I grew up watching inspector gadget and was always enamored by his niece Penny and her awesome book which was actually a high tech computer. Recently I finally got one of my own!
Well not exactly like that one. But I did get a Kobo Vox, the new e-reader tablet from Chapter’s Indigo. I’ve used it for almost two weeks now and believe I have enough experience with the device to write a review. I’m not a tech head by any means so don’t expect this review to be technologically sound.
An ipad, Sony tablet or even the Acer tablet are way out of my price range and to be realistic I wanted an e-reader more than anything. I’ve been using the Sony pocket e-reader for the last year and have absolutely loved it but wanted to upgrade to something with color and that can support basic apps. In all honesty an ipad would be far beyond what I need so bare that in mind.
The basics: It’s got a 7” multi-touch screen, 800mhz processor, Android 2.3, 8GB internal storage with the option to add a 32 GB SD card. It comes in a variety of colors and features the signature kobo quilted back.
Here’s my experience so far… as an e-reader the device is fantastic, it works smoothly, you can easily organize your library, tons of free books and it’s easy to download directly to the device via Wi-Fi. The page turn is smooth and the variety of options with font size, brightness, night reading, etc is excellent. I’ve heard complaints in other reviews but I’ve found no issues with the screen resolution or touch screen.
The processor is only 800mhz which works fine as long as you don’t have too many things running at once. I’ve downloaded and ran games, played streaming video and audio, and used the social networking apps. No problems and I’ve only had to force close once. The web browser is the same as any android phone and it works smoothly and features all the simple browser features you’d expect.
The device doesn’t have access to the android market but I hope this will come along soon. At the moment apps are only available via getjar which gives you access to a number of free apps and I’ve been able to find everything I need so far. There are no dedicated twitter or facebook apps and instead there are desktop links directly to the web version of each program. I’ve solved this by downloading tweetcaster which has worked great.
The battery lasts for around two days with fairly heavy use. The main issue I’ve found is that when on standby the device will sometimes freeze causing you to reset which is a minor inconvenience and doesn’t happen all the time.
If you’re looking for an e-reader first and a tablet second or even if you’re looking for a low end tablet then this device is perfect. If you’re looking for basic media playback, streaming video, gaming apps, and social media then the Vox will be ideal and retailing at only $200 it’s a great deal.
In the future I hope to see improvements to the firmware and access to the android market. If they added comixology to the Vox tomorrow I’d be completely satisfied with the device :)
And now I must go forth to defeat Dr Claw and his cat…
Well not exactly like that one. But I did get a Kobo Vox, the new e-reader tablet from Chapter’s Indigo. I’ve used it for almost two weeks now and believe I have enough experience with the device to write a review. I’m not a tech head by any means so don’t expect this review to be technologically sound.
An ipad, Sony tablet or even the Acer tablet are way out of my price range and to be realistic I wanted an e-reader more than anything. I’ve been using the Sony pocket e-reader for the last year and have absolutely loved it but wanted to upgrade to something with color and that can support basic apps. In all honesty an ipad would be far beyond what I need so bare that in mind.
The basics: It’s got a 7” multi-touch screen, 800mhz processor, Android 2.3, 8GB internal storage with the option to add a 32 GB SD card. It comes in a variety of colors and features the signature kobo quilted back.
Here’s my experience so far… as an e-reader the device is fantastic, it works smoothly, you can easily organize your library, tons of free books and it’s easy to download directly to the device via Wi-Fi. The page turn is smooth and the variety of options with font size, brightness, night reading, etc is excellent. I’ve heard complaints in other reviews but I’ve found no issues with the screen resolution or touch screen.
The processor is only 800mhz which works fine as long as you don’t have too many things running at once. I’ve downloaded and ran games, played streaming video and audio, and used the social networking apps. No problems and I’ve only had to force close once. The web browser is the same as any android phone and it works smoothly and features all the simple browser features you’d expect.
The device doesn’t have access to the android market but I hope this will come along soon. At the moment apps are only available via getjar which gives you access to a number of free apps and I’ve been able to find everything I need so far. There are no dedicated twitter or facebook apps and instead there are desktop links directly to the web version of each program. I’ve solved this by downloading tweetcaster which has worked great.
The battery lasts for around two days with fairly heavy use. The main issue I’ve found is that when on standby the device will sometimes freeze causing you to reset which is a minor inconvenience and doesn’t happen all the time.
If you’re looking for an e-reader first and a tablet second or even if you’re looking for a low end tablet then this device is perfect. If you’re looking for basic media playback, streaming video, gaming apps, and social media then the Vox will be ideal and retailing at only $200 it’s a great deal.
In the future I hope to see improvements to the firmware and access to the android market. If they added comixology to the Vox tomorrow I’d be completely satisfied with the device :)
And now I must go forth to defeat Dr Claw and his cat…
RSS Feed
