Kobo Mini 5" eReader $49 @ JB Hi-Fi

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JB Hi-Fi

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  gimmifreeshiz on 14/12/2013 - 23:17

  Does anyone have any first hand experience with this? Was just thinking of getting an Ebook reader, just not sure if I go for this or a kindle?

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    bzha515 on 14/12/2013 - 23:26

    kindle for sure

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    kwijybo on 14/12/2013 - 23:48

    Personally I had one of the $150 Kobo Glo's, in three months I had to return two devices to Big W under warranty so I went back to Kindle. While Kobo's are more flexible (hiring ebooks from libraries) and can occasionally be good with sales, it wasn't worth the hassle for me.

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    dannyeei on 14/12/2013 - 23:52

    I have a kindle and my mum has this one and it is completely fine. They seem pretty much the same to me.

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    mskeggs on 15/12/2013 - 00:26

    +6

    I have had one of these for about 9 months. Prior I had a kindle 3 with keyboard. Also in my family is the kobo 5in touch and kindle touch.
    I read a lot, probably a novel a week, and usually another non-fiction book or two on the go to.
    The kobo mini is good. It is my favourite of the ones I have listed.
    It is small, but the display is fine for novels or other text-only reading if you have no vision problems.
    It is unsuitable for PDFs (as are all the devices I've listed above) as you can't readily zoom and scroll like you can on an ipad or tablet.
    It has a bit of lag when you flip pages, maybe 1.5 seconds.
    I now have a hand-me-down ipad2, and I find I pick the kobo up less, except if I am on holidays or on a plane or know I will be reading for an hour or more where the excellent battery life and low irritation on the eyes is a factor, but mostly the ipad is adequate for a bit of before bed reading and I have it on hand for all its other functions.
    The kindle ecosphere is superior to kobo if you think you will be buying all your books from amazon, although the kobo store seems to have more discount coupons, but fewer free books.
    If you will be loading your own text (from mumble mumble web sites) the kobo is probably better, as it has a native epub format which tends to be the non-amazon standard. But Calibre free software can change all the formats anyway, so it is just an extra minute of work.
    People complain it doesn't have a backlight, but I don't understand that complaint - if I read a paper book it doesn't have a backlight, and the devices with backlights tend to make your eyes tired for a longer reading session, so it is seems only useful for short reads - maybe at bedtime if you don't want to disturb a partner? How did you read in the dark before backlit e-readers?
    Anyway:
    If I wanted a reader primarily for long texts like novels, I would buy it.
    If I was in america with the amazon prime service, which includes a bunch of free ebooks, I would buy a kindle.
    If I had an ipad or android tablet I would probably not buy any ereader again - the tablets are ok for 95% of my reading, only no good for bright sunlight, long flights and places I can't carry a bigger device. Although if I was about to jet off on a 3-month holiday, a little ereader would be an essential companion.
    If you have young kids who spend too much time on electronic devices, this is ok, as it really mimics a book well in terms of just being text on a page - we don't like kids playing games etc. in bed, but allow an ereader because reading is good, hey.

    Bottom line is this is the best price/performance e-reader, but if you have a tab or bigger screen smartphone you probably don't need one.

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      gimmifreeshiz on 15/12/2013 - 01:58

      Thanks for all the detailed responses guys. Guess I'll just take the plunge on it, the cheapest kindle atm is bout twice the price?

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    WalterPPK on 16/12/2013 - 08:20

    I bought this one a couple of weeks ago and have now read about 4 books on it. Overall it is great. Tough (no need for a case), small, and with a very clear screen that is easy to read. Touch responsiveness could be better but is certainly okay. The screen is crisp, clear and very easy to read but it isn't backlit in any way.

    Setting up requires plugging in to a PC and installing software before you can even try it out - I'm pretty sure other makers have them ready to go with a couple of demo books straight from the box. Handles EPUB and CBR without needing any special software and syncs easily with Calibre on my PC to manage my library.

    I'd take the Kobo over a Kindle any day, though, as the Kindle is a lot more locked down and requires a bit more messing around to get plain ebook files straight onto it. If you like being able to get your eBooks from ANY store or site then the Kobo is the better choice.

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    Jackson on 17/12/2013 - 00:47

    I haven't had any issues however I hardly use I, not because there is anything wrong with it, I just usually have my tablet with me so I don't carry it much

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  Curiosity on 14/12/2013 - 23:20

  +1

  There was a $20 clearance at BigW before

  https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/119025

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  pjn on 15/12/2013 - 01:18

  +1

  I grabbed one of these when BigW had them on special (JB did a price match for me)

  I ended up giving it to a friend after a few weeks (I bought a Kindle Paperwhite instead) but overall it was a decent-enough device for the money. I had continual issues copying files to it over USB on both Windows and Mac as it was always disconnecting (yep, I tried several cables), but it behaved better when I copied fewer files at once.

  Software can be a bit laggy - a page turn sometimes appears not to register so you try it again a few times and then it catches up, flicking ahead several pages. Speed of the device and responsiveness of the screen is nowhere near as good as my Kindle.

  But hey, it's only $49 so as long as you're aware of some possible issues (not everyone has these issues but I have read other reports when I was researching mine)

  Screen size was okay too - I thought it might be too small but was pleasantly surprised.

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    Geewhizz on 15/12/2013 - 07:44

    +1

    I have one of these from when JB had them cheap last time.

    I can tell you from experience, when the page turn becomes laggy it's time to clean your screen.

    When my mother was looking for a kindle touch (before they'd bothered to mention the kindle had been discontinued) and couldn't get one she got a regular sized kobo touch instead. She used to complain to me about the page turn being unresponsive and skipping forward a few pages. It turned out when it didn't respond she kept trying, and when it eventually decided to work it turned a page for every attempt she'd made. She hasn't had the problem again since we worked out the cleaning thing.

    Hubby has a kindle touch, and it IS better than kobo touch, but given that it's only available now as a costly refurbishment, this is a great price for a touch e-reader that works fine once you understand its quirks, ie, need for cleaning. The Kindle touch doesn't have this problem, so I guess it must simply be a bit more sensitive or something.

    I would definitely buy again at this price - very tempted to use the $20 in JB vouchers from Coke Rewards to get another one.

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  HRipper on 15/12/2013 - 07:34

  Just 5"? Samsung must be laughing at that.

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    Geewhizz on 15/12/2013 - 15:20

    +1

    It's actually quite a good size. I was originally concerned it might be a bit small, but is handy for taking places, and nice and light for reading in bed.

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    WalterPPK on 16/12/2013 - 08:21

    Samsung make ebook readers now?

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      Jackson on 17/12/2013 - 00:49

      I think he is referring to the fact their flagship phone has a 5 inch screen

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  tg on 15/12/2013 - 11:09

  [deleted]

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  melmac77 on 15/12/2013 - 13:13

  +1

  If you want to purchase a few books for it the codes 75off 85off 70comic and 50dec are all still working for non agency books.