Kindle owners should have a Kobo

[JSWolf]

I've been reading about some wanting night mode and the book cover to the the lock screen image.

What I want to know is why do Kindle owners want features they can already have with Kobo and can easily get by getting a Kobo yet they stick with a Kindle? Seems silly to me to have a Kindle that doesn't do what they want when they can get a Kobo that does do what they want.

[issybird]

There’s probably about a hundred answers to this, as you well know. Kudos for starting a topic that should get lots of responses. Of course you’re probably preaching to the choir in the Kobo forum; maybe posting in the Kindle forum would have been better?

I’ll kick it off. And anyone who looks left can see where I fall, but it’s still not hard.

• Because all of their ebooks have been bought from Amazon.
• Because they subscribe to Kindle Unlimited.
• Because it's what they know.

[Sirtel]

• Because they want to use Whispersync for sideloaded books too.
  
• Because Kobos aren't easily available where they live, but Kindles are.
  
• Because they've been prejudiced against Kobos by various bugs of early models (things are much better now, but it's hard to let go of a prejudice).

[twowheels]

Because

• Kindle is the "safe choice", you know it'll be "good enough"
• Kindle has a huge market penetration in the US
• Kindles are sold at Best Buy, Target, Staples, etc...
• everybody calls an ebook reader a Kindle, regardless of manufacturer
• Amazon has a bigger online presence that Walmart, and pushes Kindles at the top of the page on a regular basis while WalMart never pushes Kobo
• the displays at Walmart never seem to have a Kobo anywhere in sight and everything that is on display is broken

...etc...

For me, I originally chose a Kindle way back when because the original Kobo wasn't as impressive as the Kindle 3 -- they were slower to get the Perl screen, the big ugly blue navigation button didn't do it for me, etc. Once I was in the Kindle ecosystem, it was easy to stay there. I only had 2 devices over almost 10 years, so it's not like there's a lot of opportunity to jump between them.

Even now, I was tempted to just stay there as I knew that it met my needs, but I didn't want to pay the price of the Oasis to get the color temp changing light, so this time Kobo got my business for having the feature at the right price point first. It helps that I'm technically literate enough to move my books back and forth with very little pain.

[Sirtel]

I bought my first Kobo ever as recently as half a year ago. Until then I had only Kindles. The reason for that was the lack of page turn buttons on Kobos. The Forma was the first Kobo to have them, but I was not really tempted by it. I liked the Libra more when it came out.

I haven't actually "jumped ship", so to speak, as I use both my Kindles and my Kobo, and occasionally my Nook. All of them have their pros and cons. My ebook library has resided in Calibre since I bought my first Kindle, so format shifting has never been a problem for me.

[Deskisamess]

I had a Kobo Glo HD, and used it for about a year. I didn't care for the Kobo store, and the lack of wireless delivery for non Kobo books outweighed any benefits the device offered over a Kindle.

I strongly disliked having to connect via usb to move books from Calibre to the Kobo. After about a year, I went back to Kindle. Especially now with Kindle Unlimited, and how quickly I burn through books, wireless delivery is a must for me.

The only feature/option I miss was the screen light control of swiping up/down on the left of the screen. Font options may be marginally better than Kindle, but not enough to tip the scale back to Kobo for me.

I find the whole Amazon Kindle world to be much easier and more seamless to deal with.

[ps67]

If You buy Your books from Amazon and download on Your Kindle with wi fii without do nothing else You have ligatures and generally a better typography than if You do the same thing from Kobo.

Say what You want about KFX, and many criticisms that are made of it are right, but Kepub typography is really something you don't expect from a big company like Rakuten Kobo (no ligatures, broken lines...)

Kindles have a better dictionary. For example the Italian dictionary You get when You buy Your Kobo is completely useless: if You find a word in it You already know its meaning, if You search a word that You don't know You are sure that You don't find it in the dictionary.

You can send to Amazon Your books to get synchronization for them (I know, You get the awful old mobi format...) Something that Kobo doesn't offer. You could be interested in Kindle unlimited. And in some countries Amazon has better prices for ebooks...

