Author Topic: To Kobo or to Kindle?  (Read 10531 times)

fuzzy

To Kobo or to Kindle?
« on: 28 April, 2015, 11:02:23 pm »
I am thinking of taking the plunge into e readers and am not sure which route to take.

Which is the favoured reader on the forum? Also, is it worth going for the wifi capable units? If so, why?

Thanks.

Piemaster

Re: To Kobo or to Kindle?
« Reply #1 on: 29 April, 2015, 04:33:10 am »
I'm using an early Kindle. A keyboard model with wifi and 3G.
Wifi is good for downloading books. Find book on Amazon, buy and select send to my Kindle. Turn wifi on the Kindle and book appears. Have rarely used the 3G, and it never seems to want to connect to it if there is wifi available - I wouldn't bother with it again.
The keyboard was only model available when I bought it and apart from menu and select buttons doesn't get used.
I've played with a touchscreen only version but didn't like having to stab at the screen to turn the page - much prefer the  buttons on the edge,easy one handed.
Oh,  and i do like the idea of one with a built in light, would be handy for not disturbing my wife in bed.

And stick the right search in and you can probably find something for free:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=sr_pg_2?rh=n%3A341677031%2Cn%3A%21341678031%2Cn%3A341689031%2Cp_36%3A0-0&page=2&sort=price&ie=UTF8&qid=1359843840

Vince

  • Can't climb; won't climb
Re: To Kobo or to Kindle?
« Reply #2 on: 29 April, 2015, 07:58:58 am »
I suspect the key factor is are you going to buy books from Amazon or Smiths.

I'm a basic Kindle user and am very happy with it. (Actually on my second after the first got trodden on) The e-Ink screen is much better for reading than a iPad or equivalent due to the lack of glare, though finding a book light that works is a challenge.

As Piemaster says the Wifi is very useful for receiving books.

If you don't use Amazon as your book supplier, I would recommend Calibre to manage your book collection as it is capable of converting to the Kindle format.
216km from Marsh Gibbon

Re: To Kobo or to Kindle?
« Reply #3 on: 29 April, 2015, 08:23:57 am »
Happy Kindle user her for years. I have the keyboard version and it's been all over Europe with me. Keeps me sane in hotels. Mines WiFi only not 3G and I haven't missed 3G. I wouldn't bother with the 3G as WiFi is ubiquitous these days. Hotels have it coffee shops have it or just think ahead and load up several books before a trip.
I was worried about mine breaking as I didn't fancy the newer ones that you have to swipe to change page on but now the latest Kindle Voyage has buttons again (well you just press the bezel) and that's what I'd go for as a replacement.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00IOY524S/ref=kin_comp_dk_ki_img

The whole Amazon ecosystem for Kindle is very slick, instant book download, no software needed on your PC (unless you want to read the books on your PC as well). My first Kindle broke after a couple of months (design issue with the first release) and Amazon replaced it no questions asked and when I registered the new one to my account all my books repapered and they were even on the page I had got up to (Amazon whisper synch - which only works when the WiFi is on obviously).
Much better than using an iPad (though there is an iPad client for Kindle that synchs with your iPad in case you only want to take your iPad out sometimes) or PC to read books on.
The thing to remember is that a Kindle is a one function device. It's for reading text based books and for that its outstanding. It may have an inbuilt web browser but that's rubbish and its a bit crap for reading PDFs with graphics in them too.
I love paper books but really I don't want to keep the hundreds of novels I get through the Kindle is is much easier and teh books are usually cheaper. 


I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that.

Wombat

  • Is it supposed to hurt this much?
Re: To Kobo or to Kindle?
« Reply #4 on: 29 April, 2015, 08:32:50 am »
Another happy Kindle user here.  Not bothered with 3G, don't see the point, unless you are suddenly going to decide you desperately need a book whilst away from wifi.  I VERY rarely buy Amazon Kindle books, most of mine are from Project Gutenberg, and some are converted from documents I've either created or converted using Calibre.  I do also have the Kindle app on the phone (just big enough, its a Sony Xperia Z) and on the PC (definitely big enough, its a 26" monitor!) and also on the Nexus 7 tablet, which is only used if its a colour book such as a photography one.

I think the e-ink screen is brilliant, and way, way better than any tablet screen, and far more restful.

I still buy books, but thats because they are technical things with a high graphic content such as drawings of machinery, etc.  My largest format book must be way larger than A3, a book about the Eiffel tower, full of drawings.  The kindle is brilliant, but isn't for the "coffee table book" scenario, its for "reading books".  I also use it for Govt documents I need to have with me, and for meeting minutes and agendas, converted using Calibre, again.
Wombat

tiermat

  • According to Jane, I'm a Unisex SpaceAdmin
Re: To Kobo or to Kindle?
« Reply #5 on: 29 April, 2015, 09:06:12 am »
As others have said, the Kindle is probably the route to go, Amazon have put a lot of time and money into making Kindle use a slick experience.

