Quote:
Originally Posted by saak
The key flaws of each I am aware of:
Kindle Oasis:- locked into bs Amazon ecosystem, where they can literally delete your books (see what happened to people's copies of 1984 after a publisher dispute with Amazon),
- do not support epubs so have to convert my own to mobi, though I have Calibre and this isn't a huge problem
- lower battery life (?)
- no Overdrive support (also not sure about this one)
- have to pay Amazon just to remove ads (seriously? on such a pricy product?)
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So I haven't read the entire thread, probably will overlap with some responses, but I've gone full circle and back to Amazon, so I have some thoughts on these 'flaws'.
* It's not locked into 'bs Amazon ecosystem.' You can use free Calibre to convert ebook formats into AZW3, or even easier, you can change the file extension on an .epub to say .png, email the file to your Kindle account, and Amazon automatically converts it for you. On that converted book, you get almost the full experience that you do with Amazon-purchased books (which is far better than you get with say Kobo, when you buy books outside THEIR platform). You get synching across all devices, including page locations, notes, and highlights. And this works for all hardware platforms: web, Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Kindle. Not sure what more you could expect. I'm trying to think of what other ebook platforms give you that much with books purchased outside their store. Google Play Books kinda/sorta, if you convert to epub and upload to your Google Play account, you can upload a limit of 1,000 books. But they won't sync to Kindle devices. And Azon places no such limit on numbers of books, or on hardware. Bottom line: there is no lock-in whatsoever. It's a very simple strategy really, you do only 2 things to avoid lock-in: (1) Use Calibre to DeDRM every Azon book you buy, so you can back it up offline, and convert it to other formats for future for use on other ereaders should the need ever arise, and (2) You convert books purchased elsewhere into your Azon account, so you can read them on all your devices.
* I addressed converting to Azon formats. As easy as sending an email, or clicking a button in Calibre, then syncing to your device.
* I'm not sure about this 'lower battery life' thing. Oasis, maybe. I don't have the current one. I had the previous gen one, and I had a Kobo Forma, I didn't see any significant difference in battery life, if I took the same steps such as disabling wifi, setting a moderate lighting level, etc. All I can say is, I've never seen that proven to my satisfaction, and I never experienced a big delta in battery life between Kobo and Kindle devices.
* Overdrive support. That one is true, the slick Kobo integration with Overdrive is not there in Kindle. I am fortunate I guess, my local library is one of the better library systems of anywhere I've lived in the US, and they have a Kindle book checkout experience that is nearly as smooth as using Overdrive. When you checkout and select Kindle format in the library using the Overdrive or Libby apps, it sends you over to Amazon, where you login and checkout the book (ETA to clarify: in this case I'm talking from the mobile Kindle app, it's true with the e-ink devices as somebody said above, you need a PC or device with regular web access to checkout so it's more hassle--which is why I never checkout on my Kindle PW4, I do it via Android). It's not THAT hard, takes maybe an extra 20-30 seconds to checkout a book. An interesting side benefit of tying to your Amazon account is something I actually LIKE: it permanently keeps the notes and highlights you make on the book in your Amazon account, associated with the book, even when the loan ends. So if you later re-borrow the book or buy it, you can still access and add to those notes. Try THAT with Overdrive and Kobo.
* Pay to remove ads. Yeah that's annoying. So if it annoys you don't do it. Or pay the $20.
I have the weird dilemma that I SLIGHTLY prefer the ergos of Kobo's e-ink devices, especially the Forma, to anything Amazon has. Also if you like to tinker and hack, Kobo devices are a little more amenable to that. Also, like you I do wish Amazon would just use the epub format like the rest of the world, rather than keep stubbornly clinging to their own data format. But literally, other than those few things, there's really nothing preferable about the Kobo 'ecosystem', bookstore, devices, or anything else. Even Kobo mucks with the data format (kepub vs true epub). And the one real advantage they have in my mind, the fact I like the ergos and some details of the Forma a little better than Amazon's offerings, is not enough of an advantage to matter.
So there you go. I'd say Oasis--or even PW4 (what I did) and use that when you don't feel like reading on your Ipad--go with Amazon and don't look back.