British Columbia Residents! E-reader dilemma!

Shasta · 10-04-2011, 08:02 PM

Hi all,
Yet another question about whether we should get the Kindle or Kobo and this one is directed specifically to fellow BC residents!

As much as I love the idea of supporting Kobo & Canadian business, and loathe the idea of having to make book purchases in American $$ (Kindle), I'm at a loss or perhaps I'm just crazy!

In BC, we have a provincial library system that allows you to borrow books, electronically or otherwise, anywhere in the province. When deciding which reader to get, we had been leaning towards the Kobo so we could deal with Chapters but upon review of the BC Library system it appears it only supports Kindle readers?

So am I misunderstanding this?

Here is the link from a FAQ about compatible e-readers: http://www.overdrive.com/resources/d...spx?type=ebook

I got there through clicking on the "Compatible E-book devices" link on the left here:
http://downloads.bclibrary.ca/C5A54E5A-0975-4C1D-A5CC-4680D083B4BE/10/448/en/default.htm[/URL]

Thank you!

redbees · 10-04-2011, 08:25 PM

Shasta,

If you continue down the first page you linked, 'Overdrive - Device Resources Center', you will find, BELOW the section that says 'Update: Kindle now available', a section that lists (along with images of the devices) the many devices supported. Kobos are included among that number.

Good luck choosing a reader.

robko · 10-04-2011, 08:26 PM

I think you're misunderstanding somewhere along the line. Overdrive only introduced Kindle compatability and ONLY in the US in the last month or so. As long as you can download the book as an e-pub (or pdf if you can handle the pain of trying to read that on a e-reader) you'll be fine with a Kobo.

Frida Fantastic · 10-04-2011, 08:33 PM

The public libraries here in BC have ebooks in epub. I see the primary trade off between Amazon store selection vs. BC library compatibility. It depends on what's most important for you. But it doesn't matter that much, 99% of new ebooks are available in both .azw and .epub.

Shasta · 10-05-2011, 08:56 PM

Awesome - thank you so much. Yes, I was (am?) completely confused with what it was accepting and how it worked. I just saw the Kindle part...
Anyway! Thank you for input and clarification!

CRussel · 10-06-2011, 09:59 AM

The BC Library system does not yet support Kindles directly, but does support Kobos. That being said, I use my Kindle for library books all the time. But then I strip the DRM and transfer to my Kindle via Calibre.

Frankly, with a choice between a Kobo and a Kindle, I prefer the Kindle as a reader, and definitely prefer the Kindle buying experience from Amazon. But I can understand the desire to try to support a Canadian alternative.

HarryT · 10-06-2011, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CRussel

The BC Library system does not yet support Kindles directly, but does support Kobos.

I'm a little confused: didn't the previous poster say that it said "Kindles now available"?

CRussel · 10-06-2011, 12:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

I'm a little confused: didn't the previous poster say that it said "Kindles now available"?

Yup. And if you click on the "compatible devices" page, you end up on Overdrive's site, which says Kindle is supported. BUT, it's not true. Just verified by checking out a book I don't want (but that was available.) The Kindles are only supported in the US at this point.

jermyzy · 10-08-2011, 07:08 PM

I was having the same dilemma as you. I ended up getting the Kindle. I really liked Amazon's store selection. Also, I looked into some of the ebooks available at the local library, and most books had a 20-30+ person waitlist, so not worth it for me!

CRussel · 10-11-2011, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jermyzy

I was having the same dilemma as you. I ended up getting the Kindle. I really liked Amazon's store selection. Also, I looked into some of the ebooks available at the local library, and most books had a 20-30+ person waitlist, so not worth it for me!

I tend to use the BC Library system for eBooks that I am unwilling to buy. Usually because of their pricing system. If that means a long wait, then I'll wait. I have plenty of books to read while I wait.

When they do become available, I download, strip the DRM, and transfer to my Kindle. It's not a hassle at all, and mimics my normal workflow for a new book, with the difference that it downloads initially to ADE, instead of K4PC. Otherwise, much the same.

pokee · 10-11-2011, 06:31 PM

I have had my Kobo for a year now (Kobo WiFi) and have been pretty happy with my purchase. I've had a few hiccups over the year, but nothing as problematic as some of the posts you read on the Kobo forum here.

