Kindle Paperwhite 2 or Kobo Aura

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by soulfuldog

Yes you are correct that the internal/on-board flash memory or storage is 4GB on the Aura, and can be increased to 32GB with an SD Card. The PW only has 2GB and as it doesn't have an SD Card, you have to rely on cloud storage on Amazon's servers as their answer to extended storage space.

Although it's not officially stated, many PW2s are now shipping with 4GB storage space rather than 2GB.

[the.Mtn.Man]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

Actually, that is not the case. You can not read a book from Barnes and Noble on a Kobo without stripping the DRM.

Other sources not including Barnes and Noble, obviously.

[the.Mtn.Man]

Originally Posted by kristalana

I strip the drm from my Amazon books too, so I'm not jumping through any extra hoops doing so with books from other stores.

I think you're being deliberately obtuse. It's a fact that Kobo allows you to buy and read books from other vendors without having to remove DRM. Whether or not you choose to jump through that hoop as a matter of habit is entirely irrelevant.

I will also note that I'm not a big fan of unofficial work-arounds because it's too easy for a manufacturer to close whatever loophole is being used to make the work-around possible, and they are completely within their right to do so.

[soulfuldog]

What is the big plus of being able to buy from other vendors, when for many people, you can have one vendor that sells everything at either a competitive or cheaper price than all the other vendors? If I were to get rid of my Kindle and only buy .epubs for my Sony, I'd be 'locking' myself out of the biggest and best ebook store just so I can say I have more options? That seems deliberately obtuse to me?!

I do look to shop at places other than Amazon, but can't find anywhere that is as easy to browse & search for books and check out reviews of them, and very rarely are they any cheaper. So why would having an epub ereader be a benefit to me, just because I can buy from more vendors than Amazon, Smashwords, Baen and other smalller places that also sell .mobi books?

I've probably only ever bought 10 books in .epub format (and most of them came from the now defunct BooksonBoard), because Amazon generally offers a better deal.

[shalym]

Originally Posted by the.Mtn.Man

I think you're being deliberately obtuse. It's a fact that Kobo allows you to buy and read books from other vendors without having to remove DRM. Whether or not you choose to jump through that hoop as a matter of habit is entirely irrelevant.

The Kindle also allows you to buy books from other vendors without having to remove DRM--I buy books from Baen all the time, and I know that you can get books for Kindle from AllRomance and OmniLit, too, as well as Smashwords. There are probably other places to get them that I don't know about.

Shari

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by shalym

The Kindle also allows you to buy books from other vendors without having to remove DRM--I buy books from Baen all the time, and I know that you can get books for Kindle from AllRomance and OmniLit, too, as well as Smashwords. There are probably other places to get them that I don't know about.

That is because they don't have DRM on their books. Neither Baen or Smashwords use DRM. I don't think I've looked at AllRomance or OmniLit, but my guess is they don't either.

[shalym]

Originally Posted by davidfor

That is because they don't have DRM on their books. Neither Baen or Smashwords use DRM. I don't think I've looked at AllRomance or OmniLit, but my guess is they don't either.

Agreed...and this has nothing to do with the original point, which was that it is easier to get books from other stores onto a Kobo than it is a Kindle because you can buy from anywhere in epub format, but not in Kindle format. I was refuting that point. It's actually easier, because for a Kindle, you don't have to connect the device to the computer, or try to navigate dropbox (or some other 3rd party cloud service) through the browser. You can just send the books either directly to the device, or to Amazon's cloud (or both at the same time, actually) using email or the Send To Kindle app. Most stores will allow you to send to your device directly from the store.

So yes...it may be true that books with DRM can't be bought from anywhere but Amazon for the Kindle, but it's also true that books with DRM tend to be more expensive everywhere else but Amazon, at least in the US. I gather that's not necessarily the case in other countries.

Shari

[davidfor]

Sorry, there is no way I would have gotten that meaning from what you said. As you said "without having to remove DRM", that seemed to imply you were sending books with DRM from other stores to the Kindle. The post you quoted and the discussion leading to it was talking about books with DRM. The argument was that there are more sources for DRM protected books that the Kobo can read than there are for the Kindle. As far as I know, Amazon is the only one place to buy DRM protected books that can be read unchanged on a Kindle.

As to how easy it is to get a book onto the devices, I don't know if I agree. Getting a DRM free book from a PC to a Kindle via email sounds easy. But, it needs a working internet connection, an email client, an accessible mail server and a WiFi connection for the Kindle. To do the same for the Kobo just needs a USB cable. And no extra software is needed, just copy the file using the OS.

