E-reader for Japanese texts: Kindle PW or Kobo?

charmian · 09-21-2013, 09:45 PM

I currently use a Kindle 3/Keyboard, but am considering getting a new e-ink reader to better read Japanese texts. These files are generally in the Aozora text format, or are other text or HTML files (I have Calibre and am willing to convert things.) What I basically want is to be able to view the books vertically and to look things up in a dictionary (J-J).

I've heard that Kindle has the Daijisen dictionary on the Paperwhite for free, but I was unable to download this dictionary in the Kindle Android (I live in the US). Is it possible to use the free Japanese dictionary on a US Kindle Paperwhite?

Also, how is the US Kobo reader with respect to support for Japanese dictionary look-up and vertical text?

davidfor · 09-22-2013, 10:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by charmian

Also, how is the US Kobo reader with respect to support for Japanese dictionary look-up and vertical text?

I can't read Japanese, but, for what it is worth...

Kobo don't differentiate their devices by country (except maybe availability). They all use the same firmware and can all be set to use Japanese for the interface. Or you can load a Japanese book onto it and read it.

Kobo devices have to reader applications. One is based on the Adobe SDK, and the other is ACCESS. Both will display Japanese, but only ACCESS will display it vertically. From what I have seen in the Kobo forum and in a test book, this works well. The dictionary lookup works, but I'm not sure how well. I remember some complaints a few firmware versions ago, but I think some of those problems were fixed.

charmian · 09-22-2013, 10:57 PM

Regarding Kobo, do you know anything about whether the Japanese dictionary can be downloaded in the US?

davidfor · 09-23-2013, 12:11 AM

Yes. All the dictionaries they have are available wherever you are. And checking, I was able to do it here in Australia.

samhy · 09-23-2013, 04:33 AM

The J-J dictionary works on every Kobo device. One thing though, the dictionary will select only one kanji so you'll need to use the little handles to select more.

If you have ebooks in the epub3 format, you can read them vertically. If you don't, you're bound to read them horizontally.

The ability to read Japanese and to have a Japanese dictionary was one of the reasons I chose Kobo

09-21-2013, 09:45 PM	#1
charmian Addict Posts: 386 Karma: 1814548 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Kindle 3, Kindle PW2	E-reader for Japanese texts: Kindle PW or Kobo? I currently use a Kindle 3/Keyboard, but am considering getting a new e-ink reader to better read Japanese texts. These files are generally in the Aozora text format, or are other text or HTML files (I have Calibre and am willing to convert things.) What I basically want is to be able to view the books vertically and to look things up in a dictionary (J-J). I've heard that Kindle has the Daijisen dictionary on the Paperwhite for free, but I was unable to download this dictionary in the Kindle Android (I live in the US). Is it possible to use the free Japanese dictionary on a US Kindle Paperwhite? Also, how is the US Kobo reader with respect to support for Japanese dictionary look-up and vertical text?

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09-22-2013, 10:57 PM	#3
charmian Addict Posts: 386 Karma: 1814548 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Kindle 3, Kindle PW2	Regarding Kobo, do you know anything about whether the Japanese dictionary can be downloaded in the US?

09-23-2013, 12:11 AM	#4
davidfor Grand Sorcerer Posts: 24,905 Karma: 47303824 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Sydney, Australia Device: Kobo:Touch,Glo, AuraH2O, GloHD,AuraONE, ClaraHD, Libra H2O; tolinoepos	Yes. All the dictionaries they have are available wherever you are. And checking, I was able to do it here in Australia.

09-23-2013, 04:33 AM	#5
samhy Wizard Posts: 1,824 Karma: 9503859 Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: France Device: (Sony (J) PRS 650), Kobo Mini, Kobo Glo HD (broken), Kobo Clara BW	The J-J dictionary works on every Kobo device. One thing though, the dictionary will select only one kanji so you'll need to use the little handles to select more. If you have ebooks in the epub3 format, you can read them vertically. If you don't, you're bound to read them horizontally. The ability to read Japanese and to have a Japanese dictionary was one of the reasons I chose Kobo

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