You want your Kobo Vox to work and look new for many years to come. The best way to protect your Kobo Vox from damage is to use a Screen Protector, Case, and Bag for your Kobo Vox to protect it from scratches, drops, and dents which damages your Vox, and break it if the drop is high.
Getting a screen protector for the Kobo Vox would protect your Kobo Vox's 7 inch screen from unwanted scratches on the screen. A screen protector is a piece of clear plastic which you stick over your eReader Tablets screen, so fingernails, stylus, pens, and sharp objects don't scratch the screen since the thin piece of clear plastic shields your screen from sharp objects. The piece of clear plastic which comes with the Vox is only a temporary screen protector because it is not very sticky, so it falls off easily, and is not made with the best type of thin plastic for screen protectors without reducing performance when applied to your Vox's screen.
The Kobo Vox color ereader is compatible with a lot of Google Android apps since it uses the most popular version of Google Android which is Google Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread as its operating system. The Kobo Vox has a 800 MHz CPU, 512 MB of RAM, and 8GB of storage which is fast enough for installing and playing most games and apps made for Google Android.
Google Android has one of the largest App and game libraries for mobile devices like smartphones, Tablets and eReaders.
This means if the App or game works on your Google Android phone, it would work on the Kobo Vox eReader in most cases.
My favorite games for the Kobo Vox are Angry Birds series, Fruit Ninja, Gravity Guy, and Cut The Rope which are all available from the GetJar marketplace for free which comes bundle with the Kobo Vox.
Angry Birds is a game where you use a sling shot to hit green pigs which are behind a wall, or rocks. There are currently three games in the Angry Birds Series: Angry Birds, Angry Birds Rio, and Angry Birds Season.
Fruit Ninja is a fun game where you swipe the screen to cut flying fruit while avoiding bombs, and cut as much fruit as possible on the screen.
The default web browser on the Kobo Vox Color eReader is the Google Android Gingerbread web browser which is pretty good for visiting mobile sites. The 800MHz CPU, 512MB of RAM, 8GB storage, and 802.11N Wifi adapter found on the Vox is great for browsing most websites online quickly, and download files online to latter transfer to your laptop, or desktop by using the Vox's USB transfer cable. The 7 inch screen, thin case and light weight of the Vox makes it great for carrying around in a bag or purse. I also notice it is easy to read text on the browser because of the sharp screen and bright back light. The 7 inch screen is big enough to display most popular websites like YouTube, Wikipedia, Facebook, Google, and Twitter without the need to zoom in or scroll a lot. The Vox can play YouTube and DailyMotion videos without the Adobe Flash Player add-on if you use the mobile version of Youtube at m.youtube.com . Videos will be played in Full Screen High Quality by default in YouTube mobile.
The Kobo Vox also comes with the bookmarks with the mobile version of YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, so easily accessing the mobile version of popular social networks are simple.
Rdio, PressReader, and Globe2Go also comes bundled with the Vox, so you can listen to music, read magazines, and newspapers streamed to you from the internet easily.
The WiFi performance of the Kobo Vox is also very good. The Kobo Vox connects a lot faster to my older Wireless router which uses 802.11G in a few seconds which is a lor faster then my laptop which sometimes take minutes to connect to WiFi.
The Vox also features a 802.11N Wireless wi-fi adapter which means it can detect wireless networks which are farther a way, and have a better range for the Wireless signal. 802.11N can achieve speeds of 300 megabits per second or higher, and longer range. This means if your Wireless router also has 802.11N your speed and range would be very fast and long. But, If you still use a 802.11G router then the speed and range will still be good, but not as good as a N router.
When I use the Vox, it never disconnects me from my home router while I use it.
Downloading eBooks, .APK installer files for android, and media files are also pretty fast.
The Kobo Vox color eReader has loud enough speakers for personal audio listening in a quiet place like a bed room, or small empty room like a home kitchen or living room, but its built-in mono speaker on the top right is not very loud for many people to listen to at the same time in a louder room like a living room, kitchen, restaurant or cafeteria.
This guide should also work with other Google Android, or even Apple Tablets since they all use the same 3.5 mm headphone jack type.
You should turn your speaker up by pressing on the volume up button until the volume bar is set to max, or all blue. But, I notice when there is sound louder then the Vox's speaker like a TV speaker or loud conversation, the speaker is very hard to hear.
The Kobo Vox also has a small 3.5mm headphone jack which is for plugging in stereo headphones. You can also plug in external powered 3.5mm speakers to listen to sound through louder speakers. Most computer speakers with a 3.5mm audio jack can be plug into the Kobo Vox. By using External speakers or headphones on the Kobo Vox, the sound will be louder, and have more bass to it making listening to music, audio books, videos, and games more realistic.