As to price, so far I think I have bought about 10% of my books from Amazon. Most of the rest come from Kobo. Most of those were cheaper from Kobo. The few that weren't were so close that the convenience of buying from Kobo (syncing and epub version) made up for it. Yes, I do use Kobo promotion codes, but that's part of finding the lowest price option for the books I want.

[Yapyap]

Originally Posted by davidfor

As to how easy it is to get a book onto the devices, I don't know if I agree. Getting a DRM free book from a PC to a Kindle via email sounds easy. But, it needs a working internet connection, an email client, an accessible mail server and a WiFi connection for the Kindle. To do the same for the Kobo just needs a USB cable. And no extra software is needed, just copy the file using the OS.

You can sideload very easily via USB cable to a Kindle as well - just drag and drop or copy and paste the files to the Kindle's Documents folder. (Or send them through Calibre. Whatever one's preference, it'll work.)

The only thing is that if you sideload through USB, the ebooks will only go onto the Kindle, not to Amazon's cloud, and thus cannot be synced between devices. If you use the email feature or Send to Kindle, you can also keep them in the cloud (with Send to Kindle, this is optional - you can choose whether you want that or not) and sync between several Kindle devices or apps.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by davidfor

As to how easy it is to get a book onto the devices, I don't know if I agree. Getting a DRM free book from a PC to a Kindle via email sounds easy. But, it needs a working internet connection, an email client, an accessible mail server and a WiFi connection for the Kindle. To do the same for the Kobo just needs a USB cable. And no extra software is needed, just copy the file using the OS.

Given the fact that you can do precisely the same thing on a Kindle (copy the file from a PC using a USB connection), I'm honestly not sure what point you're making, I'm afraid. Can you elaborate a little?

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by Yapyap

You can sideload very easily via USB cable to a Kindle as well - just drag and drop or copy and paste the files to the Kindle's Documents folder. (Or send them through Calibre. Whatever one's preference, it'll work.)

The only thing is that if you sideload through USB, the ebooks will only go onto the Kindle, not to Amazon's cloud, and thus cannot be synced between devices. If you use the email feature or Send to Kindle, you can also keep them in the cloud (with Send to Kindle, this is optional - you can choose whether you want that or not) and sync between several Kindle devices or apps.

Originally Posted by HarryT

Given the fact that you can do precisely the same thing on a Kindle (copy the file from a PC using a USB connection), I'm honestly not sure what point you're making, I'm afraid. Can you elaborate a little?

Sorry, I was commenting on shaylm's claim that it was easier to get a book to a Kindle via email than to a Kobo or similar device. Whether it is easier or not, it needs more infrastructure which isn't always available.

[Yapyap]

Originally Posted by davidfor

Sorry, I was commenting on shaylm's claim that it was easier to get a book to a Kindle via email than to a Kobo or similar device. Whether it is easier or not, it needs more infrastructure which isn't always available.

But as it's an extra option - one that is very easy to use when it is available - in addition to sideloading via USB cable, that hardly makes the Kindle a worse choice than a Kobo as far as the ease of getting books on the device goes.

In other words, if no wireless transfer methods are available, the Kindle and Kobo are exactly equal in how easy it is to get a book onto the device. If a wireless connection is available, the Kindle offers even easier additional options.

[Josieb1]

I have four ereaders, all lighted, a PW1, 2, a Nook Glow and a Kobo Aura. I buy my books from Independant publishers, all DRM free and in most cases I get an ePub as well as a mobi file. I actually use my PW2 as my main ereader as it's less hassle to email my books direct from the publisher to Amazon than it is to turn on my laptop download and transfer by USB books to my kobo and Nook.

I mostly use an ipad during the week so my laptop is only on at weekends.

[the.Mtn.Man]

Originally Posted by soulfuldog

What is the big plus of being able to buy from other vendors, when for many people, you can have one vendor that sells everything at either a competitive or cheaper price than all the other vendors?

Because Amazon doesn't always offer the lowest or most competitive price, and they have, on occasion, tried to strong-arm authors and publishers by selling their books at much higher prices than competitors. Besides, fostering healthy competition is a good thing for consumers.

At any rate, I originally said, "In my opinion, the only reason to go with Kindle is if you really like the idea of getting all of your books from Amazon." You apparently fall into that category, so for you, a Kindle makes the most sense, but not everybody shares your opinion.

[Josieb1]

Originally Posted by the.Mtn.Man

At any rate, I originally said, "In my opinion, the only reason to go with Kindle is if you really like the idea of getting all of your books from Amazon." You apparently fall into that category, so for you, a Kindle makes the most sense, but not everybody shares your opinion.

I certainly don't share your opinion either. I rarely buy Amazon books yet I read primarily on a Kindle. I've tried Kobo and Nook but neither company has the infrastructure in place to beat Amazon.