Kindle Paperwhite 2 or Kobo Aura

[soulfuldog]

Originally Posted by llcj

Regarding margins, do all the Kindle owners use a hack to deal with the large, x-large, and xx-large left, right margins on their devices. These margins have got to waste as much if not more space than top and bottom margins on a Kobo device.

Where is this large wasted space in the left/right margins that you are talking about?

The third photo in the following post in the Kobo Aura first impressions thread shows a Kobo Aura and a Kindle Paperwhite 2 together, so I can't see what you are meaning?

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...6&postcount=85

[aceflor]

Originally Posted by l_macd

Where is this large wasted space in the left/right margins that you are talking about?

The third photo in the following post in the Kobo Aura first impressions thread shows a Kobo Aura and a Kindle Paperwhite 2 together, so I can't see what you are meaning?

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...6&postcount=85

you are right..where is the left/right margin difference ?

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by l_macd

Where is this large wasted space in the left/right margins that you are talking about?

The third photo in the following post in the Kobo Aura first impressions thread shows a Kobo Aura and a Kindle Paperwhite 2 together, so I can't see what you are meaning?

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...6&postcount=85

That picture is not a good comparison,for the simple reason that the margin shown on that Kobo Aura is adjustable, whereas the one on the Kindle is not.

[soulfuldog]

booklover6 I wasn't using that photo as a comparison, just as an example to ask where the large wasted space is in the Kindle?

Incidentally, although the options are limited I can adjust the margins on my old Kindle so I assume you can do the same with the PW? I am pretty sure that photo shows the PW at it's default setting so it can't get any smaller margin than that, but you can make it bigger. I expect the Aura is possibly set at its default too, but can be customised a lot more, as one of the plus points of the Kobo is its customisation options.

[booklover6]

Oh, sorry.

Yes that shows the kindle margins as narrow as they get. There are two other settings, which are ridiculous. Maybe someday Amazon will get a clue and make them more realistic? Do any of the programmers actually read on Kindles?

[Canuck_in_Japan]

Originally Posted by aceflor

You cannot compare the side margin size on the PW to the top and bottom margin on the unpatched Aura HD. It is like comparing a cherry with a pineapple, sizewise.



I don't want to unpatch my Aura HD to show you what I mean, but I'll try to find a pic to give you an idea.

Edit : there you go. Why buy a 6.8" ????

This is what my Aura HD looks like. Clearly there is no huge margin at the top of the page. No huge margins on the sides either. I'm not sure what you mean by patched but I'm using 2.10. If you can't be bothered to update your reader then that's your problem.

[aceflor]

Originally Posted by Canuck_in_Japan

This is what my Aura HD looks like. Clearly there is no huge margin at the top of the page. No huge margins on the sides either. I'm not sure what you mean by patched but I'm using 2.10. If you can't be bothered to update your reader then that's your problem.
Attachment 114840

I am not the one who brought the side margins, I find them Ok on both device. You obviously did not understand my comment, but whatever...

I am the one who is not happy with the bottom margin on the Aura Hd, when it is unpatched. 2.9.0 or 2.10.0 being the same, btw. I am not going to update to 2.10.0 because 1. no patch 2. I don't use the device that much anymore anyway.

To go back on topic, I use one or the other of my kindles every day. I love my PW2, I still love my PW1, and the K4NT is a great device for the price ! They never disappointed me, they never let me down in combination with calibre, they never ever froze on me (and I don't count anymore how often my mini froze on me after two months of use), I love the Readability, Instapaper and so on (there are many apps, with Kindle I am not limited to Pocket) syncing possibilities, I love how easy I can sync a personal document on air, I adore the fact that I can access my notes on my PC very quickly and modify them as I want (I use Evernote but any note or txt program will do ). You find lots and lots of great accessories very easily, almost anywhere. Even my local supermarket has started selling covers !

I wanted to donate the Aura HD to my local library, but they could not be bothered. They have kindles.

