kindle or kobo? what's best for a tween?

newtothetech · 10-23-2011, 07:53 PM

hi I want to buy an e-reader for my bookworm of a preteen but I don't want to mess up. they can be expensive so when I buy one I need it to be easy to use. I know very little of this tech and am hoping maybe someone can enlighten me?
what's more user friendly? Kindle or Kobo? can I get Erin Hunter's Warrior books on either of them, because that would just about sell a product lol

SmokeAndMirrors · 10-23-2011, 09:59 PM

Both Amazon and Kobo's store have Erin Hunter "Warrior" books. *delete* I was reading the paperback cost, not the ebook cost - $5.99 at both Kobo and Amazon. My apologies.

I have a Kobo Touch and I really like it. I think it's pretty easy to use. I also like that it uses the universal Epub format so I can get books from more places and read them on almost anything. Kindle's format can only be read on Kindle and Kindle apps.

Kobo Touch has an app on it called Reading Life that tracks how much you read and you get "awards" for certain things - finishing a book, reading a certain percentage of your library, reading for X amount of time, etc. It's kinda cute, and a preteen might enjoy it.

Belle2Be · 10-23-2011, 10:06 PM

Epub obviously isn't universal if not all ereaders can read it

I have and love my Kindle, I've read about a lot of issues with the Kobo (I almost bought one when Borders was going under but didn't) and again, from what I've read, their CS isn't nearly as good as Amazon.

Pick something like 10 books and look them up on both Amazon and whatever Kobo's site is to compare prices and availability.

Amazon also just came out with 3 new kindles so there is definitely a lot of options whether you like touch screen, keyboard, or just a basic navigator button.

I honestly can't say enough about both Amazon's CS and the Kindle itself, I bought one for my sister and my mother in law, and in general recommend them to everyone I know

SmokeAndMirrors · 10-23-2011, 10:13 PM

Kindle is the lone device that won't support Epub. Which is why I said "almost." It's the exception proving the rule.

I haven't had any issues with my Kobo. Also, they have reps and beta testers actually on the Kobo subforum here, and they are involved with customers. Requests generally get met, and relatively quickly. Firmware updates are frequent and have a lot of new features.

I feel they're quite helpful. I don't have any complaints about their CS.

CRussel · 10-24-2011, 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by newtothetech

hi I want to buy an e-reader for my bookworm of a preteen but I don't want to mess up. they can be expensive so when I buy one I need it to be easy to use. I know very little of this tech and am hoping maybe someone can enlighten me?
what's more user friendly? Kindle or Kobo? can I get Erin Hunter's Warrior books on either of them, because that would just about sell a product lol

If you live in the US, Kindle is probably the easiest to use and best overall experience. You have a wide choice of devices, support across whatever PC platform you need, and both 3G and WiFi connectivity options. Plus the easiest buying experience possible. If you live in Canada, arguably the Kobo is the best choice, especially if using Library books is important, though I still think the Kindle experience is superior for buying books and general use. If you live anywhere else in the world, the answer will depend on what your requirements are.

The Kindle's customer service is unmatched. For Kobo, you may need intervention from someone on the forum here if there's a problem. While it's great that they are here, I'd much rather have an experience that requires no intervention and exceeds my expectations every time. That's been the experience with Amazon's Kindle support.

CRussel · 10-24-2011, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SmokeAndMirrors

Both Amazon and Kobo's store have Erin Hunter "Warrior" books. They're a buck cheaper at Kobo's store - $5.99, whereas Amazon is selling them for $6.99.

The Warrior books are showing at $5.99 on Amazon when I just looked. (That's Amazon US, FWIW.)

pdurrant · 10-24-2011, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by newtothetech

hi I want to buy an e-reader for my bookworm of a preteen but I don't want to mess up. they can be expensive so when I buy one I need it to be easy to use. I know very little of this tech and am hoping maybe someone can enlighten me?
what's more user friendly? Kindle or Kobo? can I get Erin Hunter's Warrior books on either of them, because that would just about sell a product lol

Get a Kindle. The main reason for the recommendation is the great customer service.