I've used the BC Online Library extensively. Most 'wait' times for the library books are about 3 weeks to several months - on average I'd say about 6 weeks (I had to wait 4 months for The Help several months ago! That was the longest). Since you can put a 'hold' on 5 books at a time, it's quite effortless. Just buy a book you want to read (that is not available to borrow) and read that until your borrowed book(s) become available. When your book is available, you get an email telling you that your book is ready for download. You have 3 days in which to download that title, or you will lose your place. You have 3 weeks to read it (which is usually perfect for me). There are ways around that, but I've put some books on hold several times because I never got around to reading them. Sometimes two or more books become available for download at the same time. Normally when that happens, I would 'return' the book with the shortest waitlist, and put it on hold again and read the more popular book(s).

I would never buy a Kindle since their format is not available on the BC Online Library. I think the "Kindles Available" may be referring to Kindles being available to borrow at the library pre-loaded with books - but that's just a guess. Despite the fact that you can strip the DRM and then convert/sideload the books using Calibre, why would you want to? It's just an extra set of steps! Waste of time, IMO, when you can read the book in the format it is originally formatted in.

Buying a Kindle also means you are not getting a Canadian warranty and if anything goes wrong with it, you're SOL. Some don't mind that, since not much has gone wrong with the Kindles - but it's something to consider. My friend just bought a Nook and has to go through all these workarounds to buy books from the B&N website (dummy US billing address), plus has the US warranty issue. BUT - she liked the look and feel of the Nook touch better than the Kobo touch, and so it was worth it to buy it in the US. PLUS, she was aware the Kobo touch has a lot of known issues (thanks to me!).

When my Kobo WiFi dies, I am not really sure what I will buy. Probably the Kobo touch (although, I am hoping Kobo customer service and their quality control will have improved by then). One thing is for sure: Chapters is so good when things go wrong! You can just walk in there and say, "I cracked my screen!", "My screen keeps freezing up", "This Kobo sux!" and they'll give you a new one. That would be hard for a BC resident to do with a Nook or a Kindle...

terraskye · 10-11-2011, 08:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pokee

I have had my Kobo for a year now (Kobo WiFi) and have been pretty happy with my purchase. I've had a few hiccups over the year, but nothing as problematic as some of the posts you read on the Kobo forum here.

I've used the BC Online Library extensively. Most 'wait' times for the library books are about 3 weeks to several months - on average I'd say about 6 weeks (I had to wait 4 months for The Help several months ago! That was the longest). Since you can put a 'hold' on 5 books at a time, it's quite effortless. Just buy a book you want to read (that is not available to borrow) and read that until your borrowed book(s) become available. When your book is available, you get an email telling you that your book is ready for download. You have 3 days in which to download that title, or you will lose your place. You have 3 weeks to read it (which is usually perfect for me). There are ways around that, but I've put some books on hold several times because I never got around to reading them. Sometimes two or more books become available for download at the same time. Normally when that happens, I would 'return' the book with the shortest waitlist, and put it on hold again and read the more popular book(s).

I would never buy a Kindle since their format is not available on the BC Online Library. I think the "Kindles Available" may be referring to Kindles being available to borrow at the library pre-loaded with books - but that's just a guess. Despite the fact that you can strip the DRM and then convert/sideload the books using Calibre, why would you want to? It's just an extra set of steps! Waste of time, IMO, when you can read the book in the format it is originally formatted in.

Buying a Kindle also means you are not getting a Canadian warranty and if anything goes wrong with it, you're SOL. Some don't mind that, since not much has gone wrong with the Kindles - but it's something to consider. My friend just bought a Nook and has to go through all these workarounds to buy books from the B&N website (dummy US billing address), plus has the US warranty issue. BUT - she liked the look and feel of the Nook touch better than the Kobo touch, and so it was worth it to buy it in the US. PLUS, she was aware the Kobo touch has a lot of known issues (thanks to me!).

When my Kobo WiFi dies, I am not really sure what I will buy. Probably the Kobo touch (although, I am hoping Kobo customer service and their quality control will have improved by then). One thing is for sure: Chapters is so good when things go wrong! You can just walk in there and say, "I cracked my screen!", "My screen keeps freezing up", "This Kobo sux!" and they'll give you a new one. That would be hard for a BC resident to do with a Nook or a Kindle...