[soulfuldog]

Originally Posted by booklover6

Yes that shows the kindle margins as narrow as they get. There are two other settings, which are ridiculous. Maybe someday Amazon will get a clue and make them more realistic? Do any of the programmers actually read on Kindles?

I know, I tried altering the margins and thought, why on earth would anyone have any use for these settings, it looks bizarre at anything other than the default. Maybe it works better with large fonts or something..... can't see any valid reason for it otherwise.

[llcj]

To me, that is a large left-right margin on the Kindle and I prefer a smaller one.

I guess my point is that while some find the top-bottom margins a problem, others such as myself find left-right margins an issue.

I realise that people get very defensive about their chosen device and in hind sight, I should not have posted my original comments. For this, I apologise.

[llcj]

Originally Posted by aceflor

I am not the one who brought the side margins, I find them Ok on both device. You obviously did not understand my comment, but whatever...

I am the one who is not happy with the bottom margin on the Aura Hd, when it is unpatched. 2.9.0 or 2.10.0 being the same, btw. I am not going to update to 2.10.0 because 1. no patch 2. I don't use the device that much anymore anyway.

To go back on topic, I use one or the other of my kindles every day. I love my PW2, I still love my PW1, and the K4NT is a great device for the price ! They never disappointed me, they never let me down in combination with calibre, they never ever froze on me (and I don't count anymore how often my mini froze on me after two months of use), I love the Readability, Instapaper and so on (there are many apps, with Kindle I am not limited to Pocket) syncing possibilities, I love how easy I can sync a personal document on air, I adore the fact that I can access my notes on my PC very quickly and modify them as I want (I use Evernote but any note or txt program will do ). You find lots and lots of great accessories very easily, almost anywhere. Even my local supermarket has started selling covers !

I wanted to donate the Aura HD to my local library, but they could not be bothered. They have kindles.

I am glad you are happy with your device. I am very happy with mine and have had no problems with them (e.g. freezes, etc.) I have no need for something such as Evernote as I use my devices purely for recreational reading. I have stated elsewhere that if I needed a device for proofreading and editing, I would be less satisfied.

If your local library has Kindle devices does your local library loan Kindle formatted ebooks? I thought that was only available in the US.

On a final note, let's call a truce and drop the subject as I think you and I will never agree on this subject.

[aceflor]

Originally Posted by llcj

I am glad you are happy with your device. I am very happy with mine and have had no problems with them (e.g. freezes, etc.) I have no need for something such as Evernote as I use my devices purely for recreational reading. I have stated elsewhere that if I needed a device for proofreading and editing, I would be less satisfied.

If your local library has Kindle devices does your local library loan Kindle formatted ebooks? I thought that was only available in the US.

On a final note, let's call a truce and drop the subject as I think you and I will never agree on this subject.

There never was a war between you and me . I am glad to hear you are happy with your Kobo.

I don't edit the books I am reading, but I need to edit my notes on them (I hope that makes sense). I have only started needing this function since September, before that, in the last few years, I have been only reading for leisure.

The Kindle devices used my library are only used for their senior book club, and as far as I understand have classics on them that are copyrights free. I live in Andalusia, where sadly budget for culture is not a priority in many towns. The Kindles our library owns have been donated by a charity.

[soulfuldog]

Originally Posted by llcj

To me, that is a large left-right margin on the Kindle and I prefer a smaller one.

I guess my point is that while some find the top-bottom margins a problem, others such as myself find left-right margins an issue.

I realise that people get very defensive about their chosen device and in hind sight, I should not have posted my original comments. For this, I apologise.

Don't think you need to apologise for expressing your opinion. I just wondered if maybe you'd only seen a Kindle that was set to show a large margin and weren't aware that wasn't the default.

However, I'm still at a loss as to what you are seeing? Looks to me like you could maybe fit another word per line if the margins were made slightly smaller! Fair enough you might prefer a narrower margin, but its certainly far from being a large wasted space that "waste as much if not more space than top and bottom margins on a Kobo device", no?

