Paperwhite Second Gen: First Impressions

[Lady Stardust]

Originally Posted by Stingo

I am becoming very concerned with Amazon's direction. I am particularly concerned with what I've read about the latest firmware for PW2. Apart from the collections bug the fact that it begins to nag message that side loaded books are not backed up suggests an early move to discourage side loading. As a result I have become very interested in Kobo since it offers large on-board capacity, expandable storage and more granular font control. I'm curious what you and the other posters consider Kobo shortfalls or problems. I know that the KPW2 screen is slightly better so I'm looking at other issues.

I have Kindle Keyboard, PW1 and PW2. I miss alt fonts trick on PW2, so I am converting my books to AZW3 with embedding fonts.

I recently bought Aura HD because I wanted my first epub reader. I am still trying to make it work properly, but I have to say I like Kindle much more. Easier to install updates which are posted on Amazon site, any book I buy from Amazon I can download it directly to computer (transfer via computer from MYK page), put in Calibre, disinfect and embed fonts and put it on my Kindle.

On Kobo however, there is kepub and epub. Books (at least the ones I tried), look differently on Aura HD, windows-orphans, kepub "cannot" be put into Calibre without fiddling etc etc. I didn't like epub I bought so I synced the device and got kepub which looks nice. Yet, I never synced my Kindle and I don't have to.
My Aura is much slower than Kobo, dictionary is apology to the one Kindle has, and if I want to buy proper dictionary from Kobo, I can't. Plus, I don't know how to remove their recommendations. Kindle I always bought non-add version, but I don't know why I keep on getting back recommended tile on Aura...
I also haven't checked yet how notes and highlights compare to Kindle experience.
So, my experience so far - if fonts (and they do look much nicer on Kobo, more variety, more weight) and storage are of high interest, I think Kobo can be considered. Otherwise, Kindle wins any day.

[Josieb1]

It all depends what you want. I love my PW1 and right now I don't want a PW2. I bought a Kobo Aura. I wanted a smaller lighter ereader for travelling. The Paperwhite has a better screen, I have pin holes on my Kobo, and the Paperwhite text is sharper generally, but I do like the Aura. I like its size, it's weight, it's not much smaller than the Paperwhite but it feels a lot smaller. It's discrete. I love Pocket, that alone is a good enough reason to get one, if you use Pocket heavily, which I do. I like how easy it is to play with fonts.

I buy DRM free mobi files so use calibre to convert to epub, I have settings set up in preferences which get rid of the 'widows and orphans' problem, allows for line height changes and embeds the font I want (I use the same font of both Paperwhite and Aura).

I am now in the situation where I wouldn't want to be without either, but I have a Paperwhite 1, a Paperwhite 2 for me is a downgrade due to the lack of being able to add my own font, plus I don't like the yellow screen.

So far, touch wood, I haven't had any software issues with the Kobo but I am conscious that I don't really want to add any upgrades as the software is not as robust as the Kindles.

Edited to say I also don't want Cloud Collections, another reason to avoid the PW2.

[Stingo]

Josieb1 and Lady Stardust, thank you for your insights. They are so much more useful than the on-line reviews that whitewash the little imperfections. I am keeping Kobo as an option depending on Amazon's future direction but at least I have a better idea of the downside.

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The font sizes depend entirely on the size of the "base font" of the particular book you're reading - they are all multiples (or divisors) of that base font size. If you're not happy with the font size of a particular book, it's trivial to change it in Calibre.

Thank you, I had not tried that. It does work. Since I am already embedding my font, it's easy enough to change the base font size at the same time.

ETA very hard to get it just right.

Originally Posted by Stingo

Very odd. I find it incredibly unusual that you would find a Nexus or even an ipad preferable over a PW1 or PW2. With the light properly set the PW is the best reader for my eyes. Different strokes for different folks. If you read better on the Nexus enjoy and try to find a good Nexus book support forum.

I don't. I've used LCD screens for reading on and off for well over a decade, beginning with the Palm PDAs. Until relatively recent times, say the last few years, I preferred eInk. However, the LCDs now have much better resolution and much clearer fonts. But getting back to MY PERSONAL PW2, it sucks. I suspect most PW2s have better screens than mine. My PW2 is like reading through fog. It seems few people are reporting that. I think Xendula did with one of the PW2s she tried wherein it was colored pee yellow and had fuzzy text. That pretty much describes my PW2. I wanted it to be a keeper so bad that I kept it. But when I compare eye strain on it with reading on tablets and iPads, I see just how bad MY PW2 is. It is too late to return it, and I won't sell it as my conscience will not allow me to pawn it off on some other poor, unsuspecting person. That would not be right. I'll just eat the loss and stay away from eInks in the future.