Kobo have less resources and, thus, are constantly playing catchup.  Not that the Kobos are bad units, just not as good as the Kindles.

I, personally, use a unit that is no longer available, a Sony PRS-T1 (sony got as far as making a T3, then gave up! :( ), Mrs T has it's smaller sibling, the model number of which escapes me right now.

I use Calibre for managing books, currently with rather a large e-book library, and I sync it to my fileserver so that the laptop downstairs can access it (the one upstairs is used solely for downloading).
I feel like Captain Kirk, on a brand new planet every day, a little like King Kong on top of the Empire State

Re: To Kobo or to Kindle?
« Reply #6 on: 29 April, 2015, 09:20:36 am »
Had a Kobo and it broke very early on. Just woke up one morning and the screen was split. Complained and got nowhere.

Wife and I are both on basic Kindles.

We see no need at all to buy books there are plenty of sites that you can get more than adequate reading material from for free and via amazon at that and some are very good indeed.

Also install Calibre on your puter as it is the top proggie (and free) to convert other file types to the Kindle format.

PH
Bees do nothing invariably.

Re: To Kobo or to Kindle?
« Reply #7 on: 29 April, 2015, 09:21:38 am »
To try to balance things up a bit - I'm a Kobo user.
I've got an early Kobo Touch that has never missed a beat. I can buy, or get, books from anywhere, I'm not restricted to the Kobo Store (although it is my main source of purchases). I occasionally download books from StoryBundle straight onto the Kobo. I sometimes use my local library - if you intend using a library for loans then you cannot use a Kindle. The Kobo App on my phone and iPad sync seamlessly with the reader. The sync with Pocket is extremely useful for saved articles but PDFs can be a real pain. I would /personally/ get another Kobo.
On the other hand Mrs M has got a first gen Kindle, and is perfectly happy with that too.
Too many angry people - breathe & relax.

Re: To Kobo or to Kindle?
« Reply #8 on: 29 April, 2015, 09:23:45 am »
We see no need at all to buy books there are plenty of sites that you can get more than adequate reading material from for free and via amazon at that and some are very good indeed.

Depends if you want books that are still in copywrite of course. Most of the classics are free plus lots of give-aways by new authors.
I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that.

tiermat

  • According to Jane, I'm a Unisex SpaceAdmin
Re: To Kobo or to Kindle?
« Reply #9 on: 29 April, 2015, 09:25:11 am »
We see no need at all to buy books there are plenty of sites that you can get more than adequate reading material from for free and via amazon at that and some are very good indeed.

Depends if you want books that are still in copywrite of course. Most of the classics are free plus lots of give-aways by new authors.

Or you are not bothered about copyright, of course...
I feel like Captain Kirk, on a brand new planet every day, a little like King Kong on top of the Empire State

ian

Re: To Kobo or to Kindle?
« Reply #10 on: 29 April, 2015, 09:53:05 am »
I'm a happy Kindle user. I mostly read using the Kindle app on my phone or iPad when I'm travelling, the sync feature is very nice but a tad annoying that it doesn't work with non-Kindle books. I have swipey paperwhite one. I'm not sure a touchscreen adds much to the experience but you get used to it. I like the illumination though. The Amazon buying experience is seamless, so I can buy books in the bath/garden/wherever there's wifi. You can load up non-Amazon books via a simple email. Never bothered with 3G, it's rare (never) that I'm not reading a half-dozen books with a queue of several more, so I'm unlikely to suddenly run out. And yes, with limited Google-fu you can find pretty much any book for free, but be nice and buy or borrow books that are in copyright.

Jacomus

  • My favourite gender neutral pronoun is comrade
Re: To Kobo or to Kindle?
« Reply #11 on: 29 April, 2015, 09:54:57 am »
Kindle!

As an ex-Kobo user, the Kindle is streaks ahead in literally every department.
"The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity." Amelia Earhart

Re: To Kobo or to Kindle?
« Reply #12 on: 29 April, 2015, 09:55:33 am »
I have a Nook (Barnes and Noble).  Basic but dirt cheap - £25, or a bit more with the 'glow light'. I've been very happy with it until recently. A book was published last week that I'm very keen to read, but it's not available at Barnes and Noble yet and I've no idea when it will be. I've had to resort to ordering one of those old-fashioned non-e book things.

