The open-minded reviewer always welcomes an alternative to the Apple iPad.
So when the Kobo Vox ereader, a seven inch colour reader with a lovely, quilted back turns up, we pay heed.
And then we pick it up. Being a journalist with no time for the gym, my weedly arms baulk at the bulk* of the Kobo Vox, instantly making it not a viable option for myself.
As the £89 Amazon Kindle (albeit black and white, with no touch screen) can slip weightlessly into my handbag, and feels light as a Penguin Class in my hands on the way home, the heavy new Kobo is a no go**.
There are good things about it though. The back is nice to touch, all quilted and matte, and it starts up easily enough. But that's not enough to part with £169.99 is it?
It has Facebook (but so does my phone), the navigation is simple (good for the un-techie amongst us) and it promises one million free books and access to at least a million more.
The pixelation of the screen makes it hard to read for a long time, and the high sheen plastic finish makes viewing angles very limited. I can't read it unless I block my body between the machine and the fluorescent lights in my office, so it would be very difficult reading on the beach on St Lucia or on the patio in Chamonix***.
There's lag in the touch screen, though not consistently. The apps on the main part of the screen launch quickly with a light touch, while those in the nav bar at the bottom need a heavier touch, sometimes two, and take a second or two to load. There's lag too in turning the table from portait to vertical.
One terribly annoying aspect cropped up when we tried to edit the email address we signed in with. We wanted to insert a full-stop between a first and surname, but the established protocol of backspacing until we got to the spot in the word that we required did not work. Instead a complicated edit function popped up and we had to delete and start again. A fail for intuitive use.
If you want something to read loads of books on, for Christmas holidays etc, the Amazon Kindle at £89 is the better option.
Specs:
7" screen, 1024 x 600 resolution
7 hour battery life
Android2.3 Gingerbread
512MB RAM
8gb memory
800MHZ processor
*metaphor. obviously arms can't baulk.
**I'm platzing at the number of illiterations I've squeezed in right now.
***UTTER fantasy, these holiday locations are.