You can also buy a line-in cable, or Y-Connector 3.5 mm to RCA connector to connect the Vox to your home stereo, or car stereo if your stereo has a 3.5 mm input jack, or RCA left and right audio inputs.
The Kobo Vox color eReader Tablet is a good color eReader Tablet for watching video, and listening to music. The bright 7 inch capacitive screen with a resolution of 1024 x 600 makes it easy for the user to see the bright and colorful colors on the screen, and the capacitive screen makes opening video files, and changing music tracks pretty responsive by only using my finger to control the multimedia player. The 7 inch size of the screen is similar in size as most portable DVD players, so you would not have to hold the Vox very close to your eyes to see the full screen video, or on screen controls.
The Screen is also optimized for outdoor viewing with its FFS+ LCD which is the same type of screen which fighter jets used to see its instruments outdoors. Even on lowest brightness on the Kobo Vox screen, I can still see the screen very well when sitting by a sunny window, and the color is still very nice on the screen.
The Speaker on the Vox is a mono speaker on the right corner of the Vox, it is moderately loud, but not very loud, so in loud places, you can use 3.5 mm headphones, or portable speakers to plug into the Vox when in louder places like a park, or restaurant.
The Kobo Vox is pretty good at playing back YouTube and online video sites' video in full screen. The video plays fast and does not slow down, and the speaker is loud enough to hear in a moderately loud room. It is also easy to turn up or turn down the volume by pressing the volume up and volume down volume buttons.
The Kobo Vox color ereader is a good casual gaming eReader for playing games like Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja, Cut The Rope, Tetris, Tic Tac Toe, Checkers, Chess, Solitaire, Scrabble, Brick Breaker, Side scrolling games, Casual games, and non- High Definition/Quality 3D games. But, the Kobo Vox also work with some lower quality 3D games like Fruit Ninja, but not HD 3D games like Final Fantasy 11 which you can play on the Xbox, and Playstation.
Game loading times are pretty fast for most 2D and lower quality games, but Angry Birds, and Fruit Ninja takes slightly longer to load.
Gaming on the Vox is almost like gaming on a medium priced Google Android Gingerbread 2.3.3 Smart Cell Phone.
f the game is a cartoon like game, or the game looks like a typical web browser game you play with non-HD graphics, the Kobo Vox can probably play it okay, but the loading times might be slightly lower since it only has a 800MHz Single Core CPU, and 512MB of RAM.
It is best to use the GetJar marketplace to download your games for Free for the Vox, and GetJar is the default marketplace for the Vox, so most games should work for the Vox. You can also try the Amazon App Store for paid and free Apps if you live in the US, or has a US Amazon Account. But, you need to download The Amazon App to use the Amazon Marketplace.
All the games and Apps on Getjar are Free, but some are trials, and most are ad-supported.
You can also use a MicroSD card to sideload APK installer files for Google Android Games which you downloaded on your smartphone, or other Tablets which has access to the Google Android Marketplace which the Vox does not have access to because it uses Getjar. You can also ask your friends to upload APK files to the internet for you to download onto your Vox, or ask them to use Gmail, Yahoo mail, and other e-mail providers to send you game APK installer files via file attachments on E-mails. Most APK files for games are only a few MBs in size except for some 3D games APK files.
Most Google Android Games which are compatible in Google Android Gingerbread should work on the Kobo Vox since it'a operating system is GA Gingerbread.
Accessories made for the Kobo Vox let you customize your Kobo Vox eReader to make it look different from other similar eReaders while adding some more or improve functionality of your eReader device, and make it look different from other Voxs.
Adding a MicroSD memory card to your Kobo Vox microSD slot can give your Vox up to 32GB of additional storage depending on the storage size of the card. This means you can have 40GBs of storage for your Vox since the Vox already comes with 8GBs preinstalled, so adding a 32GB card will raise the storage space to 40GB (8GB internal + 32GB MicroSD Card). This means you can download and install more apps, ebooks, video, games, and other types of files to your ereader, and you can copy files from your PC, Smartphone, to your MicroSD card, and insert it in your Vox.
You'll need a USB MicroSD card reader if your computer does not have a MicroSD card reader which most computer do not have to read and save files to a MicroSD card.
A stylish Kiwi case for the Kobo Vox to protect your Vox from scratches, and dirt, and it also has pockets for carrying money, cards, and a stylus or pen. It also has a Magnetic/Snap Closure System, so it is easy to quickly close, and open the case. It is also easy to install the Vox into the straps by simply sliding it in.
A case can also make your Vox feel more like a book when holding it, and make it look more classy, or like a Personal Digital Assistant/Organizer.