Re: To Kobo or to Kindle?
« Reply #13 on: 29 April, 2015, 10:05:18 am »
Kindle with 3G.  If you are in places without WIFI then the free 3G is great if you wish to buy a  newspaper.  e.g. Me in NW Highlands of Scotland on the day after the election.
Less important if you never get to remote places.

Eccentrica Gallumbits

  • Rock 'n' roll and brew, rock 'n' roll and brew...
Re: To Kobo or to Kindle?
« Reply #14 on: 29 April, 2015, 12:15:19 pm »
I love my Nook, and I can use it to borrow e-books from the local library as well as to buy books.
My feminist marxist dialectic brings all the boys to the yard.


Re: To Kobo or to Kindle?
« Reply #15 on: 29 April, 2015, 01:05:51 pm »
Check out bookbub which highlights books available free from Amazon which I managed to not put across and got the rather snidey remark about copyright. I write myself.

I just picked out two free books from Amazon via bookbub, and the other trick is to search Amazon Kindle store for £0.00. You might be pleasantly surprised. I just did and got three pages of results.

PH
Bees do nothing invariably.

tiermat

  • According to Jane, I'm a Unisex SpaceAdmin
Re: To Kobo or to Kindle?
« Reply #16 on: 29 April, 2015, 01:13:55 pm »
Check out bookbub which highlights books available free from Amazon which I managed to not put across and got the rather snidey remark about copyright. I write myself.

PH

If that was in relation to my remark, it wasn't meant as snidey, it was meant as an observation of modern life that there are those honest people who care about the fact that, if they pay X for a book/CD/whatever then x (where x is a % of X) goes to the creator of that work, and there are those who will, quiet happily, remove the food from the mouths of the authors/song writers/whatever by either running sites where such items can be downloaded for free or are the users of such sites.
I feel like Captain Kirk, on a brand new planet every day, a little like King Kong on top of the Empire State

Re: To Kobo or to Kindle?
« Reply #17 on: 29 April, 2015, 02:23:45 pm »
I use Kindle, and also have a Kobo mini that WHS sold me for £24 for when I want something smaller (not often)
I also spent a fair while playing with Kobos in WHS before committing to Kindle.

The backlight is well worth the extra cost over non-lit models. Regardless of claims, an unlit screen is a fair bit greyer than paper, and you need better light to read on it comfortably than with a paper book. For example, most pubs are too dimly lit.

As far as the actual hardware is concerned, there isn't very much in it between equivalent models, for example a Kindle Paperwhite and a Kobo Aura. They are different, but you'd soon get used to whichever one you picked.
Where Kindle/Amazon score is in the website, which is very much easier to browse than the Kobo store (or Waterstones etc), and there are also the regular cheap offers that I've not found an equivalent to (eg Nicole Cooke's autobiog for £0.99).

I use Calibre to manage my eBooks on the PC, and I've got it set to strip off the DRM as I import the books from the Kindle, partly so I can read them on the Kobo mini if I want, and partly because I don't completely trust Amazon etc not to leave me with a load of unreadable books at some point in the future. I've not managed to do the same with books from the Kobo store (not that I've tried very hard).
Formats:
Kindle have their own format, and anything you buy for a Kindle will normally be in that format. The other widely used format is ePub, used by public libraries. UK public libraries are ePub only, pretty much. Calibre will change formats for you, but not if the DRM hasn't been stripped off, so if you want to get into borrowing eBooks from libraries, a Kobo may be better.

Re: To Kobo or to Kindle?
« Reply #18 on: 29 April, 2015, 03:31:53 pm »
the OH and I are both kindle users.

Mine is a basic one, wifi and touchscreen but no light (bought 2nd hand for no money when a colleague upgraded) battery lasts about a month of moderate to high use (at least 1hour per night) even when i forget to turn the wifi off... also charges in no time. only downside is the lack of a light. I have a clip-on-the-top job which is adequate but mainly just annoys me. The kindle must be knocking on 5 or 6 years old...

The OH has a kindle fire HD, which he uses for reading, for playing sudoku and for accessing tinterweb and so on. it will be a couple of years old now, but still great. The battery life isn't as long as on mine because it has a much higher demand, but it does charge quickly.

if I were to replace mine now I'd probably go for the kindle paperwhite. not that bothered about the tinterweb use option really as I've got a smart phone with a decent screen size.