Originally Posted by oecherprinte

One topic that hasn't been adressed so far: My old KK is white which offers a paper like reading experience since you do not feel visually boxed in (if you know what I mean). All new Kindle devices are black/dark grey which creates a high contrast edge.

I wonder why Amazon stopped making white Kindles.

Actually a lot of us did complain about white bezels on Kindles and we rejoiced when they started using darker ones with charcoal and black. For me a darker bezel makes the eInk text seem darker and doesn't cause as much distraction as a white bezel. But to each their own of course.

Originally Posted by Stingo

Josieb1 and Lady Stardust, thank you for your insights. They are so much more useful than the on-line reviews that whitewash the little imperfections. I am keeping Kobo as an option depending on Amazon's future direction but at least I have a better idea of the downside.

Or big imperfections... I think part of the problem is that the PW2 is among the top rated eInk readers available because it is truly among the best ones. However, that doesn't necessarily say much. I believe all eInk readers should be several generations improved over what their current state is. Amazon and Kobo are about the only competitors in the USA eInk market now, and both are turning out lackluster items. We don't see a huge push to turn out state of the art eReaders like we do in say the gaming industry. The reason is because eReaders sell at such a low margin and are designed mainly to sell books through the ecosystem in which they belong. Televisions, gaming consoles, etc. all sell at good profit margins and with plenty of competition, so they are truly state of the art. Kindles sell at low or no profit margin, and unfortunately are lackluster compared to what they could be if the market would support true innovation and technology improvements. I really think people rate them high because they don't see anything better and perhaps they lack the imagination to imagine what could be as far as eInk readers. Driving an old Ford Pinto might be just fine if you have never been in a great car. EInk readers are basically in the Pinto class, but by now they should have been in the Mercedes class.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by Stingo

I'm curious what you and the other posters consider Kobo shortfalls or problems. I know that the KPW2 screen is slightly better so I'm looking at other issues.

My entire library, apart from a few exceptions, is EPUB-based, so I'm interested in EPUB-readers, of course.

My biggest gripe with Kobo is that their e-reader is an EPUB-reader, but all of the nice features such as Time To Read only work with their own EPUB-based format, called KEPUB.

Therefore, to reach feature parity with the Kindle, one would STILL need to convert EPUB files: to KEPUB this time, instead of AZW3. Switching to Kobo will gain me nothing; arguably, it'll set me back, because it seems that the KEPUB format is not as well understood (yet) as the Kindle AZW3 format.

The second gripe is that in one of the two formats (I don't know which one, on top of my head) the Kobo readers use a lot of space for a header title, and a footer displaying the page number. Also, the line height between lines seems to be larger than the Kindle. I don't want a reader to waste space by displaying a half an inch header and another half an inch footer.

The last thing which prevents me to buy a Kobo reader is that I often see problems in the Kobo forums, with different firmwares. A feature works... suddenly doesn't work.... works again... or a feature works, and another feature breaks. I don't want firmware updates to break the reader all the time, or to fix one problem but introduce another.

In the end, the decision was:

1. The Kobo has more customization, and is more easily obtained in the Netherlands.
2. The Kindle has less (no?) problems, and wastes no screen space.

For now, I chose the second.

(PS: Some stuff may have changed. I haven't been in the Kobo forums lately.)

@HarryT: You're right that font sizes depend on the size of the fonts in the book. However, there is no reason to create such a huge size jump between setting 4 and 5. I can fully understand why people would like to have a size 4.5.

Size 1 is tiny, in most books.
Size 2-4 is "normal book sizes", from small to larger / largish print.
Size 5 is immediately MUCH bigger than size 4.

If you need size 6 and larger... well... let's just say it's impossibly huge, even for someone with poor eyesight such as myself.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by jswinden

...and stay away from eInks in the future.

Personally, I don't really have a problem with reading on a tablet. Sometimes I read PDF's for hours if I need to, on a 10.1 inch tablet in landscape mode. (And yes, I *can* hold it for hours.)

Tablets would need to provide me with a few things to consider them to become the primary reader, in this order:

1. Readable in bright light.
2. No glare (or at least, not more than an e-reader)
3. 4:3 screen. 16:9 or 16:10 in portrait is just too long, and in landscape it's too wide. and not long enough.
4. Better battery life.

If Nr. 1 is achieved by just creating a tablet with a huge light output, then combining 1 and 4 is an oxymoron.

