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Kobo Vox gets Google Play injection for fuller tablet feel
When we first reviewed the Vox, our immediate inclination was to root and sideload applications on to the 7-incher, taking it into unsanctioned territory. Much to our surprise, those efforts fell mainly flat, resigning our app indulgences to the officially and sparsely supported Get Jar store. Skip to now, and it appears Kobo's keen to shore up that glaring flaw, enabling access to Google Play and a handful of GApps (like Gmail, YouTube and Maps) via a software update. Users will have to connect to the internet to download the newly available perks, but after that you should see the tab putting on its big boy shorts and taking on a more well-rounded tablet functionality. Have one to call your own? Then let us know how you fare in the comments below.
How would you change the Kobo Vox?
Kobo is the underdog trying to scrape points while the e-reader heavy hitters of Amazon and B&N duke it out. The Vox was the Canadian outfits response to the Nook and Kindle Fire, but despite a similar price tag, our e-reader expert found that its last-generation hardware was no match for the big boys. That said, plenty of people must have bought them so tell us; how has it been? Do you regret shunning the other two for it, or does it have hidden charms that we didn't see first time around? Let us know in the comments below.
Tech's biggest misfires of 2011
The past 12 months have been a boon of technological innovation, particularly in the world of mobile devices, where top companies have been waging an arms race for the top of the smartphone and tablet hills. Not everything has been smooth sailing, however -- 2011 has also been dotted by delays, false starts, security breeches and straight up technological turf outs. Check out some of the lowlights from the year that was after the break.
Kobo Vox review
Kobo has long been happy to position itself as the underdog in the e-reader race, a spin that's based on more than a few grains of truth. After all, what else should this small Canadian company call itself after years of going head to head with giants like Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Sony? In spite of its perceived disadvantages, though, it's remained competitive with products like the eReader Touch Edition, a device that matched the Nook and Kindle feature-for-feature. Now, the company is attempting to pull off a similar feat with the Vox, its first entry in the tablet space -- and a clear shot across the bow at a couple low-cost slates from Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Can the e-reader David pull off an upset against a couple of Goliaths this go 'round, or have the company's limited resources finally gotten the better of it? Watch the battle unfold before your eyes, after the break.%Gallery-141285%
Engadget's holiday gift guide 2011: e-readers
Welcome to the Engadget Holiday Gift Guide! We're well aware of the heartbreaking difficulties surrounding the seasonal shopping experience, so we're here to help you sort out this year's tech treasures. Below is today's bevy of curated picks, and you can head back to the Gift Guide hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the holiday season. The e-reader space is really -- if you'll pardon the expression -- heating up just in time for the holiday season. Industry leader Amazon dropped the gauntlet yet again, with the introduction of three new devices, including the entry-level fourth generation Kindle (which starts at an enticing $79 for the ad-supported version) and the Kindle Fire, which is helping to further blur the lines between the e-reader and tablet worlds. Not to be outdone, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and Sony are also offering up impressive new devices for the holiday season. All in all, there's never been a more exciting time to give the gift of reading.
Kobo Vox unboxing and hands-on (video)
Kobo is something of a perpetual underdog. That may well change, after Rakuten acquisition of the company goes through, but for now, it's still a small organization battling giants like Amazon, Barnes & Noble and, to a lesser extent, Sony. With that in mind, the timing for the Vox's release certainly could have been better -- the tablet has to go head to head with the Nook Tablet and Kindle Fire, both on sale this week. Well, we just received ours, and with that in mind, we immediately did what any other geek would do -- we started playing with it alongside its bigger-named competitors. We'll be back with a full review soon enough, but for now, join us for an unboxing and some early impressions.%Gallery-139654% %Gallery-139652% %Gallery-139656%
Kobo partners with Rdio to pre-load app on Vox tablet
Amazon and Barnes & Noble aren't the only companies touting some high-profile apps for their Android-based tablets. Kobo has now also announced a partnership with Rdio, which will see the latter company's app (and access to a catalog of more than 12 million tracks) come pre-loaded on the new Kobo Vox tablet. Of course, the Rdio app is already available for other Android devices, but this is certainly at least a small boon for Kobo, which doesn't offer Android Market access on the Vox tablet.
