Kindle 3 vs Kobo

[aleccj1]

Hello everyone,

I have a Kindle 2i which I will be returning soon and I have preordered a Kindle 3 (3G + WiFi). However, I recently found out that my local public library has ebooks. The ability to get my ebooks for free from the library would be great, since I usually buy my books, finish them within a week, and never read them again. So, now I'm thinking about canceling my Kindle 3 preorder and going into my local Borders to purchase a Kobo. I used to have the nook, but I could only squeeze about 4 days out of the battery with airplane mode on and minimal use of the touchscreen. So I returned that in favor of the Kindle's battery life. But now the Kobo seems to fit my needs perfectly. The only real advantage that I see the Kindle having over the Kobo is the new Pearl screen. I really could do without connectivity if all I'm going to do is get my ebooks from the library off of my computer.

What do you guys think I should do?

[dmacmart]

I have a Kobo, and yes it is great for library books. And the Kobo store has a good selection (of current books). But check the availability in your library of books you like.

Our library has many books I'd like to read but (for example) I am 17th on the waiting list for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. They have 10 copies, but each can be checked out for 3 weeks plus 4 days for the person to get the email and download it. And I'm sure many people don't even know you can return a book when you're done with it (in ePub format). So I will be waiting a while or coughing up the $7.99 plus HST that Kobo wants for it.

But I now have 10 unread books that I've borrowed from the library, bought, or downloaded for free (or near-free) so I'm not in dire straits yet!

I would guess that the price of the Kobo has to come down from $149 so you might want to wait a few weeks if that is your choice. (apparently it is $128 in Walmart in Canada; haven't seen it myself)

[aleccj1]

Originally Posted by dmacmart

I have a Kobo, and yes it is great for library books. And the Kobo store has a good selection (of current books). But check the availability in your library of books you like.

Our library has many books I'd like to read but (for example) I am 17th on the waiting list for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. They have 10 copies, but each can be checked out for 3 weeks plus 4 days for the person to get the email and download it. And I'm sure many people don't even know you can return a book when you're done with it (in ePub format). So I will be waiting a while or coughing up the $7.99 plus HST that Kobo wants for it.

But I now have 10 unread books that I've borrowed from the library, bought, or downloaded for free (or near-free) so I'm not in dire straits yet!

I would guess that the price of the Kobo has to come down from $149 so you might want to wait a few weeks if that is your choice. (apparently it is $128 in Walmart in Canada; haven't seen it myself)

I don't think that many people borrow the ebooks in my library. It's a fairly small town, and I wouldn't be surprised if I was the only person in it that has an ereader.

If I buy the Kobo now and it comes down in price later, it wouldn't be that big of a deal for me.

I've heard people say that the Kobo is a bit sluggish. I tried it out in my local Borders and it didn't seem so. Maybe a bit slower than my Kindle, but not a problem. How's yours, performance wise? Do you have firmware v. 1.4, and did it change anything for you?

[dmacmart]

Originally Posted by aleccj1

I've heard people say that the Kobo is a bit sluggish. I tried it out in my local Borders and it didn't seem so. Maybe a bit slower than my Kindle, but not a problem. How's yours, performance wise? Do you have firmware v. 1.4, and did it change anything for you?

I've never used any other eReaders, so the performance is fine for me! If the page turns are a little slow, you get used to hitting the "next page" button about 1/2 a second before you finish reading the current page so it's not a problem. The only difference I noticed with the upgrade was the sleep/auto off.

It took me a while to figure out the paradigm for loading books to it:
1) Kobo books -
* search & buy books from website (watch for cheap and free books; "Top 50 books" is a good place, plus the MR forum)
* use desktop app to "Update library" to copy to your computer
* connect your Kobo and "Sync" to copy to your Kobo

2) Library books - use Adobe Digital Editions to download to your computer. Drag and drop to the Kobo device in ADE. If they are ePub, they show up in Books. If they are PDF they show up in Documents. My very first book was a library PDF and I was frustrated trying to find it!!!

3) PDFs - you can just use Windows Explorer to drag PDFs to your Kobo. They show up in Documents instead of Books.

Good luck!

[aleccj1]

Originally Posted by dmacmart

I've never used any other eReaders, so the performance is fine for me! If the page turns are a little slow, you get used to hitting the "next page" button about 1/2 a second before you finish reading the current page so it's not a problem. The only difference I noticed with the upgrade was the sleep/auto off.

It took me a while to figure out the paradigm for loading books to it:
1) Kobo books -
* search & buy books from website (watch for cheap and free books; "Top 50 books" is a good place, plus the MR forum)
* use desktop app to "Update library" to copy to your computer
* connect your Kobo and "Sync" to copy to your Kobo

2) Library books - use Adobe Digital Editions to download to your computer. Drag and drop to the Kobo device in ADE. If they are ePub, they show up in Books. If they are PDF they show up in Documents. My very first book was a library PDF and I was frustrated trying to find it!!!

3) PDFs - you can just use Windows Explorer to drag PDFs to your Kobo. They show up in Documents instead of Books.

Good luck!

Thanks for all your help!

Does anyone know if the Pearl screen will make a big difference (i.e. vs the Kobo screen)?

[aleccj1]

Also, if I end up getting the Kobo, should I get it in black or white? I heard that the black one looked/felt cheap. I'm not even sure if the black one is available in the US.

