[db105]

OK, I'll give you my experience. I have no experience with Kobos, but I have had Kindles 3rd, 4th and modern generation.

Kindle 3 vs Kindle 4: I thought I would miss the physical keyboard, but I didn't. I preferred Kindle 4th without physical keyboard. I basically use the keyboard when I do a search, and that doesn't happen very often, so the keyboard on screen controlled by the buttons of the Kindle 4th is adequate. The smaller size of the Kindle 4th (with the same screen) makes it more comfortable to hold, and otherwise the reading experience is similar. I prefer Kindle 4th.

Kindle 4 vs Kindle Touch 8th generation: I much prefer Kindle 4, so much that I returned the Kindle Touch. I'll compare the experience:

1) Light: None of them have lights. They are like paper books, you need external light to read. Of course, if light is important for you, you'd need to go Paperwhite. However, read on, because what I say below about the Touch applies to the Paperwhite too.

2) Touch screen vs buttons: looking up definitions or choosing a book from the list is a easier with a touch screen. You don't have to scroll using the buttons to get to what you want. That's a minor annoyance of the Kindle 4. However, passing pages is better for me with the physical buttons of the Kindle 4. I like to hold the Kindle with one hand, and I was always accidentally passing pages as my fingers brushed the edge of the screen accidentally. I guess that I would get used to it with time, but it's really an annoyance. Buttons are better, and the Kindle 4 has buttons for page forward and page back on both sides, so no matter how you hold the device it's easy to pass the page. Also, and that's just me, I prefer not to be touching the screen of the Kindle all the time. Fingers leave a small amount of grease on the screen which can be visible at certain angles and make me want to clean the screen (this is minor, though, and probably not an issue with Kindles with backlight).

3) Software: it's similar. The software of the Kindle 4 is not slower. With the older software you don't get to integrate your Goodread account with the Kindle and things like that, but honestly I have no use for that. I just want to use the device to read. The speed of both kindles is adequate.

4) Screen/fonts: this is the dealbreaker for me when it comes to the modern Kindle Touch, and it's the same for the other modern Kindles. Kindle 4 and Kindle Touch have the same number of pixels per inch, less than the paperwhite, but I don't really notice the difference with the Paperwhite for everyday use. Maybe for images, but really, it's not an issue for me. However, the fonts... you understand, Kindles offer you a limited choice when it comes to fonts. You can't upload your own fonts (well, in modern kindles you can embed a font in a book and use it, but only for that book). The Kindle 4 only offers 3 fonts, while the modern Kindle offers more, but to read comfortably an eink book you want a reasonable serif font. The regular font of the kindle 4 works really well for me. That regular font is actually the Caecilia font, which is also offered in modern Kindles. However, in Kindle 4 the fonts have more weight (which means they are slightly bolder than in the modern Kindle). The fonts of the modern Kindle have too little weight to read comfortable on a eInk screen. The difference is subtle, but if you put them side to side with a similar font and font size you notice that it looks as if the Kindle 4 has more contrast and it's easier to read. That, for me, was the dealbreaker. I returned the Kindle Touch and bought a second hand Kindle 4.

I understand that the Kobo allows the user to adjust the weight of the fonts. That's a big improvement, in my opinion, at least if you don't like the font weight Kindle forces on you.