For a pre-teen, I'd recommend the low-end Kindle with Special Offers. $79 is hard to argue with, especially as it still has the excellent Pearl eInk screen.

newtothetech · 10-24-2011, 01:30 PM

I appreciate all the feedback. I really don't know what epub is and don't think it matters, given that I plan to buy books directly from the source(amazon/Chapters)my main concern is usability. I heard reviews say that Kobo had "ghosting' from previoiis pages....any owners seen this? is it an issue on Kindle?

pdurrant · 10-24-2011, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by newtothetech

I appreciate all the feedback. I really don't know what epub is and don't think it matters, given that I plan to buy books directly from the source(amazon/Chapters)my main concern is usability. I heard reviews say that Kobo had "ghosting' from previoiis pages....any owners seen this? is it an issue on Kindle?

I've not had a problem with my Kindle.

CRussel · 10-24-2011, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I've not had a problem with my Kindle.

Is there ghosting? Probably. Is it noticeable or a concern? Not even a little bit. I see a momentary ghosting while it's changing pages or starting up from sleep. And not at all any other time.

gari189 · 10-24-2011, 04:22 PM

Does your pre-teen's friends have an ereader? If so I'd get them the same one as their friends........
The Kobo has a interesting "rewards" feature where you can earn badges whilst reading..... and on the Touch I think can change the refresh option to refresh the screen every page turn which should help eliminate ghosting.

SmokeAndMirrors · 10-25-2011, 12:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by newtothetech

I appreciate all the feedback. I really don't know what epub is and don't think it matters, given that I plan to buy books directly from the source(amazon/Chapters)my main concern is usability. I heard reviews say that Kobo had "ghosting' from previoiis pages....any owners seen this? is it an issue on Kindle?

Ghosting is where words from a previous page have a slight imprint on the next page. But this isn't actually an issue on the Kobo.

Most ereaders do a full refresh (black-white flash) every time you turn a page. And you can set the Kobo to do this, as well.

But the Kobo will also allow you to set it to do a partial refresh, and only do a full refresh once every 2-6 pages. A partial fresh basically just sets the new print without fully reseting the entire screen

This way, you don't have to see the black flash every page turn, and I think it's also faster. The compromise is that you may notice a bit of ghosting.

Personally, the ghosting is not very noticeable to me. I have mine set to the lowest refresh rate - full refresh once every 6 pages.

But if you don't like it, you can set it to full refresh every page-turn just like the Kindle, and there will be no ghosting.

As to Epub, here's why it matters: you won't be able to use any of the books you get from Kindle on any device but Kindle. No big deal in the immediate sense, but what about 5 years from now if she gets a device that isn't a Kindle? You may not even be able to use it on Kindle in a couple years, as they move away from their current format and eventually drop support.

Epub is the standard for everything but Kindle. Therefore, no matter what happens in the future or what device she gets, she will always be able to read her books.

It doesn't matter if you only buy book from the store the ereader is attached to. You're still running greater risks with losing access to your ebooks eventually, either because of changing devices or the format you have no longer being supported.

covfam · 10-25-2011, 01:01 AM

With kindle books you hundreds of windows,blackberry,android ios phones, hundreds of android and ios tablets, on ipod touch and samsung galaxy mp3 players, as well as windows and mac pc's,laptops & Netbooks. the only limitation with the kindle books is you cant read them on other Ereader devices.

Also there is a tool called caliber that can be use to convert your books to just about any format you wish... for example most our whole kindle library is converted to epub and transfered onto my ipad and my wifes iphone and into Mantano on my samsung galaxy tab.
Dont get fooled into thinking epub is all universal while theoreticly its universal, there are 3 seperate DRM's being used with the epub format. Barns and noble has thier own DRM, Apple uses fairplay Drm, and Adobe ADE is another form of epub DRM and not every device will accept each of the drm's now if you wish to use a tool like caliber to strip the drm from the books then you can have truly open epub format but then again you can do the same thing with kindle books.

