Friday, November 4, 2011

My new Kobo Vox

I picked up a black Kobo Vox on Wednesday and have been playing with it. My goal was to buy an eReader first and a tablet second. I didn't want to spend $500 on a tablet. I don't need 3g, wifi is good enough.
What I like:
  1. Great reader, clear type, no need for an external light
  2. Price $199
  3. $40 cover that doubles as a leaner / stand, I had a choice of black or violet, I chose the black cover
  4. Main screen with your 5 last books and 10 apps, the 5 books allows you to read a couple at a time and not have to search for them in the library
  5. Not too heavy, lighter than an iPad
  6. 7" screen is ideal
  7. You Tube video is great
  8. You can thumb type when you're in vertical mode
What bugs me:
  1. Can't use the normal Android Market Place
  2. Android Market Place doesn't recognize the Vox
  3. Calibre (PC desktop ebook manager) doesn't recognize the Vox (there's already a ticket open)
  4. Adobe Digital Editions doesn't recognize the Vox
  5. You can't use the USB connection to charge the Vox
  6. Had to sideload Aldiko
  7. No native file manager, downloaded Files
  8. Can't upload Gmail Contacts and Calendar entries
Update: Kobo issues an update to the system early in 2012 and that fixed a lot of problems. The reader is no faster, but the battery now lasts significantly longer. I've also added Battery Booster and the battery life is about 40 hours in Airplane mode.
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1 comment:

  1. UnknownJanuary 14, 2012 at 9:21 AM

    Early in the new year, Kobo issued an update which solved many problems. Up to now, the Vox would freeze up or re-boot randomly. I think it had trouble managing low RAM situations. Anyway the latest update solved nearly all issues around freezing and locking up. I haven't had a random reboot since then.

    I'm tempted to crack the Vox to give me more flexibility, but I'm a little afraid.

    Calibre issued an update quite quickly (3 days) and it works fine with the Vox and I've loaded all of my books.

    Things that continue to bug me:
    1, 2, 5 and 8 are still issues. All other items have been solved with some work-around or app. I'm using Astro as my file manager and ClearSync as my calendar (as the native calendar doesn't support my Google calendar).

    I don't understand how an Android device can't access my Google Calendar and Contacts. It's just ludicrous.

    5 still is an issue and I haven't been able to find a second charger for the Vox. This is a major issue. There are lots of posts on this subject and it seems that the micro-USB has been modified by Google to not recognize the USB port of the PC as a device suitable for charging. I understand that the Vox requires 5v2a to charge, but what about allowing 5v1a trickle charging. I don't care if it takes all night to charge from my laptop.

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