Kindle Paperwhite 2 or Kobo Aura

[aceflor]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

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.

+1.

I own a PW2 and an Aura (among others). From time to time I'll go back to the Aura because I love its design, and the versatility it allows with fonts, but after a while I always go back to the PW2 because the possibility of emailing ebooks to it is just priceless. And like you Josie I very seldom buy Kindle books, so I am not a "prisoner of the system" as so many like to describe us.

[howyoudoin]

Originally Posted by HarryT

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

This is interesting news.

[mystika1]

I buy from Amazon and Kobo and my reader of choice is Kindle PW2. I actually prefer to buy with Amazon because I can buy and use gift cards instead of keeping a credit card on file. I have yet to see(in the U.S.)a Kobo gift card. I also like the fact that I can return e books at Amazon if my youngest daughter grabs my kindle and makes unwanted purchases. I am sure that I could call Kobo and do the same, but the convenience of having a quick button to press instead of a long wait on the phone is wonderful.

Penny

[the.Mtn.Man]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

I rarely buy Amazon books yet I read primarily on a Kindle.

So out of curiosity, where do you get your books?

Or is this a case of you buying from other vendors and then stripping out the DRM and converting them to Mobi?

[ottdmk]

According to Kobo's website, the only place you can get a physical Kobo gift card in the US is Fry's Electronics.

I've enjoyed using Kobo's electronic gift cards. (To be fair, not sure if they're available in the US. I'm Canadian.) It means I only have to do Paypal once if I'm buying a number of books. (Which I did last week, as I had an exceptionally lucky run on Kobo's latest trivia contest and ended up with 4 65% off coupons...)

[soulfuldog]

Originally Posted by the.Mtn.Man

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.

I know its not the case everywhere but my point is that, for many people Amazon usually does always offer the lowest and most competitive prices. Therefore, for them it's hardly a better choice to buy an epub reader.

I don't personally buy from Amazon because I like the idea of getting all my books from them. I buy from them because 90% of the time they are cheaper or the same price, plus their highly regarded customer service, plus the fact the shopping experience at Amazon is better than the epub retailers available to me, like Kobo/WH Smith, Waterstones, Google Play, sainsburysebooks, etc.

Competition is healthy though, you are right about that, which is why I still look at these other shops even if I do mostly end up going back to buy from Amazon.

As for the stuff about strong-arming publishers....

[the.Mtn.Man]

Originally Posted by soulfuldog

As for the stuff about strong-arming publishers....

Go ahead and laugh.

Amazon actively discourages customers from buying from certain publishers and authors

"Among Amazon’s tactics against Hachette, some of which it has been employing for months, are charging more for its books and suggesting that readers might enjoy instead a book from another author. If customers for some reason persist and buy a Hachette book anyway, Amazon is saying it will take weeks to deliver it.

"The scorched-earth tactics arose out of failed contract negotiations. Amazon was seeking better terms, Hachette was balking, so Amazon began cutting it off. Writers from Malcolm Gladwell to J. D. Salinger are affected, although some Hachette authors were unscathed."

Are you still laughing?

[shalym]

Originally Posted by the.Mtn.Man

Go ahead and laugh.

Amazon actively discourages customers from buying from certain publishers and authors

"Among Amazon’s tactics against Hachette, some of which it has been employing for months, are charging more for its books and suggesting that readers might enjoy instead a book from another author. If customers for some reason persist and buy a Hachette book anyway, Amazon is saying it will take weeks to deliver it.

"The scorched-earth tactics arose out of failed contract negotiations. Amazon was seeking better terms, Hachette was balking, so Amazon began cutting it off. Writers from Malcolm Gladwell to J. D. Salinger are affected, although some Hachette authors were unscathed."

Are you still laughing?

I'm laughing like crazy...Try reading some other sources for your information. http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/...-human-shields
http://www.theguardian.com/books/boo...tailers-ebooks
http://online.wsj.com/articles/amazo...ute-1404840227

Shari

[soulfuldog]

Yep the.Mtn.Man, I'm laughing right along with shalym.

