Paperwhite 3 First Impressions

[odamizu]

Originally Posted by jackie_w

... Unless something changed recently, there's been a workaround available for several years which lets those who strongly object to registration (not me) add a dummy username to the database rather than registering for real.

First let me apologize for my laughter. It was in good fun. I have nothing against Kobo's. Indeed, I would very much like to get one -- perhaps the H2O -- at some point.

That said, having to tweak the database is not the same as going through the normal setup process, being given the option to "Complete Kindle setup later," then upon selecting such option, being able to use your ereader indefinitely without ever registering or messing with the database or firmware.

As I said, I would very much like to get a Kobo one day (once funds allow and I can find a way to explain to my spouse why I need yet another ereading device). But one thing I've noticed while perusing the Kobo forum is there seems to be a lot of patching and tweaking and customizing going on. It's not clear to me how much of it is because MobileRead members like to tweak and customize their reading experience, and how much is necessary. If the patches and hacks weren't available, would Kobo users still be happy with their readers?

[eschwartz]

@jackie_w,

Likewise, there has been a workaround for the Kindle to add a dummy registration.
(I will grant you that with the recent 5.6.x branch of the firmware, that hack has been ruined along with pretty much everything else.)

[cerem0ny]

Originally Posted by odamizu

First let me apologize for my laughter. It was in good fun. I have nothing against Kobo's. Indeed, I would very much like to get one -- perhaps the H2O -- at some point.

That said, having to tweak the database is not the same as going through the normal setup process, being given the option to "Complete Kindle setup later," then upon selecting such option, being able to use your ereader indefinitely without ever registering or messing with the database or firmware.

As I said, I would very much like to get a Kobo one day (once funds allow and I can find a way to explain to my spouse why I need yet another ereading device). But one thing I've noticed while perusing the Kobo forum is there seems to be a lot of patching and tweaking and customizing going on. It's not clear to me how much of it is because MobileRead members like to tweak and customize their reading experience, and how much is necessary. If the patches and hacks weren't available, would Kobo users still be happy with their readers?

If the patches and hacks weren't available, then you'd have a kindle. Just sayin'.

[dordale]

Originally Posted by odamizu

As I said, I would very much like to get a Kobo one day (once funds allow and I can find a way to explain to my spouse why I need yet another ereading device). But one thing I've noticed while perusing the Kobo forum is there seems to be a lot of patching and tweaking and customizing going on. It's not clear to me how much of it is because MobileRead members like to tweak and customize their reading experience, and how much is necessary. If the patches and hacks weren't available, would Kobo users still be happy with their readers?

I've had my Kobo Aura HD since last August. It's a great reader--in fact I prefer it to my Kindle PW2 (although the PW2 is also a great reader). I ran the Kobo without any patches up until about a month ago. I was perfectly happy with it--and even then it was my "goto" reader. I finally decided to see what patching it was all about--found out it was fairly easy to do. Now, it's just that much better because of some of the tweaks that are now available to me. Adjusting the weight of side loaded fonts and customizing the number of pages available between refreshing are two patches that I really make use of. That being said even without the patch I'd still love my Aura HD.

[robko]

Originally Posted by odamizu

If the patches and hacks weren't available, would Kobo users still be happy with their readers?

I've never felt the need to patch my Kobo's and I'm very happy with them. Depends on what you want your e-reader to do and for some people some or all of the patches change it in ways that improves their experience. As dordale said, the patches just improve the experience for some (and the ease and safety of doing so means virtually anyone that wants to can use them).

Originally Posted by cerem0ny

If the patches and hacks weren't available, then you'd have a kindle. Just sayin'.

Not so much. Kobo has at lot of features that Kindles don't. Whether you care about those features or not is up to you, but without patches/hacks a Kobo is most definitely NOT just a Kindle.

[Victoria]

Originally Posted by Rizla

Kindles are a bit, well, crap when it comes to organizing collections. At least, that's as I understand it. As JS pointed out, doubtless Amazon could have modified the device to continue to allow users to organize collections on their devices via Calibre, without easily and accidentally trashing the collections, if they'd chosen to. They chose not to, instead preferring to enforce the collection system to be Amazon / cloud based, instead of device-based. Indeed, you don't have the ability to organize books into collections on a Kindle without registering it.