If you have long finger nails, using a 7 inch screen protector made for the Vox will protect your Kobo Vox's screen from scratches from finger nails, and sharp objects
I recently got the Kobo Vox which is Chapters Indigo newest digital color ereader from Best Buy Canada during the Boxing week sale, and saved 20 dollars on it, so I only paid 179.99 Canadian for it. I been using the Kobo Vox for a few weeks, and I am very satisfied with the Kobo Vox as a eReader, web browsing tablet, video and music player since it is so affordable for a eReader tablet, but can do so much things well instead of poorly like most cheaper Tablets and eReaders. The Kobo Vox is the only Google Android color eReader I can find for under 200 dollars with a high resolution screen, decent performance, good reliability, and well built according to reviews I read on Bestbuy.ca, Futureshop.ca, and other Canadian stores. Canada sadly does not have faster eReaders like the Amazon Kindle Fire and Barnes and Noble Nook Color Tablet with dual core CPU and faster video chips.
The Kobo Vox is a great eBook reader, and can be a good introductory multimedia Tablet for someone who does not need a microphone, cameras, Full USB 2.0 ports, and wireless Bluetooth connectivity, and more advance features on more expensive Tablets made by Apple, BlackBerry, Motorolla, Dell, Acer, etc, but still want to read ebooks, play non-3D games, watch videos, browse the web, check e-mail, open PDFs, and use simple apps like Address book, music, video, photo viewer, calculator, and notepad.
It is one of the most fastest eReaders you can buy within Canada, and other countries which does not have the Kindle Fire, or Nook Tablet, but has the Kobo Vox. The Vox user experience is also pretty good since it rarely crashes, or freezes when I use it, but bigger files and websites with flash just takes a few more seconds to load compared to the Kindle Fire, Nook Tablet, and more expensive tablets.
Making a Kobo account, and updating the Kobo vox is also very easy. However, you need to have wireless internet, or use someone else's Wireless internet to setup a Kobo account, and update to the latest firmware for your Kobo Vox. You just follow the instructions on the screen, and use the on screen keyboard on the Kobo vox to type in your information like e-mail, and make a password for your Kobo account, and let your ereader update to the latest version.
The bundled Instructional paper pamphlet for setting up your Vox is also very easy to follow since it has pictures along with step by step instructions, and there is also a digital version of your Instruction manual on your VOX which is easy to follow.
I like the Kobo Vox bright screen the most, and the touch screen is also pretty responsive for an inexpensive 7 inch multi-touch FFS+ multimedia display capacitive touch screen eReader. I find reading the text on the screen very clear even when near a bright window. The viewing angles are also pretty good. The resolution for the screen is also pretty good at 1024 x 600 which is a lot higher then other eReaders and Tablets for under 200 dollars in Canada. The Screen also has an anti-glare coating on the screen which is optimised for outdoor reading. It is also the same coating which fighter jets use for their displays. I can also read in complete darkness since the Kobo Vox has a backlight which illuminate the Vox's screen, and it is very easy to adjust the brightness of the Vox in the settings in books, or the Vox's home screen settings. The screen is also very smooth on the vox, so you can easily glide your fingers on the Vox to change pages, and launch + control apps on it. You can use two fingers at once to type, and zoom-in because the Vox's screen is a multi-touch display meaning the Vox can sense more then one finger on the screen. A multi touch display is useful for typing, playing games, and zooming in and out of a webpage with 2 or more fingers. The Capacitive touch screen is also pretty sensitive compared to resistive touch screen. I can type, and click on links on websites by gently typing on the touch screen.
The default Google Android Onscreen Keyboard for the Vox built-in to the eReaders Operating System to enter text is easy to use with two thumbs, or just one finger. It is very responsive and accurate for an onscreen keyboard when using it for entering text into e-mails, and other websites, and apps which has text entry.
You can use the keyboard in vertical, and horizontal mode. Vertical has more screen space while horizontal mode has bigger buttons, and larger text boxes.
There is also auto correct and suggestion for the keyboard which can make typing faster on a touch based keyboard.
If you do not like the onscreen keyboard, you can search getjar to download a 3rd party on screen keyboard for Android. SlideIT is a pretty good keyboard you can get at GetJar.
I also like that the Vox has physical home, back, settings, and ON/Off button on the Tablet rather then On Screen Display buttons since this makes it easier to use, and simpler to close applications by using the buttons. The Home, Settings, and Back buttons are also flat, and embedded in the Vox's Bezel, so they take up less space, and you are less likely to accidental press them.
The buttons on the Vox are also very easy to press, and are made of solid metallic like material which does not scratch or dent easily. I can turn on, and adjust the volume by lightly pressing on the buttons.