Mr Larrington

  • A bit ov a lyv wyr by slof standirds
  • Custard Wallah
    • Mr Larrington's Automatic Diary
Re: To Kobo or to Kindle?
« Reply #19 on: 29 April, 2015, 04:47:33 pm »
Kindle screens, or some of them, can be a bit iffy.  I'm now on my fourth; all the previous ones have died of screen (though to be fair to #3 it also spent fourteen months under the sofa).  Mr Sunshine's second one has just died in similar fashion.  Things I wish it would do:
  • If repopulating, remember which collections you have put your books into.  This is a PITA, especially if your Kindle contains authors who have had the temerity to write more than one series for e.g. Val McDermid
  • Allow you to edit the title, or something, so that you can see immediately that Book X is Number 7 of The Continuing Adventures of Inspector Knacker without having to look up the sequence on the Internets.
If anyone knows how to do the latter I should be forever in your debt.
External Transparent Wall Inspection Operative & Mayor of Mortagne-au-Perche
Satisfying the Bloodlust of the Masses in Peacetime

Re: To Kobo or to Kindle?
« Reply #20 on: 29 April, 2015, 05:53:23 pm »
I use Calibre.
Copy the book into Calibre, delete it off the kindle, rename it, and put it back.

It's best to put the number fairly near the start because if the title is too long to fit the screen, the kindle doesn't seem to have any way of scrolling the title to the end.

The other thing that's worth spending extra on is the pukka Kindle cover, with the close fitting plastic back and the magnet that turns it on/off as you open it. No broken screen in 3 years. The more generic covers with elastic across the corner are significantly bulkier ans generally less satisfactory.

Mr Larrington

  • A bit ov a lyv wyr by slof standirds
  • Custard Wallah
    • Mr Larrington's Automatic Diary
Re: To Kobo or to Kindle?
« Reply #21 on: 30 April, 2015, 02:23:33 am »
I use Calibre.
Copy the book into Calibre, delete it off the kindle, rename it, and put it back.

It's best to put the number fairly near the start because if the title is too long to fit the screen, the kindle doesn't seem to have any way of scrolling the title to the end.

I think it may continue on the second line if you keep it selected long enough.  I also wish Calibre had some way of importing and exporting metadata like the massively useful mp3tag.  Unless it does and I just can't find it.

The other thing that's worth spending extra on is the pukka Kindle cover, with the close fitting plastic back and the magnet that turns it on/off as you open it. No broken screen in 3 years. The more generic covers with elastic across the corner are significantly bulkier ans generally less satisfactory.

The screens of my and Mr Sunshine's dead Kindles haven't been physically damaged from the outside, they've just stopped working properly.  Two of mine have died while in jacket pocketses.
External Transparent Wall Inspection Operative & Mayor of Mortagne-au-Perche
Satisfying the Bloodlust of the Masses in Peacetime

Piemaster

Re: To Kobo or to Kindle?
« Reply #22 on: 30 April, 2015, 04:07:18 am »
I seem to remember that failures of the first gen. Kindle (keyboard) were being attributed to the Amazon cover, in that the cover came with a light that was powered from the device via a couple of tabs that slotted into the right hand side of it. It was being blamed for causing internal shorts and killing th Kindle. I've never used one and had no problems with it, my daughter has same model with zero problems either.
I use a nice hessian looking one, the kindle slides into a slot from the top rather than the elastic corner affairs and never had any bother in several years of ownership and a lot of flying. Theres a handy small slot in the cover that the tickets and passport get carried in.

I use Calibre too, I've actually got more books than will fit on it at one time but don't usually keep more than 5-6 screens worth as it then starts getting to be a pain finding a book I fancy. Still regularly go looking on the link in my first post for books event then and there used to be a thread on an Amazon forum with regular posts (daily) of freebies. Some authors are quite clever with it, giving you part one of a trilogy for free, but if you want the rest...

Re: To Kobo or to Kindle?
« Reply #23 on: 30 April, 2015, 04:32:24 am »
The Kindle with paperwhite screen is great, the backlighting is excellent. I've got the leather case that snaps over the Kindle, it does an excellent job of protecting the Kindle. I had 3G on my first Kindle (first generation), and I don't miss it on my current Kindle. I can plan ahead for remote places, and the remote places that I get to usually don't have phone coverage or wi-fi. In a pinch I suppose I could download to my phone and sync later.

Basically, the Kindle is just as good as everybody here says.

Re: To Kobo or to Kindle?
« Reply #24 on: 30 April, 2015, 09:39:09 am »
I seem to remember that failures of the first gen. Kindle (keyboard) were being attributed to the Amazon cover, in that the cover came with a light that was powered from the device via a couple of tabs that slotted into the right hand side of it. It was being blamed for causing internal shorts and killing the Kindle.

Yes. That's what happened to mine. It wasn't just the covers with lights either. Amazon sent me a new redesigned cover (looked just the same but I guess they prong dimensions were slightly different), told me to chuck the old cover away and swapped out the Kindle.

Unless you want to borrow books from the library or want a really cheap reader then I don't think Amazon have any competition at present which is a shame.
I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that.