Kobo vs. Kindle

[the.Mtn.Man]

Originally Posted by Meemo

Of course, you can do that with the Kindle as well.

Not with epubs you can't. You have to convert to the Kindle format first which is an extra step, meaning an extra chance to introduce problems.

But regardless, if your primary interest is in public domain and library books then there's no point getting a Kindle since its only advantage is buying books from Amazon.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by the.Mtn.Man

But regardless, if your primary interest is in public domain and library books then there's no point getting a Kindle since its only advantage is buying books from Amazon.

A rather sweeping generalisation . The main reason I like the Kindle is because it has a physical keyboard. I make extensive annotations in my eBooks as I'm proof-reading them, and find the Kindle's keyboard to be a lot better for this than a touch screen. I'm not even sure if the Kobo can annotate books? Can it?

[ldrover]

I wonder if the Kindle is plagued with the number of problems being experienced by KT owners.

[p_a_smith]

Originally Posted by ldrover

I wonder if the Kindle is plagued with the number of problems being experienced by KT owners.

Spend some time in the Kindle section of the forum and you'll see just what you see here. People wanting tweaks to what they have as well as those hoping for new features in the next model (sd crd, ability to sideload fonts, better way to arrange collections). I haven't looked through all the forums but I suspect every model has someone people would like changed...

[the.Mtn.Man]

Originally Posted by HarryT

A rather sweeping generalisation . The main reason I like the Kindle is because it has a physical keyboard. I make extensive annotations in my eBooks as I'm proof-reading them, and find the Kindle's keyboard to be a lot better for this than a touch screen. I'm not even sure if the Kobo can annotate books? Can it?

Fair point.

[the.Mtn.Man]

Originally Posted by ldrover

I wonder if the Kindle is plagued with the number of problems being experienced by KT owners.

I wouldn't say the Kobo Touch is "plagued" with problems.

[Vivian]

No, the Kobo can't annotate. My husband has a Kindle, so I've had the opportunity to compare the two ereaders. Kindle is way better, no question. Of course they've had years that Kobo hasn't to perfect their product. That said, Kindle's much faster, has a sharper screen, and as of the latest edition, the ability to surf the Internet and play MP3 files. It's great. Kindle's biggest failing is it still doesn't support epub (what are they waiting for?) The big price differential used to be a reason to buy a Kobo instead of a Kindle. That's gone now that Kindle's drastically cheaper. Still, I'm grateful to the Kobo people for forcing Kindle, Nook et all to lower their prices. Hail Kobo!

[Vivian]

Oh yeah. I forgot to mention Kindle's text-to-speech. It needs work--among other things, the pauses disappear when there's dialogue in the text, making the reading hard to follow. It's still way cool.

[FJames]

Originally Posted by Vivian

My husband has a Kindle, so I've had the opportunity to compare the two ereaders.

To be clear, it sounds like you're comparing a Kindle 3 to a Kobo 1.

[the.Mtn.Man]

Originally Posted by Vivian

Kindle is way better, no question.

It depends on what you want out of an e-reader. For my money, the Kobo Touch is "way better, no question".

Originally Posted by Vivian

Kindle's much faster

I'll have to take your word for it, but in-store demos of the Kindle 3 that I've played with do not seem to operate appreciably faster than the Kobo Touch.

Originally Posted by Vivian

has a sharper screen

The Kobo Touch and Kindle 3 use the exact same screen (as does the Nook Touch and whatever Sony's latest e-reader is).

Originally Posted by Vivian

the ability to surf the Internet

The Kobo Touch also has a capable web browser.

Originally Posted by Vivian

and play MP3 files.

Well, you got me there, but that's what I have an MP3 player for.

[historyb]

I have to say I just got my Kobo wireless and I love it.

[exNookie]

Ditto. Now I know really know why I dislike reading on LCD, AMOLED, etc. screens so much. E-ink is easy on the eyes and the Kobo Touch is a great, simple device. It does exactly what it is intended to do.

It would be nice if someone could manufacture a smart phone with a screen that can switch between LCD/AMOLED and true e-ink - all on the same screen. Then we'd get the best of both worlds (for a phone anyway).

I look forward to the next firmware update

[Vivian]

Originally Posted by FJames

To be clear, it sounds like you're comparing a Kindle 3 to a Kobo 1.

Good point. Yes, I am doing that. I suppose that's not fair. But my friend has the WiFi Kobo and while it is faster than mine, it's still slower than Kindle. My husband and I tried the Kobo Touch in the store; I thought it was a little faster than the others and he thought it was the same. One thing about the Kobo Touch I don't like is that it's smaller than the other Kobos, with the same size screen. That is, instead of taking advantage of the lack of controls to put in a bigger screen, they used the same size of screen and made the whole device smaller. Seems like a missed opportunity to me.

I loved my Kobo when I first got it, honest. But that was at least two firmware upgrades ago, when it used to be a lot faster. The last upgrade kind of crippled it, performance-wise. If anyone can help me with that, please go here: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=146582

[Vivian]

Originally Posted by the.Mtn.Man

The Kobo Touch and Kindle 3 use the exact same screen (as does the Nook Touch and whatever Sony's latest e-reader is).

Well, maybe it's a software thing then. There's no question that the Kindle screen is sharper.

[FJames]

Originally Posted by Vivian

Well, maybe it's a software thing then. There's no question that the Kindle screen is sharper.

No, the screen "sharpness" is exactly the same.

You're probably seeing that the Kindle uses a heavier, darker font by default. You'll notice that text on the Kobo appears sharper if you select a similar font.

Kobo Touch (and Nook Simple Touch) do a full screen refresh only every 6 pages by default, rather than every page like the Kindle. In between refreshes the pixels get a little fuzzier because a background effect builds up on the eInk screen (erased pixels don't quite go back to full white, black pixels previously erased don't quite go full black). You can change the KT to do a full refresh every page if it's enough to bother you.