigation:​ Home, Back and Menu touch sensor; Power and Volume buttonsProcessor:​ 800 Mhz; 512 RAMOperating System:​ Full open access to Android™ 2.3Storage:​ 8GB of internal storage, holds 8,000 books* and unlimited Kobo eBook cloud storageMemory Expansion:​ Option to add a 32 GB SD Memory CardBattery Life:​ 7 hours**Content:​ Over 2.2 million titles. 1 million available for free downloadSocial Reading:​ Kobo eReading App with Reading Life™ and Kobo Pulse™Fonts:​ 7 Font Styles, 42 Available SizesAdvanced Features:​ Library personalization options, Predicitive search, Brightness controls, Automatic Bookmarks, Highlights, Annotations, Built-in Dictionary.Software:​ Free Kobo eReading apps available for Mac® and PC® computers and Apple®, Android™ and BlackBerry® smartphones and tablets available at kobo.com.Supported File Formats:​ Books: ePUB, including fixed layout and enhanced ePUB. Images: JPG, PNG, GIF, BMP
Audio: MP3, AAC, .3gp, mp4, m4a, flac, ogg, wav, mid. Video Formats: 3gp, mp4, webmWeb Browsing:​ Open Web browsingUtilities:​ Email (POP, IMAP, Microsoft® ActiveSync support), Address Book and CalendarMedia:​ Music Player, Photo Gallery, Video PlayerPre-loaded Apps:​ Facebook®, Twitter®, RDIO® for unlimited music, Zinio® for over 4,500 magazines, PressReader for over 1,900 newspapers, Merriam-Webster Collegiate® Dictionary and Scrabble™Get Apps:​ Easy access to over 15,000 free apps for Android

*Assumptions: Average ePub = 1 MB, Average MP3 = 128k.
**With Wi Fi turned off. Dependent on individual usage. Actual results may vary.


----------



## Tabatha (Oct 4, 2009)

This Vox seems to be most open of the 3, which includes Nook, Fire. Fire totally tied to Amazon, closed android, no sd slot. Nook needs cm7 card, can dual boot, and Nook stock has also changed their internal storage to only allow 1gb for user use, 5gb for B&N stuff. Waiting to see what reviewers have to say about this Vox once released. This does appear to be the best choice of the 3, and for the same price.


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

I don't agree that it's the best choice. . . at least not for me. I'll go with the Fire because I'm confident that if anything goes wrong Amazon has my back.  YMMV of course.   Kobo was partnered with Borders. . .which is not a good history, sadly.  That said, I did look at their reader and thought it was decent. . .but it came late to the game for me -- my books are Kindle books so I'm not likely to switch readers.   I'm sure that's exactly how Amazon wants me to see it. . . .and I'm o.k. with that as long as they keep me happy. 

That it will apparently be able to run Kindle for Android is good, though. . . .because there's not nearly as much available via the Kobo store.

Incidentally, I used to be an "open all the way" kind of person. . .but, ya know. . .not a durn thing in the Android marketplace is juried or vetted even a little. . . .there's a lot of junk and I find it's really hard to find anything specific.  Amazon is easier to search and I've yet to run across an app that just wouldn't work.  

Plus even when I uninstall things from the marketplace they keep wanting me to 'update' them. . .which is code for re-install. . . .anybody know how I can tell the marketplace to forget that I ever showed any interest in a given app!


----------



## Pushka (Oct 30, 2009)

From reading some of the reviews, it really seems to be readable in sunshine.


----------



## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

Pushka said:


> From reading some of the reviews, it really seems to be readable in sunshine.


If the Fire 2 comes out with that screen I would be all over it


----------



## gadgetgirl003 (Mar 22, 2009)

Most of the reviews that I have seen talk about disappointment in the Kobo Vox. Several people have said that they are returning their Voxes. As to the question of the display, the reviews have said that there is glare like all lcd screens but that you can turn the brightness fairly  high, so possibly you could see it outside. Many of the reviews have said they hadn't been able to test it in bright sun because it has been rainy where they are since they received it.


----------

