Death of an eReader

My dad received his eReader last week and I think he likes it. He seemed a little reluctant to go techno, and I can't blame him. I made the adjustment by thinking of my eReader as my "100 classics for $99". I didn't buy it to replace my books, but I thought it was a thrifty way to purchase 100 more because the Kobo came preloaded with 100 classics. His came pre-loaded with a lot, since I hooked him up with a bunch. At any rate, I think the final straw that got him was a little reading light I had purchased that attaches to the top of the reader so he can read out on his porch at night. I'm pretty sure that after he gets used to playing with it he will come to love it as well. 

My Kobo did not fare so well on vacation. On day #2 while at the beach a tragic and stupid accident occurred. We had set up a small sun shelter for the hot afternoon sun, and as it was rather windy off the gulf, the anchor pins kept pulling out of the sand. In my haste, I decided to use my eReader (which was in my hand at the time) to push down on the stake. Even though it was in a leather case, I must have pushed on the screen side and busted some of the ink cells in the screen. When I opened it back up there it was a mess of black lines across the screen and I could barely read a thing. That's what I deserve for not taking the time to put a shoe on and simply step on the damn stake! I was SO mad, mainly because I had to go through the rest of vacation without all my books. Grrr.... My dad was gracious enough to let me finish the book I was reading on his eReader, but I mourned my loss the rest of the trip. The next question is, what do I buy to replace it?

Good question!! I didn't want to spend a lot of money to upgrade to something better. I realized that what I had suited my purposes just fine. I don't download or shop for books using WiFi while on the unit. I wanted it to be able to hold a lot of books, and I didn't want to spend a lot of money on new accessories. After reading many, many reviews and watching several videos demonstrating different readers, I narrowed down my choices to the Kobo Touch, or the same Kobo WiFi unit I destroyed. One of the main features I wanted to have, was the ability to view and navigate through my library and the Kobo WiFi was the only I saw that you could jump to the letter T without having to scroll or search through everything that was loaded. I was still a little interested in seeing how the Nook felt, so I went to Best Buy to see the units they have on display. What a disappointment. First of all, out of the three the only one that had a battery charge was the Kobo WiFi unit. The one I was already very familiar with. When I decided I'd go ahead and  pick up the WiFi to take home with me, I saw there weren't any on the shelf, and it was available for purchase online only. Grrr!! So I just ordered another one of the same unit I had from the Kobo website and hopefully it will get here before the end of next week. I did check on eBay and they had a couple of refurbished ones for $50, but after shipping/handling I figured I'd spend the extra $20 and get a brand new one with no shipping costs.

One thing I discovered during my research I found very interesting is that the Kobo is made in Canada, and is one of the only eReaders that can be used internationally when purchasing books wirelessly. Now, I put enough books on my dad's Kindle to last him PLENTY, but he is taking a trip overseas and now I see that he won't be able to purchase a book while there and upload it to his reader. Oops... sorry Dad! We'll see how savvy he gets with the technology before I break that news to him!

I am anxiously awaiting my UPS man this week!

Here is a good eReader website if you are looking to purchase and want reviews and information:

http://www.the-ebook-reader.com/