Christmas Gift for my Mom - Advice Needed

imsoawesome · 11-21-2011, 12:46 PM

My mom is notoriously impossible to buy for and an avid reader so I think maybe an ereader would be a good option for her. I have a Kobo Touch and I love it so I figured why not share the wealth. However because of the following I hesitate to buy her the touch:

- She isn't into "big gifts" so over $100 might make her mad
- I tried to get her reading on Stanza and she hated it (the backlight and screen was too small) so obviously an ereader would help those issues but I worry she may hate it because it is "not a real book"... so i hesitate to buy a more expensive one to collect dust on her shelf
- She is very into outdoors activities like camping, hiking and rock climbing and i wouldn't want her to worry about damaging her more expensive reader or to have to pack a heavy clunky and/or fragile reader.
- She is not tech savvy at all. I don't want to get anything too complicated for her (especially because she will call me for tech support) She could probably handle the drag and drop upload on a kobo, how is sideloading on a kindle?

What would you recommend between the original kobo and original kindle? Is a kobo touch that much more worth it? Because if it is a vast improvement i will get it regardless of the price because I love mine...I just have no gauge of how much of an upgrade the touch is having never used the original one. (and an $89 kobo sounds good to me)

ProfCrash · 11-21-2011, 02:45 PM

Whatever you get her, make sure it has a cover.

I have no used a Kobo so I don't know how user friendly a Kobo is. The Kindle is insanely easy to use. I got my Mom one when she was 68 and she uses it with no problem. She does not use collections and I normally delete older books when I visit her to reduce the clutter but she buys books and reads them without a problem.

ilovejedd · 11-21-2011, 02:47 PM

Why not the Kindle Wi-Fi with Special Offers for $79?

HarryT · 11-21-2011, 02:52 PM

All readers are relatively fragile; if she's going to take it out in the wilds a good case is essential.

soulfuldog · 11-21-2011, 02:55 PM

"Not tech savvy" and "no to big gifts" means you'd probably be as well ruling out the upgrade to the Kobo Touch. There might be slight improvements in the interface, but unless you think your Mum would actually prefer to use a touch-screen over physical buttons (and if she's anything like my Mum, I'd imagine the latter would be simplest), the touch-screen is the big improvement.

From what you've said, I reckon you'd be better to stick with either the basic models of the Kindle & Kobo, and at $79 or $89 respectively, neither is that expensive a gamble. As to which one, I don't think there is really a lot of difference between the two.

Sideloading a Kindle will probably be exactly the same as the Kobo, drag your book file into the documents folder on the Kindle and that's all there is to it. If there is a wireless router in the house, that makes things even easier. Set up the wireless connection on the Kindle, show her how to turn the wireless off and on, and it's a one-click job to buy a book from Amazon and get it delivered wirelessly to your Kindle. I'm not sure how this works on the Kobo?

The only other factor could be where she'd prefer to purchase her books from? The main reason for me choosing to buy a Kindle was that I am a regular and happy user of Amazon. And that brings me to the one thing that I *think* the Kindle has over any other e-reader, the high level of customer support Amazon seem to offer for Kindle owners.

ProfCrash · 11-21-2011, 03:27 PM

You can borrow library books on the Kindle. You don't even need to worry about dragging and dropping, you can do it wirelessly using the WiFi.

ucfgrad93 · 11-21-2011, 07:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

Why not the Kindle Wi-Fi with Special Offers for $79?

Either this or you could look for a Black Friday deal on the Kindle Keyboard.

imsoawesome · 11-21-2011, 09:40 PM

Thanks to everyone responding! i managed to hit an indigo today and played with the kobo and think it was pretty good. navigation wasnt as intuitive or easy as the touch but it wasnt too annoying. That coupled with the realization that kindle is 109 international (I'm in Canada) leaning toward the kobo.

I do appreciate all the advice it has helped a lot!

wvcherrybomb · 11-22-2011, 02:19 PM

Yep, all ereaders are fragile. Amazon is the only company that is going to replace it free when she breaks it.