Incidentally, Canuck_in_Japan's picture does show that there can be improvements to the wasted space at the top of the Kobo, I prefer not to have to make any changes to books or the ereader itself to get the required customisation - which was what drew me to considering the Aura over the PW in the first place, customisation out of the box is far better with the Aura.... it's just other issues that are edging me to the PW.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by STIPPPOX

Kobo- better build quality, better tehn specs (1Gb vs 256 Mb RAM), better form factor and light for night reading , faster pdf rendering, card slot, more fonts.

Kindle-new gen e-ink display and better contrast for naked eye on the videos, many useful options especially for pdfs, more text on the display with the smallest font (smaller margins, spacing and borders)

I only have Kobo Aura HD, so maybe I'm wrong about Kobo Aura.
But, at least for Kobo Aura HD, I certainly wouldn't speak of better build quality.

If I compare Kobo Aura HD and Paperwhite 2:
a.) Many favor the feature, being able to turn off the light on Kobo. For me, it's exactly the opposite: When turning on Kobo again, I always have to turn on the light again. May not seem a biggy. But I explicitly and solely bought it because of the light. I want to have it on all the time. And I'm mainly reading at night on it. Then I really have to fumble around, to find the switch.
b.) In addition to a.) boot time on Kobo is way longer. In the dark, I'm sometimes not even sure whether it's booting already or still off. Paperwhite is almost instantly on, maybe in 8 seconds or so.
c.) I haven't seen Kobo Aura. But Kobo Aura HD, to me, is way less elegant and stylish than Paperwhite. Kobo Aura HD to me has the appeal of a digital watch from Eastern Germany circa 1985. It's robust, but somehow lacks elegance.
d.) I didn't experiment with my Kobo, so maybe I missed something. But so far, I haven't been able to add dictionaries. Paperwhite automatically finds the dictionaries I bought years ago. I haven't seen such a feature on Kobo, but maybe I missed it (and didn't really look for it, on Paperwhite it simply came up on its own).
f.) Re. display quality I see no difference. Quite frankly, I didn't bother to compare. Both, to me, are simply flawless.
g.) Just a matter of taste. But I find, the "rubberized" back of Paperwhite a bit more pleasant to hold than the smooth back of Kobo Aura HD.
h.) I find 2GB on Paperwhite a bit tight. I can't download all my books, although the circa 850 that fit into the storage normally should be enough. But I'm no fan of the SD slot on Kobo either. I didn't find any way to manage the storage. It appears, the internal storage simply gets filled and after that all goes to the SD card. I'd wish for some way to manually intervene. For example, huge files such as comics on the SD card, but text books internally.

Meaning:
To me, Kobo Aura HD, clearly ranks behind Paperwhite 2.
I don't regret, having bought it, given my >300 Kobo books.
But when I'm free to choose, I take my Paperwhite 2.

[Canuck_in_Japan]

Nice review mgmueller. I can't disagree with very much of what you have said but I do have to say that regarding style, both are a wash in my opinion. The only real reader with any style is the Kobo Aura. The Aura HD does have a slippery back that I don't like and is a fingerprint magnet. As for boot up time, I would have no idea as my reader is never off. I just flick the switch at the top and it's ready to go. Same with the light-whenever I put the reader to sleep the light automatically comes on when I turn it on again. However when it falls asleep by itself it doesn't turn back on which is kind of an annoyance.

[John F]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

...
h.) I find 2GB on Paperwhite a bit tight. I can't download all my books, although the circa 850 that fit into the storage normally should be enough. But I'm no fan of the SD slot on Kobo either. I didn't find any way to manage the storage. It appears, the internal storage simply gets filled and after that all goes to the SD card. I'd wish for some way to manually intervene. For example, huge files such as comics on the SD card, but text books internally.

...

Doesn't the Kobo HD have 4GB of built-in storage? So isn't this a plus in the Kobo column?