SmokeAndMirrors · 10-25-2011, 01:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by covfam

With kindle books you hundreds of windows,blackberry,android ios phones, hundreds of android and ios tablets, on ipod touch and samsung galaxy mp3 players, as well as windows and mac pc's,laptops & Netbooks. the only limitation with the kindle books is you cant read them on other Ereader devices.

Also there is a tool called caliber that can be use to convert your books to just about any format you wish... for example most our whole kindle library is converted to epub and transfered onto my ipad and my wifes iphone and into Mantano on my samsung galaxy tab.
Dont get fooled into thinking epub is all universal while theoreticly its universal, there are 3 seperate DRM's being used with the epub format. Barns and noble has thier own DRM, Apple uses fairplay Drm, and Adobe ADE is another form of epub DRM and not every device will accept each of the drm's now if you wish to use a tool like caliber to strip the drm from the books then you can have truly open epub format but then again you can do the same thing with kindle books.

That's rather irrelevant to the fact that you still can't ever buy any other brand device, and new Kindles and Kindle apps may not work with old ebooks in the future.

I'm assuming someone who plans to stick by the side of the supported e-store is not interested in playing format gymnastics in Calibre. While this is certainly good info to have, I'd recommend something that requires LESS messing about over something that requires more. The highest safety of content with the lowest amount of work. What you're recommending is the most work possible.

Every other major ereader, including Kobo, also has a plethora of mobile apps. This is not a "Kindle thing" that you couldn't get from somewhere else. There are also plenty of non-device specific apps out there.

The DRM scheme has nothing to do with the Epub format, and it applies to any format. Kindle is subject to losing support when their DRM's go under just like Epub books are. As far as compatibility, if the OP was comparing the Nook, I would certainly mention that their DRM can't be read on other devices. That is not a problem with the format though - it's a problem with the DRM. This is a completely separate issue, and one affecting any format equally.

What's funny about it is that the Nook's exclusive DRM is designed to stop people from using any device by theirs. You think this is a terrible thing with an Epub reader (even though it has nothing to do with the format), but you don't see that Kindle is doing the exact same thing by using a format that can't be read on anything but a Kindle?

They're doing the exact same thing, just in slightly different ways.

And if you want to avoid DRM? The Kobo store is the only one amongst them that tells you in plain English whether a book is DRM'ed or not.

tubemonkey · 10-25-2011, 04:57 AM

Get the $79 Kindle. It's an excellent ereader with the same access to Kindle and library ebooks that the more expensive Kindles have. $20 more will get you a touch screen, an audio player (audiobooks and music), longer battery life, and a few other features.

10-23-2011, 07:53 PM	#1
newtothetech Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2011 Device: kindlevskobo?	kindle or kobo? what's best for a tween? hi I want to buy an e-reader for my bookworm of a preteen but I don't want to mess up. they can be expensive so when I buy one I need it to be easy to use. I know very little of this tech and am hoping maybe someone can enlighten me? what's more user friendly? Kindle or Kobo? can I get Erin Hunter's Warrior books on either of them, because that would just about sell a product lol

10-23-2011, 09:59 PM	#2
SmokeAndMirrors Addict Posts: 280 Karma: 2064388 Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: MN, US Device: Kobo Touch, Asus Eee Pad Slider	Both Amazon and Kobo's store have Erin Hunter "Warrior" books. delete I was reading the paperback cost, not the ebook cost - $5.99 at both Kobo and Amazon. My apologies. I have a Kobo Touch and I really like it. I think it's pretty easy to use. I also like that it uses the universal Epub format so I can get books from more places and read them on almost anything. Kindle's format can only be read on Kindle and Kindle apps. Kobo Touch has an app on it called Reading Life that tracks how much you read and you get "awards" for certain things - finishing a book, reading a certain percentage of your library, reading for X amount of time, etc. It's kinda cute, and a preteen might enjoy it. Last edited by SmokeAndMirrors; 10-25-2011 at 02:02 AM.