I dont' know about a warranty for Canadian directly from amazon but I was able to get a 2-year extended Warranty at Staples where i bought mine...Kindles are now being sold at The Source and Staples. I don't use the library system and get most of my books online through free sites(Gutenburg etc) so I'm happy with my purchase so far

But to the OP if you are mainly utilizing your library then yea I'd recommend a more friendly ereader though in good conscious I can't recommend kobo ...I've heard good things about Alurteck(bad spelling there) and my hubby loves his Sony PRS300 which are pretty decently priced at Best Buy right now (refurbished though)

starrlamia · 10-11-2011, 10:34 PM

the new kobo touch supports epbu and mobi so you can use both library and amazon. The new Sony is also very nice and competitively priced, the Sony gets my vote but the kobo touch is decent too.

frozennorth · 10-12-2011, 01:24 AM

I don't think it supports mobi drm though and according to this thread support for mobi is a bit iffy.

The Sony T1 allows you to download from the library directly to the reader. Someone even mentioned using the Sony T1 to log into the Kobo account and downloading a book directly to the T1.

ProfCrash · 10-12-2011, 09:45 AM

The Kindle warrenty is supported across the globe. There have been reports on this site and others from a large number of countries where Amazon has honored the warrenty. It is one of the strengths of the Kindle. It is international, the WiFi and 3G work across the globe and the warrenty is honored across the globe.

10-04-2011, 08:02 PM	#1
Shasta Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 24 Join Date: Oct 2011 Device: none	British Columbia Residents! E-reader dilemma! Hi all, Yet another question about whether we should get the Kindle or Kobo and this one is directed specifically to fellow BC residents! As much as I love the idea of supporting Kobo & Canadian business, and loathe the idea of having to make book purchases in American $$ (Kindle), I'm at a loss or perhaps I'm just crazy! In BC, we have a provincial library system that allows you to borrow books, electronically or otherwise, anywhere in the province. When deciding which reader to get, we had been leaning towards the Kobo so we could deal with Chapters but upon review of the BC Library system it appears it only supports Kindle readers? So am I misunderstanding this? Here is the link from a FAQ about compatible e-readers: http://www.overdrive.com/resources/d...spx?type=ebook I got there through clicking on the "Compatible E-book devices" link on the left here: http://downloads.bclibrary.ca/C5A54E5A-0975-4C1D-A5CC-4680D083B4BE/10/448/en/default.htm[/URL] Thank you!

10-04-2011, 08:25 PM	#2
redbees Enthusiast Posts: 128 Karma: 52196 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: US Device: Paperwhite 2, Nexus 7	Shasta, If you continue down the first page you linked, 'Overdrive - Device Resources Center', you will find, BELOW the section that says 'Update: Kindle now available', a section that lists (along with images of the devices) the many devices supported. Kobos are included among that number. Good luck choosing a reader. Last edited by redbees; 10-04-2011 at 08:30 PM.

10-11-2011, 06:31 PM	#11
pokee Fanatic Posts: 569 Karma: 199759 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Vancouver, BC Device: Kobo WiFi, Kobo Glo, Kobo Vox, Samsung Galaxy S4, Samsung Tab2	I have had my Kobo for a year now (Kobo WiFi) and have been pretty happy with my purchase. I've had a few hiccups over the year, but nothing as problematic as some of the posts you read on the Kobo forum here. I've used the BC Online Library extensively. Most 'wait' times for the library books are about 3 weeks to several months - on average I'd say about 6 weeks (I had to wait 4 months for The Help several months ago! That was the longest). Since you can put a 'hold' on 5 books at a time, it's quite effortless. Just buy a book you want to read (that is not available to borrow) and read that until your borrowed book(s) become available. When your book is available, you get an email telling you that your book is ready for download. You have 3 days in which to download that title, or you will lose your place. You have 3 weeks to read it (which is usually perfect for me). There are ways around that, but I've put some books on hold several times because I never got around to reading them. Sometimes two or more books become available for download at the same time. Normally when that happens, I would 'return' the book with the shortest waitlist, and put it on hold again and read the more popular book(s). I would never buy a Kindle since their format is not available on the BC Online Library. I think the "Kindles Available" may be referring to Kindles being available to borrow at the library pre-loaded with books - but that's just a guess. Despite the fact that you can strip the DRM and then convert/sideload the books using Calibre, why would you want to? It's just an extra set of steps! Waste of time, IMO, when you can read the book in the format it is originally formatted in. Buying a Kindle also means you are not getting a Canadian warranty and if anything goes wrong with it, you're SOL. Some don't mind that, since not much has gone wrong with the Kindles - but it's something to consider. My friend just bought a Nook and has to go through all these workarounds to buy books from the B&N website (dummy US billing address), plus has the US warranty issue. BUT - she liked the look and feel of the Nook touch better than the Kobo touch, and so it was worth it to buy it in the US. PLUS, she was aware the Kobo touch has a lot of known issues (thanks to me!). When my Kobo WiFi dies, I am not really sure what I will buy. Probably the Kobo touch (although, I am hoping Kobo customer service and their quality control will have improved by then). One thing is for sure: Chapters is so good when things go wrong! You can just walk in there and say, "I cracked my screen!", "My screen keeps freezing up", "This Kobo sux!" and they'll give you a new one. That would be hard for a BC resident to do with a Nook or a Kindle... Last edited by pokee; 10-11-2011 at 06:40 PM.

