Kindle PW2 or Kobo Aura for me?

[maaikelike]

I'd like your recommendation.. This will be my first eReader.
I'm going to carry it with me every day and i want it to be small and thin, i don't feel like cases or sleeves for it unless the thing is much better.

I summed up some pros/cons for me.

Kobo
PROS

• Small
• Thin
• Great screen quality
• Pocket (read later online articles)
• Supports ePub
• Supports different Fonts
• Refreshes pages every 100 pages
• Card slot
• Better light for night reading?

CONS

• Screen scratches fast (needs a case, i dont like that)

Kindle
PROS

• Small
• Very famous (so there must be something great!)
• Supports Doc
• Supports PDF and making notes in it
  

CONS

• Doesn't support ePub
• Has no Pocket (online articles read later like Kobo)
• Refreshes more than Kobo, annoying?

[maaikelike]

Any thoughts?

[aceflor]

Originally Posted by maaikelike

Any thoughts?

Well, did you read the threads in this same sub-section with pretty much the same question ? Because maybe we are a tad fed up of having the same question posted here over and over and over... ?
Those threads are full of answers. I would suggest you read them, and ask the questions you still have that have NOT been answered previously. Because your pros and cons have all been mentioned in those threads already, and our recommendations on the basis of those pros and cons have already been made too, with some of us tending for the Kindle and some others tending for the Kobo.

Sincerely, you could also have just written a new post in one of those threads, no need for a another "yet again PW2 or Aura" thread.

[soulfuldog]

There is already a thread discussing these two: Paperwhite 2 or Kobo Aura

Both have reduce the need for page refreshes. Kobo promotes it as low-flash waveform, and it is a feature of the newer e-ink carta display the Kindle uses. I don't know if one is better than the other?

AFAIK, the Pocket integration of the Kobo is just an answer to the send to Kindle feature that Amazon have always had (you can save articles and email them to your Kindle's email address and they'll appear on your Kindle).

Apart from the Kobo's screen being flush, I don't see that it will be any more likely to get scratched than the screen on the Paperwhite.

If you are going to carry your ereader with you every day, some kind of cover to protect it is absolutely necessary. Even if you want to keep it in a case while you are actually using it, I'd strongly advise getting one to put it in while you are carrying it - that is actually when it is most likely to get damaged.

Those apart, I agree that the font customisation is far better on the Aura, and obviously if you want epub, it wins on that too. It's also smaller and lighter, so has a lot going for it.

On the other hand, in terms of screen quality and the quality of the light, I think the PW edges the Aura in both (see my post here with a photo), but to be fair, it's possibly pretty minimal.

The only other point to consider is customer service. Amazon are by a very long distance much better if you have any problems, Kobo's customer service seems a bit lacking.

So..... unfortunately that probably doesn't do an awful lot to help you choose between the two! Personally I'm edging towards the PW because I value Amazon's customer service, but it's a really difficult decision, as the size, weight and font customisation of the Kobo is quite attractive to me.

Good luck deciding!

[robko]

Originally Posted by l_macd

AFAIK, the Pocket integration of the Kobo is just an answer to the send to Kindle feature that Amazon have always had (you can save articles and email them to your Kindle's email address and they'll appear on your Kindle).

Not sure the two are exactly analogous. With Pocket, I hit a button in my web browser and it "saves" the article. It will then automatically show up on my Kobo after the next sync (don't need to save or e-mail it). The articles stay in Pocket and are available and manageable (deletable) from both the browser or the Kobo.

Other than that I think you covered the comparisons well.

[Canuck_in_Japan]

Originally Posted by robko

Not sure the two are exactly analogous. With Pocket, I hit a button in my web browser and it "saves" the article. It will then automatically show up on my Kobo after the next sync (don't need to save or e-mail it). The articles stay in Pocket and are available and manageable (deletable) from both the browser or the Kobo.

Other than that I think you covered the comparisons well.

I don't have a Kindle to compare but it seems like Pocket is far more straightforward. I'd hate to have to go through the hassle of emailing myself articles whenever I wanted to save one. Hitting a button on my browser or smartphone is far easier.

Also OP, where are you getting the idea that Kobo devices scratch easily? I haven't heard that. I've had an Aura HD since April without a cover and it doesn't have a single scratch on the screen.

[aceflor]

Originally Posted by robko

Not sure the two are exactly analogous. With Pocket, I hit a button in my web browser and it "saves" the article. It will then automatically show up on my Kobo after the next sync (don't need to save or e-mail it). The articles stay in Pocket and are available and manageable (deletable) from both the browser or the Kobo.

