Kobo Glo HD vs Kindle Paperwhite 3 - some impressions

tbm · 12-13-2015, 04:41 PM

My wife and I decided to finally upgrade from the Nook Simple Touch. After quite a bit of research, we bought a Kindle Paperwhite 3 for my wife (Amazon ecosystem; good customer support) and a Kobo Glo HD for me (EPUB support; hackable; not Amazon).

After feeling excited about getting a Kobo, I now feel disappointed by the software and wish I had gotten a PW3 myself. I tested the Kobo with 3.18 and 3.19.5613. My use cases are: 1) Read non-DRM EPUB books (sideloaded via USB); 2) read newspapers/magazines (in particular The Economist, generated via calibre's download from the web function), and 3) given the 300 dpi screen, I was thinking of reading PDFs (textbooks).

Problems with the Kobo:

Highlighting is slow: I make a lot of highlights so this is a major problem for me. Highlighting text is slow and when I try to change what is highlighted the Kobo takes a second or more to react. I thought it might be an issue with the touch screen but KOReader is much faster (but has other issues). The PW3 reacts instantly.
Hard to press footnotes: when I try to press a footnote, I usually end up on the next page instead of the footnote.
Line spacing doesn't work with some sideloaded books (I know a patch is available on this forum)
The dictionary doesn't know about basic words, such as abandoning or retrenching.
PDF: when you use landscape mode, the menu is still displayed in portrait mode.
PDF: When you zoom so only half a page is shown, pressing the screen goes to the next page instead of the second half of the page.
PDF: When you zoom and align a page so it fits nice and go to the next page, the alignment of the page is lost.
No option for 24h time in English, but fortunately easy to change the config file to en_GB (thanks to this forum!)

In addition to these problems with the Kobo, the Kindle has some nice features I miss on the Kobo:

When reading a magazine, the progress bar shows "next article: title". I can easily skip articles with one click. On the Kobo, I need 3 clicks (open the menu; go to next chapter; close menu).
The table of content in magazines is much nicer.
You can highlight across multiple pages.
Clicking a footnote brings up a window.

One downside of the Kindle:

It often shows "loc" instead of page numbers (for sideloaded content).

One nice feature of the Kobo:

Multiple dictionaries by default.

So overall, I'm disappointed by the Kobo. It's strange because everyone on this forum seems so happy with their Kobo.

Are these known issues, are there any workarounds and how realistic is it that these issues will be fixed in a future firmware update?

I'd say the two issues that concern me most are the slow text highlighting and the missing "next article" for magazines. I can probably work around the PDF issues by using k2pdfopt to create PDFs optimized for e-book readers and I can live with the other issues.

jackie_w · 12-13-2015, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tbm

So overall, I'm disappointed by the Kobo. It's strange because everyone on this forum seems so happy with their Kobo.

It's not really strange at all. It all comes down to what you personally think is important in an eink device. For me it's that I can make the text look exactly like I want it to - correct font-size in all conditions, text nice and dark, use of any font I want so it looks and feels like a 'real' book, good even lighting. Plus excellent integration with calibre for automatic Collections and transfer of metadata including cover thumbnails. Those are all things that some Kindle owners frequently complain about, but admittedly not much help if none of them are important to you.

Personally I don't care at all about annotations and PDFs. If I cared about annotations and tiny footnote hyperlinks and pop-up footnotes I'd make sure I was using calibre to send my epubs to the Kobo as kepubs using this calibre plugin, because the touchscreen sensitivity is better in kepubs. If I cared about PDFs I'd be looking at installing koreader which, from my brief flirtation with it ages ago, is a better PDF reader than the Kobo default.

Ripplinger · 12-13-2015, 07:44 PM

I'm another that much prefers Kobo readers over Kindles because of the fine-tuning possible for fonts (I have a PW2 as comparison which I never use).

Kobo lets me add my own fonts, has settings which darken and thicken the font, both important for my crappy eyesight, lets me adjust line height and margins, and Collections are automatically handled by Calibre. Kindle fonts are too thin and I can't add my own, they look gray in comparison to the Kobo, line spacing and margins too big for my taste, and unless I want to manually set collections for each of my books, Calibre can't send collection info to Kindles. Kindles can no longer be rooted without opening it up and using a serial connection, more trouble than I want to go through for every firmware update to be able to use my own fonts and collections.

I don't read magazines, I only highlight when it's a correction that I want to make, and I rarely encounter footnotes. I don't read PDFs, other than having a few maps on the reader that I might need. If I ever need to, I much prefer a larger screen for PDFs.

It all gets down to what's important for you on your reader.

meeera · 12-13-2015, 08:33 PM

What the others said about particular feature sets and the importance you place on them. I only read PDFs and comics on a tablet, and I don't care about highlighting and footnotes; but I care greatly about Calibre collections management, sideloading fonts, and font/display fine tuning.

You may find it better to read PDFs with koreader. Give it a shot. And perhaps do some research here before buying your next reader? You'll get much better info here than on product websites.

the.Mtn.Man · 12-14-2015, 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tbm

So overall, I'm disappointed by the Kobo. It's strange because everyone on this forum seems so happy with their Kobo.

It's not strange at all. Everybody has different preferences and different needs, and there's no one device that will suit everybody. I personally love my Kobo Aura, but I also read exclusively public domain and DRM-free books which I sideload using Calibre, and for this purpose, the Aura excels.