The Engadget Interview: Kobo's Michael Serbinis
Kobo celebrated the launch of its eReader Touch Edition with a decidedly low-key event, inviting a handful of journalists to a dimly lit brunch place in midtown Manhattan. The company's CEO Michael Serbinis presided over the event, framing his company as a David in the fight against e-reading Goliaths. It was a stark and fitting contrast to the Nook event that Barnes & Noble would hold a few days later and 40 blocks away -- not to mention the increasingly grandiose productions orchestrated by Amazon's Jeff Bezos. In spite of all of this, the company has managed to maintain a high profile in the e-reader space, as it did this week, when between the announcement of the Nook Tablet and the release of the Kindle Fire, it let the world know that it had been acquired by Rakuten, something of an equivalent to Amazon in its native Japan. The announcement followed the bankruptcy and subsequent closure of once giant bookstore chain Borders earlier this year, a company to which Kobo had long been closely tied. In a conference call last night, Serbinis denied a connection between these events, insisting instead that the deal just made good business sense for the Canadian company. How will the deal affect Kobo? Does this move ultimately impair Serbinis's ability to frame his 200-odd person company's battles as an old testament fight against corporate giants? Or does this simply offer a bit of assistance in its sometimes uphill push for market share? We sat down with the executive to discuss the acquisition, the crowded tablet space and the future of e-reading.
Kobo quietly launches Vox Android tablet with 7-inch display, Gingerbread, $200 price tag
Canadian retailer Future Shop gave us an accidental sneak peek at the tablet last month, but now Kobo is making Vox official, complete with a 7-inch 1024 x 600 resolution AFFS+ display with multi-touch, a 7-hour battery and 8 gigs of internal memory with support for up to 32GB of SD storage. The $200 tablet is running Android 2.3 Gingerbread, and is powered by an 800 MHz processor and 512MB of RAM. There's also a built-in speaker and 3.5mm headphone jack, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and a variety of pre-loaded apps (naturally you'll have access to Android Market as well). Vox is listed as in-stock on Kobo's online store, though you'll have to wait until October 28th for yours to ship. It'll also be available at Best Buy and Fry's Electronics stores in the U.S., and Best Buy, Future Shop and Indigo in Canada. Jump past the break for the PR from Kobo. [Thanks, Mankie]
Kobo's Vox Android tablet appears online briefly, gets Canadian release date and pricing
A day after another little-known e-reader manufacturer announced a tablet, a new Android slate from Kobo made a brief online appearance on Future Shop's site, only to be quickly taken down. According to the Canadian retailer, the FCC-approved tablet will offer up a 7-inch display with a 1024 x 600 resolution, WiFi, a speaker (perhaps the reason behind the Vox name) and 8GB of storage. The tablet is apparently set for an October 17th release in that country, priced at $250 Canadian. [Thanks, Carolyn and Bart]
Kobo Vox eReader Tablet hits the FCC, shrouded in bookish mystery
What's this mystery e-reader? It's the Kobo Vox, and it just made its debut on the FCC's site. Is it a reworked version of the relatively recently released Touch Edition? Is it a brand new reader from the company? The device is listed as being an "eReader Tablet," so perhaps it's something more akin to Barnes & Noble's Nook Color or the Kindle tablet reportedly in the works from Amazon. And will Kobo's recent appearance at f8 play into the equation? It's hard to say, but there are a few things worth noting here. First, if the above rough image is to be believed, the device is touchscreen, as with the company's current product. The design, however, looks a lot more like the latest version of the Nook than the new Kobo. A side shot reveals what appears to be a microUSB slot (no shocker there) and a headphone jack, something missing on both the latest Kobo and Nook (though both the latest Kindle and the Nook Color rock one), while a "multimedia headset" was used in the testing. Also listed among the testing materials is a microSD card, so there seems a pretty good chance that this thing has expandable memory -- again, not a surprise, nor is the fact that the reader is listed as being WiFi-enabled.