I think that at some point, e-ink for readers will disappear in favor of tablets with reflective LCD-screens. See:

http://www.diginfo.tv/v/12-0207-r-en.php

At some point, reflective LCD-screens will be outfitted with a back-light or front-light for low-light conditions, and as soon as the color and speed improves more, I think it'll be all over for e-ink, apart from the niches where HUGE battery life is necessary.

(About one week of battery life or so would be enough for me to be satisfied however. A current tabet, which only barely manages 8-10 hours when used in bright light, just isn't good enough.)

[Barty]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The font sizes depend entirely on the size of the "base font" of the particular book you're reading - they are all multiples (or divisors) of that base font size. If you're not happy with the font size of a particular book, it's trivial to change it in Calibre.

Trivial? What % of kindle users do you think even know that is possible? I'm guessing it's << than % of users who wish there were a between size.

I know how and I don't want to bother. It's stupid. I rather jailbreak, install a hack, and risk bricking my kindle than to convert every book before reading it. Fortunately, that is now possible.

[aceflor]

Regarding Fonts size on PW2:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...postcount=1431

Regarding Fonts on PW2:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...1&postcount=41

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...1&postcount=44

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...4&postcount=48

With those 2 hacks, for me, nothing can beat the PW2

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Barty

I know how and I don't want to bother. It's stupid. I rather jailbreak, install a hack, and risk bricking my kindle than to convert every book before reading it. Fortunately, that is now possible.

Why would you want to convert every book? How many books do you encounter in which the default font size is unreadable for you? Of the 106 books that I've read so far this year, I've felt the need to change the font size in only 1 of them. The overwhelming majority of books are absolutely fine, to my (not very good) eyes.

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by aceflor

Regarding Fonts size on PW2:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...postcount=1431

Wouldn't one have to change the language setting on one's PW2 for that to work? Mine is not set on English (United Kingdom).

[aceflor]

Originally Posted by booklover6

Wouldn't one have to change the language setting on one's PW2 for that to work? Mine is not set on English (United Kingdom).

Yes, it has to be set to UK English. For me it is not a big thing, but I know some would mind. Regarding the hack itself, it is quite useful if you don't want to use Calibre. I was just mentioning it because I am not sure everyone knows it exists (and works on PW2) at all.

[ProfCrash]

Originally Posted by Barty

Trivial? What % of kindle users do you think even know that is possible? I'm guessing it's << than % of users who wish there were a between size.

I know how and I don't want to bother. It's stupid. I rather jailbreak, install a hack, and risk bricking my kindle than to convert every book before reading it. Fortunately, that is now possible.

What percentage of Kindle users know how to jail break their devices and install a hack or even know that is possible?

I knew little about DRM, stripping DRM, jailbreaking and the like until I got here. I just don't pay that much attention to that side of things. Since coming here, I have chatted with Alf and learned a thing or two.

But the help here are a small percentage of the e-reading population. Probably a very small percentage of the e-reading population. Maybe even an insanely small percentage of the e-reading population.

So our concerns over font size, margins, the ability to put 3,000 books on an e-reader, and looking for every possible imprefection on an e-reader are not exactly mainstream. And we are nit picky.

I bet that 90% of the Kobo users are fine with their devices and not worried about the firmware glitches. I would love to know how many people actually adjust the margins and line spacing on their Kobo's.

I bet that 90% of Kindle users buy their books from Amazon and don't know about DRM. I know that I see posts on Kindle Boards at Christmas time from people who are confused because the e-books they bought at BN don't work on the Kindle, or books from Amazon don't work on the Nook.

Heck, I have a PW2 and I would say that I have used maybe 10% of what is available on it. I adjusted line spacing, margins, and font size. I have not tried pinching or whatever. I don't use X-Ray. And a whole host of other things that people here discuss.

All most people are looking for is a light weight reader, and most don't think that there is much difference between the weight of a Kindle or Kobo or Nook, that fits easily in their bag and lets them buy books from an easy to connect to store. Seriously, most people don't have a Kobo for travel and a Kindle PW2 at home or Nook or Sony to save weight.

And the font size bump, I think my MIL and Mother read on a level 6 font, the words are huge. That is why my Mom has a DXG, so she can fit more words on the screen with the massive font size.

The folks here are far more critical about what an e-reader is suppose to be and do then most folks. E-readers have come a long way, I look at my K1 and marvel. Heck, the difference between my K3 and PW2 is huge. The leaps strike us as marginal because we have people who buy every device and so look at the small, incremental changes in the devices. Try moving from a K2 to a PW2 and tell me that the changes in the last four years have not been huge.