If You would like something that Kobo do better but for You Kindle's advantages are more important You simply continues to use Your Kindle.

After all I still prefer Kobo, also because there is no kindle with screen larger that 7" but I have no problem thinking that not everyone has the same ideas.

[TheSmitty]

So I can jump on this. I got my Kobo Libra H20 last Saturday. I have a few kindles already and have been Kindle since keyboard 3.
So why did I get a Kobo? Well mainly just to check it out since there were some features I kept reading about that kindles do not have. Things like book cover off/sleep screen and the stats info specifically. I also had hoped that buying from CA/UK store from USA would be easier but I have not had success with that yet. But I have seen some other posts to try. Also adding the stats ability to epubs I converted from Kindle books is on my list too.
Big thing I see as missing (I assume missing) is the whisper sync since I switch constantly from Audible to reading on Kindle as I commute and relax at home.
Will I switch exclusively to Kobo? No, I suspect not but I will not be solely tied to my Oasis 3 either. The Kobo device is very nice and I am glad I have it and certainly glad I am free to use whatever device I want.

[injapan]

Love my Kobo, best of both worlds

[Poppaea]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I've been reading about some wanting night mode and the book cover to the the lock screen image.

What I want to know is why do Kindle owners want features they can already have with Kobo and can easily get by getting a Kobo yet they stick with a Kindle? Seems silly to me to have a Kindle that doesn't do what they want when they can get a Kobo that does do what they want.

Because

• They know it will drive you nuts and they do it just for fun to see you seething

[JSWolf]

From the complaints I read about Kindles, it seems the experience is not all that good given they spend a long time trying to jailbreak the Kindle to get it to do things that Kobo does out of the box.

Integration with Calibre and eBook management is worlds better then Kindle. With firmware 4.20.16422, we have the really useful series feature and that is something lacking on Kindles.

Also, older Kobos are still supported. Older Kindles are dreadful because they are not supported and the firmware is not all that nice. Why is it that Amazon cannot create Kindles that will be able to be supported?

The Kobo firmware has come a long way. Kindle firmware not nearly as much.

[booklover6]

Because

• Extremely slick marketing product pages
• Ability to pay in monthly installments

[amgoforth]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I've been reading about some wanting night mode and the book cover to the the lock screen image.

What I want to know is why do Kindle owners want features they can already have with Kobo and can easily get by getting a Kobo yet they stick with a Kindle? Seems silly to me to have a Kindle that doesn't do what they want when they can get a Kobo that does do what they want.

I have 2 Kobos, 1 Nook, 2 Kindles, 8 inch Tablet and several phones I read on. I use Kindle most of the time, because very easy to email, etc, books to my Kindles.

[latepaul]

There are lots of pros and cons to owning Kindles v Kobos (I have both).

Kindles tend IMHO to have a higher physical build quality.

Kindles make small evolutionary changes in firmware updates. Kobo is getting better but they have a habit of making fairly radical changes to the UI. When you can't find the menu item that was "right there" in the previous firmware version that's not a positive.

Kobos are far far easier to install other apps on. No need to jailbreak.

Kobos have library support through ADE and for some models, direct on the device. Kindles - where I live - don't have either.

But most of these things don't matter that much. I use all my ereaders. They all do the job of putting words on an eInk screen. When one can't do something I know is possible on another it's an irritation but not a big deal.

I do sort of agree with your underlying premise that it makes more sense to reward a manufacturer that gives you the features you want by buying their device, than by buying a device that doesn't and having to rely on jailbreaks, hacks and patches. However I'm not sure that message gets back to Amazon (or Kobo) clearly. Especially since the proportion of people jailbreaking their Kindle is probably a rounding error to them.

[Braid]

I read lots of ebooks in pdf. My Kindle Oasis provides an acceptable pdf reading experience. My Kobo Aura One does not. This is the main reason I use my Kindle Oasis as my main ereader - it's a single e-ink device that can handle all the file formats I use. If Kobo upped their native pdf game, I would consider switching. I tried installing Koreader - it does match the Kindle in terms of pdf experience. But, running dual operating systems ruins the experience of browsing through my library (especially since Koreader is not pretty).