So basically, I stick to my advice to the OP. When it comes to collections, Kobo > Kindle, IMO, especially if you have a lot of books

Why would you think your 'advice' to the op has any merrit at all, since as you point out yourself, your info is senond hand?.....Why, when you are not a kindle user, would you join a kindle thread just to insult those of us who are sharing info about our new kindles?

[cerem0ny]

Why is everybody so mean on these forums?

[Rizla]

@the OP.

I reiterate: If non-wifi and on-device collection management is high on your list, the Kindle is not the logical choice. I don't own one, but it certainly sounds inferior to the Kobo or the Sony.

The Kobo is not a perfect device, but a plethora of workarounds and hacks are available for it. This used to be so with the Kindle, but Amazon shut it down real tight. So if you want flexibility (with collections and everything else), go with the Kobo. It's not perfect. The Kindle is faster and more stable, but you can do far less with it.

If you're satisfied with the limited software features the Kindle now offers, then its a good device. If you want to add functionality, I fear you'll be rapidly frustrated.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Rizla

I reiterate: If non-wifi and on-device collection management is high on your list, the Kindle is not the logical choice.

Whereas if you want a device which is totally and completely stable (my Kindle has never, ever crashed), does not have a new firmware version every month which introduces new bugs into an already unstable system, and which has superb customer service, you may wish to consider the Kindle.

Personally I find Calibre plugboards (which work fine with the Kindle) to be an excellent way of managing series' (and that all I'd ever use collections for).

[cvkemp]

You can use collection just on the kindle not that easy at first you have to connect to the cloud but once you have connected and setup on device collections you can go to air port mode and side load your ebooks, I do all the time using calibre. I have never had kobo so I do not know it, I have had one of the first ebook readers that was not tied to any of the ebook systems. And I liked it. I am on my second e-ink kindle, and I have also had the very first kindle fire. I love my PW2, an I am not even thinking about the newer PW3 I see nothing about it that I really need. The screen on the PW2 is great for my reading and I do not use any note taking and only sometimes check works in the dict.

[cvkemp]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Whereas if you want a device which is totally and completely stable (my Kindle has never, ever crashed), does not have a new firmware version every month which introduces new bugs into an already unstable system, and which has superb customer service, you may wish to consider the Kindle.

Personally I find Calibre plugboards (which work fine with the Kindle) to be an excellent way of managing series' (and that all I'd ever use collections for).

Harry you hit the nail on the head. I have no complaints about any of the kindles that I have had.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Whereas if you want a device which is totally and completely stable (my Kindle has never, ever crashed),

I've had my H2O since the end of November 2014 and it has never locked up or crashed. That's pretty stable to me.

I've read of stability issues with every major brand/model of Reader on MR. In most cases it's just isolated cases. No Reader is perfect.

[Josieb1]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I've had my H2O since the end of November 2014 and it has never locked up or crashed. That's pretty stable to me.

I've read of stability issues with every major brand/model of Reader on MR. In most cases it's just isolated cases. No Reader is perfect.

Whereas my H20 has frozen on me twice in a month. And my eink Kindles rarely, like once a year if that.

My biggest frustration with the kobo devices freezing is the need for a paperclip or similar to perform a reset! I don't tend to think about packing a paperclip alongside my charger when I go on holiday

[Josieb1]

Originally Posted by cerem0ny

Why is everybody so mean on these forums?

We are not horrible really. We are just passionate in our view points.

[dordale]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

Whereas my H20 has frozen on me twice in a month. And my eink Kindles rarely, like once a year if that.

My biggest frustration with the kobo devices freezing is the need for a paperclip or similar to perform a reset! I don't tend to think about packing a paperclip alongside my charger when I go on holiday

I've had much the same experience as JS Wolf--I believe my Kobo Aura HD has frozen on me once in the year I've had it. So it hasn't been a problem at all. On the other hand, I've had my Kindle PW2 and don't think that it's ever frozen on me. Maybe once. So by that statistic, I do have problems with the Aura HD freezing at least twice as often as the PW2!