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10-04-2011, 08:26 PM	#3
robko Wizard Posts: 2,454 Karma: 5469320 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: Kobo	I think you're misunderstanding somewhere along the line. Overdrive only introduced Kindle compatability and ONLY in the US in the last month or so. As long as you can download the book as an e-pub (or pdf if you can handle the pain of trying to read that on a e-reader) you'll be fine with a Kobo.

10-04-2011, 08:33 PM	#4
Frida Fantastic SF/F book blogger Posts: 270 Karma: 502030 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Vancouver, Canada Device: Kindle 3	The public libraries here in BC have ebooks in epub. I see the primary trade off between Amazon store selection vs. BC library compatibility. It depends on what's most important for you. But it doesn't matter that much, 99% of new ebooks are available in both .azw and .epub.

10-05-2011, 08:56 PM	#5
Shasta Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 24 Join Date: Oct 2011 Device: none	Awesome - thank you so much. Yes, I was (am?) completely confused with what it was accepting and how it worked. I just saw the Kindle part... Anyway! Thank you for input and clarification!

10-06-2011, 09:59 AM	#6
CRussel (he/him/his) Posts: 12,309 Karma: 80074820 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Sunshine Coast, BC Device: Oasis (Gen3),Paperwhite (Gen10), Voyage, Paperwhite(orig), iPad Air M3	The BC Library system does not yet support Kindles directly, but does support Kobos. That being said, I use my Kindle for library books all the time. But then I strip the DRM and transfer to my Kindle via Calibre. Frankly, with a choice between a Kobo and a Kindle, I prefer the Kindle as a reader, and definitely prefer the Kindle buying experience from Amazon. But I can understand the desire to try to support a Canadian alternative.

10-08-2011, 07:08 PM	#9
jermyzy Enthusiast Posts: 30 Karma: 4296 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Canada Device: Kindle 4	I was having the same dilemma as you. I ended up getting the Kindle. I really liked Amazon's store selection. Also, I looked into some of the ebooks available at the local library, and most books had a 20-30+ person waitlist, so not worth it for me!

10-11-2011, 10:34 PM	#13
starrlamia Zealot Posts: 125 Karma: 1000000 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Ontario Canada Device: Sony PRS-650, PB 16g	the new kobo touch supports epbu and mobi so you can use both library and amazon. The new Sony is also very nice and competitively priced, the Sony gets my vote but the kobo touch is decent too.

10-12-2011, 01:24 AM	#14
frozennorth Evangelist Posts: 407 Karma: 18772 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Alberta, Canada Device: Onyx Boox RIP, Sony PRS-T1, Kobo Libra	I don't think it supports mobi drm though and according to this thread support for mobi is a bit iffy. The Sony T1 allows you to download from the library directly to the reader. Someone even mentioned using the Sony T1 to log into the Kobo account and downloading a book directly to the T1.

10-12-2011, 09:45 AM	#15
ProfCrash Tea Enthusiast Posts: 8,554 Karma: 75384937 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Somewhere in the USA Device: Kindle1, Kindle DX Graphite, K3 3G, IPad 3, PW2	The Kindle warrenty is supported across the globe. There have been reports on this site and others from a large number of countries where Amazon has honored the warrenty. It is one of the strengths of the Kindle. It is international, the WiFi and 3G work across the globe and the warrenty is honored across the globe.