[aleccj1]

This is ridiculous. Is anyone going to reply!?

[dmacmart]

Black vs white? It's a personal preference. I like my white one - the turquoise with a touch of pink highlights - but it might not suit a male user? But I haven't seen a black one.

[Noah98]

Originally Posted by aleccj1

Thanks for all your help!

Does anyone know if the Pearl screen will make a big difference (i.e. vs the Kobo screen)?

Considering that the Kobo lacks the clarity and contrast of the current ereaders, the pearl screen should be significantly better.

[clintbradford]

>> ... Considering that the Kobo lacks the clarity and contrast of the current ereaders, the pearl screen should be significantly better ...

I do not know where this nonsense started. But I own a Kobo. And I could not ask for a crisper, sharp font than the built-in sans serif. There's no "clarity" not "contrast" issue with the Kobo. There might be a difference on paper spec sheets - but for enjoyable reading? There's nothing "lacking" in a Kobo's contrast nor clarity.

SOURCE: I own a Kobo, Kindle2, and have played with Nooks.

[rblover]

I tried to find out about Kobo. From what I was able to access, it seems to be a service rather than a device...a service which can work on any device. I tried to find out about a device, but the site wouldn't show me anything. Then, I tried to open their "why choose Kobo?" video, and it wouldn't load. If they can't even load their own video, how are they going to load anyone else's books?

[aleccj1]

Thanks for the reply's. Sorry for my post before, I was a bit impatient!

So, I bought my Kobo last night at Borders. I read for an hour before going to bed, and my impressions so far are pretty good. I really like the built in fonts. They are really nice and clear. I prefer the Serif font. Page turns seem a bit slower than my Kindle, but it's not a big deal. Overall, a nice device. I really like the quilted back. Good job Kobo team!

I'm deciding to keep the preordered Kindle 3. I'll use the Kobo for library books primarily.

Thanks for all your help!

[Noah98]

Originally Posted by clintbradford

>> ... Considering that the Kobo lacks the clarity and contrast of the current ereaders, the pearl screen should be significantly better ...

I do not know where this nonsense started. But I own a Kobo. And I could not ask for a crisper, sharp font than the built-in sans serif. There's no "clarity" not "contrast" issue with the Kobo. There might be a difference on paper spec sheets - but for enjoyable reading? There's nothing "lacking" in a Kobo's contrast nor clarity.

SOURCE: I own a Kobo, Kindle2, and have played with Nooks.

As I've mentioned to you before Clint, this "nonsense" started when professional reviewers who have nothing to gain started reviewing the Kobo. I even gave you the example of CNET.com (widely respected) who in their written and video review mentioned this. Also, if you read some of the posts by forum members who actually bought and like the Kobo, they admit that the screen was not as nice as the nook, Sony PRS-300, and Kindle. When I compared the devices (I actually considered buying a Kobo) I could see the difference. Why would people lie? The brick and mortar Borders bookstores is actually my favorite when compared with Barnes and Noble and Books-a-million!

Please don't be stubborn. I am positive that the screen on the Kindle 3 (pearl) is going to be much nicer than the screen on my nook. That's just the way technology works. If you enjoy the Kobo and want it to "live long," great! But don't deny the flaws as vehemently as you champion the advantages.

[kingduct]

I actually bought a Kobo just a couple of days before the Kindle 3 was announced and I returned the Kobo and pre-ordered the Kindle. I think the Kobo is a good product, but a few things started nagging at me:
1) My right thumb got sore because the button was stiff and there was no way to change pages with the left thumb.
2) While very light, the button was located in the corner of the device, making it hard to actually hold in one hand (I have small hands).
3) Battery life, according to the battery indicator, seemed worse than expected.
4) The screen was fine, but I was able to appreciate how a slightly better screen would be nice in lower light situations. (I never directly compared the screen to a Nook or Kindle, but I did compare to a Sony 300 and felt they were similar in readability. The new Kindle should be better, though how much better is still unknown.)
5) I am a Linux user and it turned out that there is no straightforward way to get library books if you use Linux. This isn't Kobo's fault, but it meant that one of the strengths of the Kobo vs the Kindle was taken away.

I liked the Kobo, but when the new Kindle was announced and was almost as light as the Kobo and had better battery life, as well as hopefully being better on the ergonomics front, I changed my mind. In your case, it sounds like having both makes sense, since you really want to use the library feature a lot.

I should note that my Kobo came from a Borders store and they gave me a hard time about returning it (they said they didn't take electronics returns). The manager was nice and they eventually took it back, but it was stressful for me.

[clintbradford]

>> ... professional reviewers ... CNet is god ... screen not as nice as others ...
>> ... But don't deny the flaws ...

This is where we're different. I have personally compared - all at the same time, a Nook, a Kindle2, and a Kobo. I doubt that anyone who actually did this for themselves would say that the display quality of either was seriously "flawed" - for reading books.

You are blindly quoting your references when you post " ... the Kobo lacks the clarity and contrast of the current ereaders ... " You would gain more respect - in my mind - if you were to frame such a statement with, "I read a cNet review stating that the Kobo lacks ... " - Otherwise you're misrepresenting yourself as one who has actually compared the units.

Just my opinion, of course. And I have been wrong - twice - here in the past.