11-21-2011, 12:46 PM	#1
imsoawesome Enthusiast Posts: 30 Karma: 1398 Join Date: Sep 2011 Device: Kobo Touch	Christmas Gift for my Mom - Advice Needed My mom is notoriously impossible to buy for and an avid reader so I think maybe an ereader would be a good option for her. I have a Kobo Touch and I love it so I figured why not share the wealth. However because of the following I hesitate to buy her the touch: - She isn't into "big gifts" so over $100 might make her mad - I tried to get her reading on Stanza and she hated it (the backlight and screen was too small) so obviously an ereader would help those issues but I worry she may hate it because it is "not a real book"... so i hesitate to buy a more expensive one to collect dust on her shelf - She is very into outdoors activities like camping, hiking and rock climbing and i wouldn't want her to worry about damaging her more expensive reader or to have to pack a heavy clunky and/or fragile reader. - She is not tech savvy at all. I don't want to get anything too complicated for her (especially because she will call me for tech support) She could probably handle the drag and drop upload on a kobo, how is sideloading on a kindle? What would you recommend between the original kobo and original kindle? Is a kobo touch that much more worth it? Because if it is a vast improvement i will get it regardless of the price because I love mine...I just have no gauge of how much of an upgrade the touch is having never used the original one. (and an $89 kobo sounds good to me) Last edited by imsoawesome; 11-21-2011 at 01:02 PM.

11-21-2011, 02:55 PM	#5
soulfuldog I ♥ Calibre Posts: 2,073 Karma: 5678911 Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis, Voyage, Sony PRS-350, Hudl2	"Not tech savvy" and "no to big gifts" means you'd probably be as well ruling out the upgrade to the Kobo Touch. There might be slight improvements in the interface, but unless you think your Mum would actually prefer to use a touch-screen over physical buttons (and if she's anything like my Mum, I'd imagine the latter would be simplest), the touch-screen is the big improvement. From what you've said, I reckon you'd be better to stick with either the basic models of the Kindle & Kobo, and at $79 or $89 respectively, neither is that expensive a gamble. As to which one, I don't think there is really a lot of difference between the two. Sideloading a Kindle will probably be exactly the same as the Kobo, drag your book file into the documents folder on the Kindle and that's all there is to it. If there is a wireless router in the house, that makes things even easier. Set up the wireless connection on the Kindle, show her how to turn the wireless off and on, and it's a one-click job to buy a book from Amazon and get it delivered wirelessly to your Kindle. I'm not sure how this works on the Kobo? The only other factor could be where she'd prefer to purchase her books from? The main reason for me choosing to buy a Kindle was that I am a regular and happy user of Amazon. And that brings me to the one thing that I think the Kindle has over any other e-reader, the high level of customer support Amazon seem to offer for Kindle owners. Last edited by soulfuldog; 11-21-2011 at 04:54 PM. Reason: Edited to remove library reference (forgot you can use Kindle for library borrowing in the US!)

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11-21-2011, 02:45 PM	#2
ProfCrash Tea Enthusiast Posts: 8,554 Karma: 75384937 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Somewhere in the USA Device: Kindle1, Kindle DX Graphite, K3 3G, IPad 3, PW2	Whatever you get her, make sure it has a cover. I have no used a Kobo so I don't know how user friendly a Kobo is. The Kindle is insanely easy to use. I got my Mom one when she was 68 and she uses it with no problem. She does not use collections and I normally delete older books when I visit her to reduce the clutter but she buys books and reads them without a problem.

11-21-2011, 02:47 PM	#3
ilovejedd hopeless n00b Posts: 5,111 Karma: 19597086 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: in the middle of nowhere Device: PW4, PW3, Libra H2O, iPad 10.5, iPad 11, iPad 12.9	Why not the Kindle Wi-Fi with Special Offers for $79?

11-21-2011, 02:52 PM	#4
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	All readers are relatively fragile; if she's going to take it out in the wilds a good case is essential.

11-21-2011, 03:27 PM	#6
ProfCrash Tea Enthusiast Posts: 8,554 Karma: 75384937 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Somewhere in the USA Device: Kindle1, Kindle DX Graphite, K3 3G, IPad 3, PW2	You can borrow library books on the Kindle. You don't even need to worry about dragging and dropping, you can do it wirelessly using the WiFi.

11-21-2011, 09:40 PM	#8
imsoawesome Enthusiast Posts: 30 Karma: 1398 Join Date: Sep 2011 Device: Kobo Touch	Thanks to everyone responding! i managed to hit an indigo today and played with the kobo and think it was pretty good. navigation wasnt as intuitive or easy as the touch but it wasnt too annoying. That coupled with the realization that kindle is 109 international (I'm in Canada) leaning toward the kobo. I do appreciate all the advice it has helped a lot!

11-22-2011, 02:19 PM	#9
wvcherrybomb Sharp Shootin' Grandma Posts: 847 Karma: 1123940 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Sunny Florida Device: Kindle 3, Kindle Fire, Literati (has been adopted by my daughter)	Yep, all ereaders are fragile. Amazon is the only company that is going to replace it free when she breaks it.

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