I like some balance to my news before I try to decide who is the villain of the piece!

[the.Mtn.Man]

Originally Posted by shalym

I'm laughing like crazy...Try reading some other sources for your information. http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/...-human-shields
http://www.theguardian.com/books/boo...tailers-ebooks
http://online.wsj.com/articles/amazo...ute-1404840227

Well let's see here...

From NPR: "A number of Hachette authors have publically criticized Amazon for the company's role in the dispute, and writers from Hachette and other houses have created a group called Authors United to find a 'long-term strategy' for combating Amazon."

From The Guardian: "Hachette authors from Stephen Colbert to James Patterson have demanded Amazon to negotiate in good faith."

I can't access the Wall Street Journal article without a subscription, but to make up for it, here's another story from The Guardian:

"According to book industry bible the Bookseller, to whom UK publishers spoke on condition of anonymity, Amazon is putting publishers under 'heavy pressure' to introduce new terms. The Bookseller reports that these include the proviso that 'should a book be out of stock from the publisher, Amazon would be entitled to supply its own copies to customers via its print-on-demand facilities', and that 'books cannot be sold for a lower price than Amazon's anywhere, including on a publisher's own website'.

"The Bookseller's editor Philip Jones said the ongoing negotiations 'indicate a direction of travel that would see [Amazon] take a sizeable control over both a publisher's inventory and its marketing', and that 'publishers spoken to – and obviously they will only speak on condition of complete anonymity – have every right to be concerned. This is a form of assisted suicide for the book business...' "

Yes, let's all laugh at how Amazon is using strong-arm tactics to stifle competition. Simply hilarious. I especially like the part where publishers aren't allowed to sell their books at a lower price elsewhere. This could explain the phenomenon that soulfuldog noticed when he said that "Amazon usually does always offer the lowest and most competitive prices."

[HarryT]

Moderator Notice
Please take discussions of the ongoing dispute between Amazon and Hachette to the (several) existing threads on the topic (mainly in the "News" forum). It is not appropriate for this thread.

Thank you.

[Josieb1]

Originally Posted by the.Mtn.Man

So out of curiosity, where do you get your books?

Or is this a case of you buying from other vendors and then stripping out the DRM and converting them to Mobi?

No I am very lucky that the genre I read (romance) has lots of independent publishers such as Dreamspinner press, Samhain Publishing, Totally Bound, and they sell ebooks direct, DRM free, and most provide all multiple formats for one purchase, plus the genre has it's own 'retailer' AllRomance which also sells the same books as the publisher, plus it's where self published books are sold. All this in addition to Amazon. The only time I tend to buy Amazon books is where the book is part of KDP then Amazon is the only place, but that it rare as it locks out AllRomance.

[Josieb1]

Originally Posted by the.Mtn.Man

Yes, let's all laugh at how Amazon is using strong-arm tactics to stifle competition. Simply hilarious. I especially like the part where publishers aren't allowed to sell their books at a lower price elsewhere. This could explain the phenomenon that soulfuldog noticed when he said that "Amazon usually does always offer the lowest and most competitive prices."

I'm not getting involved with the discussion but on a personal level I would always buy a DRM free book elsewhere over Amazon's, regardless of price. I.e I'll happily pay more elsewhere.

I love the readers, I love the infrastructure but I hate DRM.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

I'm not getting involved with the discussion but on a personal level I would always buy a DRM free book elsewhere over Amazon's, regardless of price. I.e I'll happily pay more elsewhere.

I love the readers, I love the infrastructure but I hate DRM.

The decision as to whether or not a book has DRM lies entirely with the publisher. It has nothing whatsoever to do with Amazon.

[Josieb1]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The decision as to whether or not a book has DRM lies entirely with the publisher. It has nothing whatsoever to do with Amazon.

I don't get that comment Harry. If I buy a Dreamspinner book from Amazon it has DRM, if I buy it from Dreamspinner or AllRomance it doesn't, so how did the DRM get there?

Aren't all Amazon books DRM'd, and if not how can I tell the ones that aren't and convert them to ePub?