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Re Kobo v Kindle, I think one reason Kobo has fans is that it is more customizable and ‘open’ to hacks, friendlier to side-loading etc. Kindle is more of a closed system. Like Android v iOS. Trouble is, some things (like note export I think) REQUIRE you to muck around with editing config files or calibre plugins to get it the way you want. Not for me, I’d rather read than muck around with my reading device.
And yes, Kindle UI has a bit of Frankenstein’s monster quality. The conventions are not carried out consistently, buttons on the devices that have them are not as functional as they should be (often do not page or scroll views). But most people adjust or stop noticing in a short time.
Right on through the Kindle Touch, it was pretty clear that the competing devices all offered better UI and feature set. But that gap has closed considerably and is mostly moot now.
Lurking on Kobo forum here, it seems its a lot buggier and there’s more regression than with Kindle. But Kobo developers (at least used to) check in here.
The Kobo mobile apps are feature-deficient and the updates mostly consist of bug fixes (and there are many such updates, suggesting they are letting users test things). For example, no 2-column landscape mode on iPad, no Split Screen support, no Speak Screen or VoiceOver support, no way to read 3rd party books with it, etc.
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