[LINK] Competition begins

[Craig Sanders]

On Mon, Jun 21, 2010 at 06:24:36PM -0700, Scott Howard wrote:
> Competition indeed - it took Amazon less than 3 hours to drop prices
> on the Kindle to $189, thus undercutting the Nook.
>
> Borders new Kobo, at $149 without wifi, is starting to look very
> over-priced only a few weeks after it was released - and before they
> even get around to opening their ebook store.

for an ebook reader (especially one with an e-ink screen), why does
either 3g or wifi matter?

i really can't see why i'd want internet access on an ebook reader, any
more than i'd want internet on my fridge (what's next? the internet
connected toothbrush? or toilet-roll holder? the 3G electric blanket?)

IMO the lack of built-in networking is an advantage - it can't rack
up mobile internet charges without my knowledge, and it can't 'phone
home' to tell B&N, Amazon, etc or their 'marketing affiliates' what i'm
doing, and it can't have books that i've purchased be deleted by remote
command.

OTOH, i'd be likely to wipe the pre-installed OS and install
OpenInkpot[1] anyway....i just don't trust any proprietary software to
not have spyware or other stupid user-hostile anti-features[2].

[1] http://openinkpot.org/
[2] http://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/antifeatures




if i could actually get one in my hands for $150, i'd be tempted by
either a kobo or a nook (just to tide me over until the coming wave of
linux and android based tablets hit the market within 6-12 months). but,
afaik, they aren't actually available for sale in australia...and if
they were, they'd probably cost a lot more than that (and a lot more than
any reasonable exchange rate conversion + shipping would indicate) 

[ 5 mins later ]

i just checked borders.com.au - they're selling the kobo for $199. not
outrageously bad, i suppose (although $149 USD should be under $170
AUD). shame about the 4 week delay for ordering them.

and why only available on-line? i'd like to be able to go to the nearest
borders shop and check out the kobo in person before buying one.



craig

-- 
craig sanders <cas at taz.net.au>