Quote:
Originally Posted by jaekqubp
Hi everybody,
I came across this deal and was thinking of grabbing one of these up. I haven't had a Kobo device previously, and was wondering how the device performs, and if one has to buy into a proprietary ecosystem, or activate online, like some devices require. Additionally, how is Kobo with support and honoring warranties?
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I don't have a mini, but all of their current devices run basically the same firmware. I find the Aura HD performs well. It has quirks like all brands of devices do, but any problems feel very minor after reading hundreds of books on it.
You do not have to buy into their ecosystem at all, not that you have to buy into any of the other brands systems either. The Kobo supports their own kePub format and also ePub (and PDF & mobi, although I wouldn't count mobi support as great). The Kobo will want you to register it to a Kobo account, but if you don't want to you can make a fake account or IIRC there are instructions in the Kobo area of MR to bypass this altogether. The majority of books sold by Kobo will have an option to download as ePub, as well as Kobo's format. This is specified under the book's details on their website.
As for Kobo support. My personal experiences have been hit or miss, but overall not bad. I haven't had to use them for warranty, but I did return a device, a Kobo Vox, and while not as painless as Amazon it wasn't exactly painful either.