Larken · 12-14-2015, 02:48 PM

I love my Kobo Glo HD. Everything from size of the unit to customizability fits my need well. However, I was a bit annoyed when I switched from a Nook. I subscribed to Reader's Digest at Barnes and Noble. I was frustrated that I could only subscribe and view Reader's Digest on a tablet instead of converted for the e-ink screen. I haven't tried to accomplish that with Calibre. I'd prefer it to just natively be supported.

12-13-2015, 04:41 PM	#1
tbm Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2012 Device: Nook STR, Kobo Glo HD	Kobo Glo HD vs Kindle Paperwhite 3 - some impressions My wife and I decided to finally upgrade from the Nook Simple Touch. After quite a bit of research, we bought a Kindle Paperwhite 3 for my wife (Amazon ecosystem; good customer support) and a Kobo Glo HD for me (EPUB support; hackable; not Amazon). After feeling excited about getting a Kobo, I now feel disappointed by the software and wish I had gotten a PW3 myself. I tested the Kobo with 3.18 and 3.19.5613. My use cases are: 1) Read non-DRM EPUB books (sideloaded via USB); 2) read newspapers/magazines (in particular The Economist, generated via calibre's download from the web function), and 3) given the 300 dpi screen, I was thinking of reading PDFs (textbooks). Problems with the Kobo: Highlighting is slow: I make a lot of highlights so this is a major problem for me. Highlighting text is slow and when I try to change what is highlighted the Kobo takes a second or more to react. I thought it might be an issue with the touch screen but KOReader is much faster (but has other issues). The PW3 reacts instantly. Hard to press footnotes: when I try to press a footnote, I usually end up on the next page instead of the footnote. Line spacing doesn't work with some sideloaded books (I know a patch is available on this forum) The dictionary doesn't know about basic words, such as abandoning or retrenching. PDF: when you use landscape mode, the menu is still displayed in portrait mode. PDF: When you zoom so only half a page is shown, pressing the screen goes to the next page instead of the second half of the page. PDF: When you zoom and align a page so it fits nice and go to the next page, the alignment of the page is lost. No option for 24h time in English, but fortunately easy to change the config file to en_GB (thanks to this forum!) In addition to these problems with the Kobo, the Kindle has some nice features I miss on the Kobo: When reading a magazine, the progress bar shows "next article: title". I can easily skip articles with one click. On the Kobo, I need 3 clicks (open the menu; go to next chapter; close menu). The table of content in magazines is much nicer. You can highlight across multiple pages. Clicking a footnote brings up a window. One downside of the Kindle: It often shows "loc" instead of page numbers (for sideloaded content). One nice feature of the Kobo: Multiple dictionaries by default. So overall, I'm disappointed by the Kobo. It's strange because everyone on this forum seems so happy with their Kobo. Are these known issues, are there any workarounds and how realistic is it that these issues will be fixed in a future firmware update? I'd say the two issues that concern me most are the slow text highlighting and the missing "next article" for magazines. I can probably work around the PDF issues by using k2pdfopt to create PDFs optimized for e-book readers and I can live with the other issues.

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12-13-2015, 07:44 PM	#3
Ripplinger 350 Hoarder Posts: 3,574 Karma: 8281267 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Midwest USA Device: Sony PRS-350, Kobo Glo & Glo HD, PW2	I'm another that much prefers Kobo readers over Kindles because of the fine-tuning possible for fonts (I have a PW2 as comparison which I never use). Kobo lets me add my own fonts, has settings which darken and thicken the font, both important for my crappy eyesight, lets me adjust line height and margins, and Collections are automatically handled by Calibre. Kindle fonts are too thin and I can't add my own, they look gray in comparison to the Kobo, line spacing and margins too big for my taste, and unless I want to manually set collections for each of my books, Calibre can't send collection info to Kindles. Kindles can no longer be rooted without opening it up and using a serial connection, more trouble than I want to go through for every firmware update to be able to use my own fonts and collections. I don't read magazines, I only highlight when it's a correction that I want to make, and I rarely encounter footnotes. I don't read PDFs, other than having a few maps on the reader that I might need. If I ever need to, I much prefer a larger screen for PDFs. It all gets down to what's important for you on your reader.

12-13-2015, 08:33 PM	#4
meeera Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,814 Karma: 68407974 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Libra 2, iPadMini4, iPad4, MBP; support other Kobo/Kindles	What the others said about particular feature sets and the importance you place on them. I only read PDFs and comics on a tablet, and I don't care about highlighting and footnotes; but I care greatly about Calibre collections management, sideloading fonts, and font/display fine tuning. You may find it better to read PDFs with koreader. Give it a shot. And perhaps do some research here before buying your next reader? You'll get much better info here than on product websites.

12-14-2015, 02:48 PM	#6
Larken Where's the backlight?? Posts: 52 Karma: 2089116 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Indianapolis, IN Device: Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 and Kobo Glo HD	I love my Kobo Glo HD. Everything from size of the unit to customizability fits my need well. However, I was a bit annoyed when I switched from a Nook. I subscribed to Reader's Digest at Barnes and Noble. I was frustrated that I could only subscribe and view Reader's Digest on a tablet instead of converted for the e-ink screen. I haven't tried to accomplish that with Calibre. I'd prefer it to just natively be supported.

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