Other than that I think you covered the comparisons well.

The "Send to Kindle" browser app does the same, it send the articles to the devices you want (if you have more than one kindle) and to the Kindle Cloud. To paraphrase you : With Send to Kindle, I hit a button in my web browser and it "saves" the article. It will then automatically and almost immediately show up on my Kindle , the sync is done instantaneously.

I don't have a Kindle to compare but it seems like Pocket is far more straightforward. I'd hate to have to go through the hassle of emailing myself articles whenever I wanted to save one. Hitting a button on my browser or smartphone is far easier.

This impression of the Send to Kindle is just wrong. I don't have to email myself anything !!!! Send to Kindle uses the Kindle email system to work, but that is all happening without me having to send any email. I just push the "Send to Kindle" button integrated in my browser.

I have a kindle PW as well as a kobo Aura HD to compare. I had, as I am sure Canuck is aware of, upgraded my kobo to 2.9.0 in order to have the Pocket integration. But after a week of using both, my kobo and my kindle, I saw no difference between using the Pocket integration on the Aura and the Send to Kindle integration on the kindle. I personally prefer by far my Kindle for many reasons, all listed in the Pro's in the first post, but both devices are good and it's a question of personal taste in the end.

[llcj]

Just wanted to add that because in many ways it is a matter of personal taste, it is really useful to see the devices in person. Often the little things you don't notice until you actually use a device become important. I, for one, intended to buy one particular device based on information I had gathered but ended up buying a different device after hands on experience.

[Canuck_in_Japan]

Originally Posted by aceflor

The "Send to Kindle" browser app does the same, it send the articles to the devices you want (if you have more than one kindle) and to the Kindle Cloud. To paraphrase you : With Send to Kindle, I hit a button in my web browser and it "saves" the article. It will then automatically and almost immediately show up on my Kindle , the sync is done instantaneously.

This impression of the Send to Kindle is just wrong. I don't have to email myself anything !!!! Send to Kindle uses the Kindle email system to work, but that is all happening without me having to send any email. I just push the "Send to Kindle" button integrated in my browser.

I have a kindle PW as well as a kobo Aura HD to compare. I had, as I am sure Canuck is aware of, upgraded my kobo to 2.9.0 in order to have the Pocket integration. But after a week of using both, my kobo and my kindle, I saw no difference between using the Pocket integration on the Aura and the Send to Kindle integration on the kindle. I personally prefer by far my Kindle for many reasons, all listed in the Pro's in the first post, but both devices are good and it's a question of personal taste in the end.

Ahh I see I got the impression from a previous post that you needed to email to your Kindle. I suppose that makes them basically the same then. Although with pocket I can read my articles on pretty much any device. Is the same also true with the "send to Kindle" functionality?

[aceflor]

Originally Posted by Canuck_in_Japan

Ahh I see I got the impression from a previous post that you needed to email to your Kindle. I suppose that makes them basically the same then. Although with pocket I can read my articles on pretty much any device. Is the same also true with the "send to Kindle" functionality?

No, but the ubiquity is inherent to Pocket, not to Kobo, and we were talking about reading articles on your e-reader, not about read-it-later apps in general. Now if we are talking about read-it-later apps, Instapaper does the same as Pocket and sends pretty much anything to Kindle, IOS and Android. Or Readability works too, if you are looking for a much simpler (but also less tuneable) app.

Through IFTTT you can find lots of recipes that combine different functions to get exactly what you want, and the fact that anything send to the kindle goes through the kindle email adress makes it possible to receive almost anything with plenty of different apps (most of these lets you integrate an email address of your choice, and that is the huge advantage of the Kindle). The Pocket integration on the Kobo is nice, but only allows you to sync with your Pocket account.

[soulfuldog]

Originally Posted by Canuck_in_Japan

Ahh I see I got the impression from a previous post that you needed to email to your Kindle. I suppose that makes them basically the same then.

Sorry that was my fault for not explaining it very well as although I knew about the feature, I don't tend to use it much - I just knew that things like the Evernote intergration of the Sony and now the Pocket integration of the Kobo are just adding options that are already features of the Kindle, albeit Amazon's own integration and not stand alone 'apps'.

Oh and forgot to add, regarding the screen of the Aura being more susceptible to scratching, I remembered that the top screen of the Aura is plastic (probably still the glass substrate beneath) so it possibly is more prone to scratching. Another reason to keep it in a case when carrying it anywhere.