Arc Reaction

I got myself a Kobo Arc when they had them on sale just over a week ago.  About 22 hours before they announced new ones.  Well, this time I don’t mind.

What I ended up getting was a pretty decent tablet/reader.  I got it primarily as a reader, though I recognize how much better e-ink is for that stuff in general, I wanted it for richer documents (i.e. PDF, picture-laden & color books) – for which e-ink isn’t as good.  I also wanted a decent Android device for browser and the occasional app testing.

That’s certainly what I got – a decent Android device.  My other option at this price range was an Asus MeMO pad, which also would have been very good, except this has a better screen.  1200×800 I believe, vs 1024×600.

For that screen I sacrificed a few other things; rear camera, GPS and bluetooth.  The CPU is 1.5GHz dual-core instead of 1.2 quad, but very very snappy, I have absolutely no complaints on the CPU (or anything else for that matter).  I have frequently been surprised by how quickly it accomplishes many tasks!  It may be anectotal, but it seems like the wifi is notably faster than my iOS devices.

I don’t really want a camera on a reader that much (just enough to read QR codes and in desperation use Skype), I don’t really ever use the rear camera on my iPad.  GPS only eats battery, and I prefer that on my phone anyway.  Bluetooth would have been nice but a very minor exclusion.

Kobo’s software is too intrusive to use.  Their launcher takes up an unacceptably huge area to promote their expensive ebooks. Their book reader, while it renders beautifully won’t synchronize sideloaded books.  I have relegated it, and chosen a much better solution.

At the sale price, this was a fantastic purchase.  Now that the sale is over, it’s too expensive. It’s too near to an iPad Mini’s price to even contemplate.  Maybe when the new ones come out the price/performance will be better.