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10-23-2011, 10:06 PM	#3
Belle2Be Peace, Love, and Books Posts: 355 Karma: 1242738 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kindle 3(3g), NookColor	Epub obviously isn't universal if not all ereaders can read it I have and love my Kindle, I've read about a lot of issues with the Kobo (I almost bought one when Borders was going under but didn't) and again, from what I've read, their CS isn't nearly as good as Amazon. Pick something like 10 books and look them up on both Amazon and whatever Kobo's site is to compare prices and availability. Amazon also just came out with 3 new kindles so there is definitely a lot of options whether you like touch screen, keyboard, or just a basic navigator button. I honestly can't say enough about both Amazon's CS and the Kindle itself, I bought one for my sister and my mother in law, and in general recommend them to everyone I know

10-23-2011, 10:13 PM	#4
SmokeAndMirrors Addict Posts: 280 Karma: 2064388 Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: MN, US Device: Kobo Touch, Asus Eee Pad Slider	Kindle is the lone device that won't support Epub. Which is why I said "almost." It's the exception proving the rule. I haven't had any issues with my Kobo. Also, they have reps and beta testers actually on the Kobo subforum here, and they are involved with customers. Requests generally get met, and relatively quickly. Firmware updates are frequent and have a lot of new features. I feel they're quite helpful. I don't have any complaints about their CS.

10-24-2011, 01:30 PM	#8
newtothetech Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2011 Device: kindlevskobo?	I appreciate all the feedback. I really don't know what epub is and don't think it matters, given that I plan to buy books directly from the source(amazon/Chapters)my main concern is usability. I heard reviews say that Kobo had "ghosting' from previoiis pages....any owners seen this? is it an issue on Kindle?

10-24-2011, 04:22 PM	#11
gari189 Connoisseur Posts: 57 Karma: 7758 Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: UK Device: Elonex 621eb, PRS-T1, HP Touchpad	Does your pre-teen's friends have an ereader? If so I'd get them the same one as their friends........ The Kobo has a interesting "rewards" feature where you can earn badges whilst reading..... and on the Touch I think can change the refresh option to refresh the screen every page turn which should help eliminate ghosting.

10-25-2011, 01:01 AM	#13
covfam Addict Posts: 304 Karma: 1139862 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: Ipod Touch,Ipad3,Kindle fire, Samsung Galaxy tab, Samsung Galaxy S3	With kindle books you hundreds of windows,blackberry,android ios phones, hundreds of android and ios tablets, on ipod touch and samsung galaxy mp3 players, as well as windows and mac pc's,laptops & Netbooks. the only limitation with the kindle books is you cant read them on other Ereader devices. Also there is a tool called caliber that can be use to convert your books to just about any format you wish... for example most our whole kindle library is converted to epub and transfered onto my ipad and my wifes iphone and into Mantano on my samsung galaxy tab. Dont get fooled into thinking epub is all universal while theoreticly its universal, there are 3 seperate DRM's being used with the epub format. Barns and noble has thier own DRM, Apple uses fairplay Drm, and Adobe ADE is another form of epub DRM and not every device will accept each of the drm's now if you wish to use a tool like caliber to strip the drm from the books then you can have truly open epub format but then again you can do the same thing with kindle books.

10-25-2011, 04:57 AM	#15
tubemonkey monkey on the fringe Posts: 45,477 Karma: 158151390 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Seattle Metro Device: Moto E6, Echo Show	Get the $79 Kindle. It's an excellent ereader with the same access to Kindle and library ebooks that the more expensive Kindles have. $20 more will get you a touch screen, an audio player (audiobooks and music), longer battery life, and a few other features.